JP2003006454A - Advice system and advice providing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an advice system which gives the best advice to a user. SOLUTION: The advice system includes a 1st receiving means which receives image data photographed by a user from a user terminal, a 2nd receiving means which receives advice information regarding the image data from an adviser terminal, and a confirming means which confirms that the advice information is received, and notifies the user that the advising has been completed once the confirming means confirms that the advice information has been received.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for providing advice regarding a photographing method and an image editing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is an Internet site in which a contributor posts a photographic image taken by himself / herself, and a specific evaluator prepared by the site operator evaluates the photographic image and posts image data and an evaluation sentence.

There is also an Internet site in which a poster posts an illustration drawn by himself / herself on an electronic bulletin board, and an evaluator of an unspecified third party who browses the bulletin board posts an evaluation sentence for the illustration on the electronic bulletin board.

[0004]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the client requesting the evaluation must wait for the evaluation sentence of the evaluator to be posted. Also, if the number of requests increases, the evaluator will not be able to respond. Furthermore, if the evaluation is left to an unspecified third party, privacy violation may occur because it is necessary for anyone to be able to see the information of the client required to perform the evaluation. is there.

An object of the present invention is to provide an advice system that solves the above problems.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an advice system, first receiving means for receiving image data photographed by a user from a user terminal and advice information for the image data from an advisor terminal are provided. Second receiving means for receiving, confirmation means for confirming that the advice information has been received, and configuration for notifying the user that the advice has been completed when the confirmation means confirms that the advice information has been received . As a result, the user who is the advice requester can immediately know that the advice has been completed by the third party.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the advice system according to the first aspect, the advice information is information that advises a photographing method by a camera. According to a third aspect of the invention, in the advice system according to the first aspect, the advice information is information that advises an image editing method using image editing software.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the advice system, first receiving means for receiving the image data photographed by the user from the user terminal, and second receiving means for receiving the advice information for the image data from the advisor terminal. And management means for managing the point information held by the user and the advisor, and the management means is configured to move the points of the price for receiving the advice information from the user-held points to the advisor. As a result, the advice system is activated by exchanging points between the user and the advisor.

According to the invention described in claim 5, in the advice system according to claim 4, the advisor points to the points of consideration for receiving the advice information. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the advice system according to the fourth aspect, the image data received from the user terminal and the advice information received from the advisor terminal are provided as an electronic bulletin board in association with each other and displayed. .

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the advice system according to the first or fourth aspect, the advice system is communicably connected to the user terminal and the advisor terminal via a network. did. According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in an advice system in which an advisor advises image data from a user, a designated portion providing unit that causes the advisor to designate a target portion of the advice in the image data, and an advice for the target portion. The advice input means for inputting a comment to the advisor, and the placement means for associating the target location designated by the designated location providing means with the advice comment input to the advice input means and arranging them with respect to the image data are provided. It is configured to have.
As a result, the user who is the requester can immediately understand the advice because the advice portion corresponding to the advice comment is apparent at a glance. Also, advisors do not have to think about the layout of advice.

According to a ninth aspect of the invention, in the advice system according to the eighth aspect, the arranging means has a configuration in which the range of the target location is indicated by a line. Claim 10
The invention according to claim 9 is the advice system according to claim 9, wherein the arranging means arranges the range of the target portion so as to overlap the image data.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the advice system according to the eighth aspect, there is provided a configuration having download means capable of downloading the image data including the advice information arranged by the arrangement means.
As a result, the user who is the requester can review the advice at any time.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the advice providing method, the image data photographed by the user is received from the user terminal, the advice information for the image data is received from the advisor terminal, and the advice information is received. And confirming that the advice information has been received, the user is notified that the advice has been completed.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the advice providing method, the image data photographed by the user is received from the user terminal, the advice information for the image data is received from the advisor terminal, and the point information owned by the user and the advisor is received. Is managed, and the point of consideration for receiving the advice information from the user-owned point is moved to the advisor.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in an advice system in which an advisor advises image data from a user, the advisor specifies a target portion of the advice in the image data, and an advice comment for the target portion is given. It is configured to be input to the advisor, and the specified target portion and the input advice comment are associated with each other and arranged with respect to the image data.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the system configuration of Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system according to the first embodiment has a user side personal computer 1 and a server side computer 2.
And the Internet 3 that connects them so that they can communicate with each other. A device such as a modem and an Internet provider are necessary to obtain an environment in which communication can be performed via the Internet 3, but since this is not directly related to the present invention, description thereof will be omitted here. Although FIG. 1 illustrates a system using the Internet 3, a LAN (Local Area) is used.
It can also be realized by a system using a network such as a network) or an extranet.

