cornbuzzer

I am looking for a way to add IR illumination to the inside of a birdhouse. The little camera I bought can't see much in that darkness. I am looking at the project "DIY Infrared Illuminator" (http://www.electronics-lab.com/blog/?p=5973). I am afraid that this would be much too bright, so am wondering 2 things: is there another project that I am not finding that isn't as bright, or is there an easy way to just use fewer LEDs in this project... If the later is possible, I need help as my knowledge level doesn't go much past soldering... So, in this particular project, can I just install 6 or 12 (instead of all 24) LEDs? Do I then use just 2 or 4 of the resistors? Where are they connected? And what then do the power requirements change to? Thanks in advance for your help.