Some welding standards specify where to measure preheat temperature and where to measure interpass temperature.
I can tell you where not to measure it. Not in the weld crater as soon as you terminate the weld and not in the weld groove if you are using a temperature indicating crayon.
My standard practice, unless otherwise specified by the welding standard, is to measure the temperature one inch from the edge of the weld groove where the next weld pass will start and just before initiating the arc.
I do not use the infrared thermometers on any material other than carbon steel. Many metals such as aluminum, stainless steel, nickel alloys, etc. do not have the same emissivity as carbon steel resulting in erroneous temperature readings. In my experience I've seen errors of 150 degrees F when I double checked the temperatures with a thermocouple.
Best regards - Al