The user personal computer 1 is a terminal installed in the user's home or the like and operated by the user. The user side personal computer 1 is used for transmitting various information such as image data taken by the user to the server side computer 2.
Also, the user side personal computer 1 is the server side computer 2
It is also used to receive information sent by.

The server side computer 2 receives various information such as image data from the user side personal computer 1. The server-side computer 2 includes a memory 201 capable of storing a huge amount of information as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a component configuration in the server computer 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the server-side computer 2
A memory 201, a transmission / reception unit 202, a CPU 203
Is provided. The memory 201 constitutes an image information database area 211, a user information database area 212, a program area 213, and an image data area 214. Although the memory 201 is divided into areas for convenience of explanation, there is no physical area division as shown in FIG. The image information database area 211 stores information about images, information about shooting, information about cameras, and the like. The user information database area 212 stores data regarding registered users. The program area 213 stores various programs such as an image processing program for performing image processing on image data, which executes processes described below. The image data area 214 stores image data uploaded by a registered user.

The transmission / reception unit 202 is a circuit for transmitting / receiving a signal to / from an external device. The transmission / reception unit 202 can receive a signal transmitted from the user side personal computer 1 or the like, and can also transmit a signal to the user side personal computer 1 or the like. The CPU 203 is a processor that executes various controls described below.

The control performed between the user-side personal computer 1 and the server-side computer 2 will be described below. <Login Control> When the user side personal computer 1 and the server side computer 2 are connected via the Internet 3, the page shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the monitor of the user side personal computer 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a page for a user to log in to the advice service.

The user needs to log in to use the advice service provided by the server computer 2. In order to log in, the user needs to complete user registration in advance. When the “first click here” button 304 in FIG. 3 is clicked, the server-side computer 2 delivers a page (not shown) for user registration. In user registration, information such as the model name of the camera used, the camera accessory used, the model name of the personal computer monitor being used, the set gamma value of the monitor, the model name of the printer used, and the image processing software name is input. When input is complete, the login name and password required to log in to the advice service will be issued.

The user inputs the login name and password issued at the time of user registration in the blank fields 301 and 302 to the right of "login name" and "password" in FIG. 3, and clicks the "login" button 303. Allows you to log in to the advice service. The control performed by logging in will be described below.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control performed by the server-side personal computer 2 by logging in. In this flow, the server-side computer 2 is the user-side personal computer 1
Start by receiving login name and password information from. In step S101, it is searched whether or not there is a registered user who matches the login name and password received in the data in the user information database area 212. If a matching registered user is found, the process proceeds to step S102, and if a matching registered user is not found, the process proceeds to step S106, and the page shown in FIG. 3 is transmitted again in order to request login again.

In step S102, the information about the computer in use stored in association with the registered user is read from the user information database area 212. In step S103, the user information database area 21
The information regarding the used digital camera stored in association with the registered user is read from 2. In addition to the information collected at the time of user registration, the information collected after logging in is also accumulated. The information about the computer includes the monitor model name used by the registered user, the monitor gamma information, the printer model name, the image processing software name used, and the like. Further, the information about the digital camera includes information on accessories owned by other than the camera, years of photography, a favorite photography method (for example, a strobe is not used), a scene of frequent photography, and the like. Information such as proprietary accessory information, years of shooting experience, favorite shooting method, and frequently shot scenes is used for shooting advice, which will be described later. Etc. are used for image editing advice.

In step S104, a page corresponding to the registered user as shown in FIG. 5 is created. Step S1
In 05, the page corresponding to the registered user is transmitted to the user personal computer 1. As a result, the user can know that the login has succeeded and can receive the advice service described later.

The information about the user thus obtained is used not only for the advice service but also for online shopping, printout service, support and the like. <Image Data Selection, Information Collection Control> The operation of selecting image data to be advised by the user and the control of information collection for executing the advice will be described below. A user operation on the user-side personal computer 1 and control performed by the server-side computer 2 in response to the operation will be described.

After connecting to the advice service site using the Internet 3 and completing the above-mentioned login process, the server computer 2 distributes so that a page as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the monitor of the user computer 1. To do. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a page when the advice service is logged in. In the page shown in FIG. 5, while indicating to the user that the login was successful,
Prompt the user to select image data for advice. When the user clicks the “From My Album” button 305 in FIG. 5, the server computer 2
The page shown in FIG. 6 for selecting the image data already uploaded to the memory 201 in the server computer 2 is distributed. User uploads in Figure 5
When the button 306 is clicked, the server computer 2 delivers the page shown in FIG. 7 for selecting the image data stored in the memory of the user personal computer 1 or the peripheral device connected to the user personal computer 1. When the user clicks the “Return” button 307, the server computer 2 logs off from the advice service, returns to the login page shown in FIG. 3, and enables other users to log in.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a page for selecting image data owned by the logged-in user, which is stored in the image data area 214 of the memory 201 in the server computer 2. The image data uploaded by the user is classified and stored for each album. "Athletic meet" under "Album" on the left side of the page
The album name 308 such as “party” and “hanami” is the name of the album given by the user when the image data is registered in the image data area 214 of the memory 201 in the server personal computer 2. When the user clicks any one of the album names 308, the server computer 2 displays the thumbnail 309 of the image data registered in the album on the right side of the page. When the user clicks the thumbnail 309, the image data is selected.
FIG. 6 shows a state in which the first image data in the album “Hanami” is selected. When the image data is selected, the “OK” button 310 can be clicked. When the user selects the image data and clicks the “OK” button 310, the server computer 2 delivers the page shown in FIG. Further, when the user clicks the "return" button 311, the page returns to the page shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a page for selecting image data stored in the memory in the user's personal computer 1 or in the peripheral device memory connected to the user's personal computer 1. On the left side of the page, the structure of the internal memory of the user's personal computer is displayed in a tree structure with folders. When the user clicks on one of the folder names 312, a thumbnail 313 corresponding to the image data is displayed in the folder on the right side of the page. The method of selecting image data is the same as the method of selecting image data in the album of FIG. The user selects the image data and clicks "OK".
When the button 314 is clicked, the server computer 2 delivers the page shown in FIG. Further, when the user clicks the "return" button 315, the page returns to the page shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a page for prompting the user to input information regarding image data. In the page shown in FIG. 8, the information added to the image data and the server computer 2 which has already been registered due to user registration or the like.
Ask the user to enter the information needed to improve the accuracy of the advice, in addition to the information stored in the internal memory. The server-side computer 2 inquires in the question format about items that the user wants to input, and prompts the user input field 316 to input the answer to the question. Further, a reduced image 317 of the selected image data is displayed on the right side of the page. The user can easily derive the answer to the question by looking at the reduced image 317.

When the user finishes inputting the answer and clicks the "OK" button 318, the server computer 2
Delivers the page shown in FIG. Further, when the user clicks the “Return” button 319, the page returns to the page shown in FIG. 6 or 7, and the image data can be selected again.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a page for prompting the user to select the area of the main subject in the image. The range of the dotted line in FIG. 9 is the main subject area 320. The main subject area 320 is selected by the user clicking and dragging in the image with a mouse or the like. Although FIG. 9 shows an example in which a rectangular area is selected by clicking and dragging, a circular area may be selected. The accuracy of the advice can be improved by selecting the main subject area 320 as accurately as possible. When the user finishes selecting the area and clicks the "OK" button 321, the server-side computer 2 finishes collecting information about the image data and delivers the page shown in FIG. Further, when the user clicks the "return" button 322, the page returns to the page shown in FIG. This completes the image data selection and information collection control.

As described above, the server computer 2 is
Since a plurality of pages are sequentially delivered to the user side personal computer 1 to collect information in an interactive manner, it is easy for a user who uses the advice service for the first time to understand. Also,
Since the number of input items of information is reduced for each page, the user can prevent omission of input of information. <Advice Control> When the server-side computer 2 completes the collection of the information related to the image data, it starts the processing for advice.

Specific processing of advice executed based on the collected information will be described below. Figure 10,
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the advice process. This flow shows the page shown in FIG. 9 and the "OK" button 3
It starts by receiving a signal indicating that 21 has been clicked.

In step S201, the image data selected by the user is analyzed. In step S202, image processing for obtaining an optimum image is determined based on the analysis result and the collected information. In step S203, it is determined from the analysis result and the collected information whether or not the digital camera that captured the image data may be out of order. For example, as an example of judging that there is a possibility of malfunction, there is information that the distance to the subject is short and the strobe is firing, but there is no evidence that the strobe was fired in the image data. is there. If there is a possibility of failure, the process proceeds to step S204, and the failure diagnosis control described later is executed. If there is no possibility of failure, the process proceeds to step S205.

In step S205, image processing is performed on the image data. Here, the image processing to be executed is
The brightness, color balance, etc. are adjusted so that the image data selected by the user becomes an optimum image. The server-side computer 2 performs image processing for optimizing the image data based on the analysis result of the image data and the acquired information. Image processing performed by the server computer 2 based on the image data analysis result and the acquired information will be described below.

Image data captured by backlighting will be described as an example. The server-side computer 2 determines the shooting environment based on the image data in which the central part is dark and the surroundings are bright, and the acquired information that the shooting scene is a person, the central part is the main subject area, and no flash is emitted. Since only the main subject in the center is dark, the server-side computer 2 can determine that the shooting environment is backlit shooting.

Next, the server-side computer 2 performs a process of brightening a dark main subject by backlight shooting as the optimum image processing. As the image processing for brightening the main subject, options such as uniformly brightening the entire image and brightening only the main subject region occur. When a choice is made, the server computer 2 makes a further judgment and decides which choice is the most suitable image. For example, when the background of the main subject has an appropriate brightness, the server-side computer 2 selects image processing that brightens only the main subject area.

As described above, the server computer 2 is
It becomes possible to perform the image processing that is optimized from the analysis result of the image data and the collected information. In step S206, a page including an image subjected to image processing as shown in FIG. 12 is created. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a page that displays an image optimized by performing image analysis by performing image analysis based on the information acquired by the image data selected by the user. In the page shown in FIG. 12, the image 323 of the image data selected by the user is displayed on the left side of the page, and the image-processed image 324 is displayed on the left side. Further, the page is provided with a “variation” button 325, a “manual correction” button 326, a “shooting advice” button 327, and an “image editing advice” button 328.

In step S207, the created page is transmitted to the user personal computer 1. In step S208, it is detected whether the "manual correction" button 326 or the "variation" button 325 has been pressed. If it is detected that the button is pressed, the process proceeds to step S209, and if it is not pressed, the process proceeds to step S210. In step S209, manual correction or variation processing is executed. When it is detected that the “manual correction” button 326 or the “variation” button 325 is clicked, the pages shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 are transmitted to the user side personal computer 1. 13 and 14 show the server computer 2
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a page for allowing the user to further operate the image subjected to the image processing to obtain a desired image. When the user clicks the “manual correction” button 326 in FIG. 12, the server computer 2 delivers the page shown in FIG. 13. In the page shown in FIG. 13, the image 329 selected by the user is displayed on the upper right side, and the image 330 on which the server computer 2 has performed image processing is displayed on the lower right side of the page. In the page shown in FIG. 13, a slider 331 for changing “brightness”, “contrast”, and “saturation” is provided on the left side of the image 330 that has undergone image processing. The user manually corrects the image 330 by dragging these sliders 331 left and right. When the user clicks the “OK” button 332, the server computer 2 redistributes the page shown in FIG. 12 by reflecting the manual correction made by the user. When the user clicks the “Return” button 333, the server computer 2 redistributes the page shown in FIG. 12 without reflecting the manual correction made by the user.

When the user clicks the "variation" button 325 in FIG. 12, the server computer 2 delivers the page shown in FIG. In the page shown in FIG. 14, an image 334 selected by the user is displayed on the upper right side, and a plurality of images 335 subjected to different image processing by the server computer 2 are simultaneously displayed on the lower side. Here, the plurality of images 335 displayed are subjected to different image processing in accordance with different shooting settings of the camera. For example, an image processed to change the brightness of the entire image, an image processed to change the brightness of the main subject and the background separately, etc. It has been subjected. The shooting settings that correspond to image processing that changes the brightness of the entire image are exposure compensation, and the shooting settings that correspond to image processing that change the brightness separately for the main subject and the background are the shooting settings using a flash. Equivalent to. When the user clicks on one of the plurality of images 335, the clicked image is selected. Then, the user clicks an “OK” button 336 on the page shown in FIG.
When is clicked, the server computer 2 delivers the page shown in FIG. At that time, the image similar to the image selected in the page shown in FIG. 14 is displayed in the image 324 of the page in FIG. Further, the image processing performed on the selected image is used as the optimized image processing.

When the user clicks the "return" button 337, the server computer 2 redistributes the page shown in FIG. 12 without reflecting any image selected. Information about the manual correction and variation processing performed here is stored in the server-side computer memory 20.
It is accumulated in one user information database area 212, and is reflected in the next advice as image information that the user likes. For example, when the user manually corrects the image to make it brighter, the image is made brighter than usual by the optimized image processing executed by the server-side computer 2 at the next advice opportunity.

In step S210, it is detected whether or not a signal indicating that the user has clicked the "photographing advice" button 327 on the page of FIG. 12 has been received.
If received, the process proceeds to step S211, and if not received, the process proceeds to step S212. In step S211, processing for shooting advice is performed. The shooting advice control will be described later. In step S212, it is detected whether or not a signal indicating that the user has clicked the "image editing advice" button 328 has been received. If received, the process proceeds to step S213, and if not received, the process returns to step S208. In step S213, processing for image editing advice is performed. The image editing advice control will be described later. <Photographing advice control> Step S21 in FIG. 11 will be described below.
The shooting advice control executed in 1 will be described.
In the shooting advice control, what kind of shooting method the user has taken to obtain an optimized image by the server-side computer 2 is analyzed, and advice is created.

For example, a case will be described in which the server-side computer 2 performs image processing for brightening only the main subject in the optimized image processing. In the shooting setting, in order to increase the brightness of the main subject, it is conceivable to use exposure compensation or use auxiliary light such as strobe light emission. Since only the main subject is brightened in the optimized image processing, the server-side computer 2 advises shooting using auxiliary light that can brighten only the main subject rather than exposure correction that brightens the entire image uniformly. To do.

However, if there is information such that the distance to the main subject is long, the camera does not have a built-in flash, the accessory does not have a flash, and the flash is disliked, the server computer 2 turns the flash on. Advise you to use exposure compensation to brighten the main subject without using it.

When the user's number of years of photography experience is short and the camera is provided with a backlight compensation button or the like, the server computer 2 advises to use the backlight compensation button that can be easily set. In this way, the server-side computer 2 creates optimum advice suitable for the user from the acquired information.

Moreover, several kinds of candidate advices are prepared,
The user may be allowed to select the advice to be adopted. To enable the above advice,
The image information database 211 of the memory 201 in the server-side computer 2 is provided with a table for storing the optimized image processing automatically applied to the image data and the shooting setting in association with each other.

For example, in the image information database 211, image processing for brightening only a part of an image of a main subject and the like, and shooting setting for firing a strobe are stored in association with each other. Further, the image processing for increasing the brightness of the entire image and the shooting settings for exposure correction and spot metering are stored in association with each other. Further, it is stored in association with acquisition information such as a camera used by the user, accessories used, and preferences. As a result, it is possible to select the camera used by the user, the accessory used, and the shooting setting that suits the user's preference.

Further, in the image information database 211,
A table for storing the shooting settings and the advice data in association with each other is provided. The server-side computer 2 creates optimal advice based on these data stored in the image information database 211.

The photographing advice control will be specifically described below. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the processing executed in step S211. Step S301
Then, step S205 and step S209 of FIG.
The image processing information given for optimization is read out. In step S302, the above-mentioned image information database 21
The data stored in 1 is used to replace the shooting settings corresponding to the image processing performed for optimization.

In step S303, it is detected whether or not it is possible to make a shooting setting such that an image processed by the camera used by the user and the accessory owned by the user can be obtained. If the shooting setting is possible, the process proceeds to step S304, and if the shooting setting is not possible, the process proceeds to step S305.

In step S304, image data similar to the optimized image can be obtained by changing the camera used by the user and the accessory owned by the user to predetermined photographing settings, and therefore, the operation for setting the photographing settings. Create an advice page that describes methods etc. 16, 17, and 18 are diagrams showing examples of the advice page.

In the comment field 350 in FIG. 16, advice comments are written. In the example of the page shown in FIG. 16, a comment is made on a shooting method that can obtain an appropriate image. A reference link underline 351 is provided for the terms “daytime synchronization photography”, “spot metering”, and “backlight correction” in the comments written in the comment field 350. The reference link underline 351 indicates that by clicking on a term, it is possible to jump to a page explaining the term. FIG. 18 shows an example of the explanation page.

Explanation of the clicked term is described in the explanation column 357 of the page shown in FIG. Clicking the "OK" button 358 returns to the page in FIG. "OK" button 353 on the page shown in FIG.
When is clicked, the advice ends. The “camera setting” button 352 is a button that is clicked to know how to operate the camera used by the user to obtain an appropriate image.
When the “camera setting” button 352 is clicked, the page shown in FIG. 17 is displayed. In the setting explanation column 354, a diagram showing the camera used by the user and operation explanation are described. Clicking the "Comment" button 355 in FIG.
Return to the page shown in. If the "OK" button 356 is operated, the advice ends.

In step S305 in FIG. 15, in order to obtain the same image data as the optimized image, it is searched whether or not photographing setting is possible by using an alternative means such as an accessory not owned by the user. For example, if an external strobe can be used to obtain an image equivalent to the optimized image only with the shooting settings, it is determined that there is an alternative means. Further, it may be determined that the replacement of the camera body is an alternative. If there is an alternative, the process proceeds to step S306, and if there is no alternative, the process proceeds to step S307. In step S306, an advice page that suggests the use of alternative means is created.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of an advice page proposing the use of the alternative means. The image 359 on the page shown in FIG. 19 displays an image of an alternative means recommended to be used for photographing. The image data of the alternative means displayed in the image 359 is stored in the memory 201 in the server computer 2. "Product introduction" button 36
0 is a button for jumping to a page introducing the specifications of the alternative means displayed in the image 359. The “online shop” button 361 is a button for jumping to an online shop page where alternative means can be purchased. By proposing alternatives in this way, the user does not have to spend time looking for alternatives. Further, since the user can easily jump to the online shop page where he / she can purchase, the user can purchase an alternative means without performing a troublesome operation. If the “OK” button 362 on the page shown in FIG. 19 is operated, the advice ends.

Next, in step S307 in FIG. 15, an advice page including shooting advice and image editing advice, which will be described later, is created because shooting settings alone are not possible. In step S308, the created advice page is transmitted to the user personal computer 1. <Image Editing Advice Control> In the following, in the case of image editing advice, how to edit an image is advised.

Naturally, the user is advised according to the operation of the software used. If the software has backlight compensation, it may be advised to operate only that. When performing image processing, the order in which the processing is performed is also important, so we also advise on the order.

A detailed description will be given below. 20 is shown in FIG.
It is a flowchart figure which shows the process performed in step S212 of 1. In step S401, the image processing information applied for optimization in steps S205 and S209 of FIG. 10 is read. In step S402, the correction of the image data corresponding to the applied image processing is replaced with the editing setting of the image editing software used by the user. The edit setting data corresponding to the image processing is stored in the image information database 211 similarly to the shooting setting.

In step S403, it is detected whether or not editing settings can be made by the image editing software used by the user.
If the edit setting is possible, the process proceeds to step S404, and if the edit setting is not possible, the process proceeds to step S405. In step S404, an advice page describing an operation method in the image editing software used by the user for obtaining the optimized image is created. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the image editing advice page. The image display area 363 in the page shown in FIG. 21 is an area for displaying the image of the advice target. Lines 364 and 366 indicate locations where image editing is to be applied. Comments 365 and 367
Advice comments such as image editing operation methods are displayed. In the page shown in FIG. 21, a line 364 and a comment 365 are associated with each other by an arrow, and an optimum image can be obtained by image-editing the part indicated by the line 364 according to the advice comment of the comment 365. If the "OK" button 368 is operated, the advice ends.

In step S405 in FIG. 20, since the image editing software used by the user cannot be edited and set, a page introducing the image editing software that can be edited and set is created. In step S406, the created advice page is transmitted to the user personal computer 1. <Fault Diagnosis Control> Next, the fault diagnosis control executed in step S204 of FIG. 10 will be described. As described above, when the relationship between the information collected for advice and the analysis result of image data does not significantly match, the camera used for shooting may be out of order.

In the failure diagnosis control, more detailed failure diagnosis is performed and the user is notified of the failure diagnosis result. Further, when the cause of the failure is software, it is possible to update to the latest software, and when the cause of the failure is mechanical, it is recommended to repair it, and an estimate of the repair cost is output.

The fault diagnosis control will be described in detail below. FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the control for performing the failure diagnosis. This flow is based on step S203 in FIG.
At, it starts by determining that there is a possibility that the camera is out of order from the information obtained for the advice and the analysis result of the image data.

In step S501, data is further added to the data used for the advice to investigate in detail whether or not there is a failure. The data to be added includes the failure status of digital cameras of the same model, the manufacturing lot of digital cameras,
The information includes the software version in the digital camera, the purchase date of the digital camera, the number of times the flash has fired, the number of times the shutter has been opened and closed, etc. Accurate diagnosis is possible by performing the failure diagnosis from more data in this way. Note that some of the additional data described as being used for the failure diagnosis in this embodiment may be data used for executing the advice. Further, the data listed as the data used for the advice may be used for the failure diagnosis.

In step S502, it is determined whether the result of the diagnosis by the detailed examination program is abnormal. When it is diagnosed as abnormal, the process proceeds to step S503, and when it is diagnosed as normal, this flow is ended and the process returns to the advice flow. In step S503, it is determined whether the abnormality is due to a mechanical factor. If it is a mechanical factor, the process proceeds to step S504, and if it is a non-mechanical software factor, the process proceeds to step S505.

In step S504, processing for a failure due to mechanical factors is performed. In step S505,
Take action against a failure due to a software factor. Each processing will be described later with reference to FIGS. 24 and 28. In step S506, as shown in FIG. 23, a page indicating that there is a possibility of failure and accurate advice cannot be sent is transmitted, and when the “OK” button 338 is clicked, the flow returns to the advice flow. <Mechanical Failure Control> Processing for failure due to mechanical factors will be described below. FIG. 24 is a flow chart for explaining the control performed in step S504 of FIG.

In step S601, a page as shown in FIG. 25 is transmitted indicating that the camera that has photographed the image data may be out of order. "Create estimate" button 339 that outputs an estimate of the cost required for repairs on the page
Is provided. Furthermore, the page is provided with an "advice" button 340 for continuing the advice service. In step S602, it is detected whether or not a signal indicating that the "estimate creation" button 339 has been clicked has been received. If it is received that the "estimate creation" button 339 has been clicked, the process proceeds to step S604. If it is not received that the "estimate creation" button 339 has been clicked, the process proceeds to step S603.

In step S603, it is detected whether or not a signal indicating that the "advice" button 340 has been clicked has been received. If received, this flow is ended, and if not received, the process returns to step S602. In step S604, the repair fee is calculated from the result of the failure diagnosis with reference to the fee table. In step S605,
A page indicating the repair cost as shown in FIG. 26 is transmitted. In addition, a "repair reservation" button 341 for actually making a reservation for repair is provided on the page. Further, the page is provided with an "advice" button 342 for continuing the advice service. In step S606,
It is detected whether or not a signal indicating that the “reservation reservation” button 341 has been clicked has been received. If received, the process proceeds to step S608, and if not received, step S608
Proceed to 607. In step S607, "advice"
It is detected whether or not a signal indicating that the button 342 has been clicked has been received. If received, this flow is ended, and if not received, the process returns to step S606.

In step S608, a page as shown in FIG. 27, which describes a repair acceptance number and a method of receiving repair, is transmitted. In step S609, information such as the model name of the camera that accepted the repair, the repair acceptance number, and the failure status is transmitted to the service center that performs the repair by e-mail. Further, the same content may be sent to the person in charge of developing the camera by e-mail. <Software Failure Control> Processing for a failure due to a software factor will be described below. 28 is the same as FIG.
It is a flowchart figure for demonstrating the control performed by step S505 of 2.

In step S701, as shown in FIG. 29, a page indicating that the camera may be out of order and that the failure may be resolved by updating the software is transmitted. The page is provided with an "update" button 344 for moving to a page for downloading update software and an "advice" button 345 for returning to the advice service. In step S702, it is detected whether or not the signal that the "update" button 344 is clicked is received. If received, the process proceeds to step S704, and if not received, the process proceeds to step S703. Step S7
In 03, it is detected whether or not the signal that the "advice" button 345 is clicked is received. If received, this flow is ended, and if not received, step S70.
Return to 2.

In step S704, a page as shown in FIG. 30 describing the rules and method for downloading the update software is transmitted. The page has a "Download" button 346 to start the download and an "Advice" button 347 to return to the advice service.
With. In step S705, "download"
The button 346 detects whether or not the clicked signal is received. If received, the process proceeds to step S707,
If not received, the process proceeds to step S706.

In step S706, it is detected whether or not a signal for clicking the "advice" button 347 is received. If received, this flow is ended, and if not received, the process returns to step S705. Step S707
Now, send the software for download.
In step S708, it is detected whether or not the download is completed. If the download is completed, this flow is terminated, and if not completed, the download is continued.

As described above, the software can be updated not only when the software is old but when the software is diagnosed as having a failure. Never uselessly download. Also, since the diagnosis is performed, the abnormal portion of the software can be known. In addition, in this embodiment, the software is updated in the case of a failure due to a factor,
It may not be possible to solve it with an update, so you may decide to update it after determining it,
By providing the latest software, other inconveniences can be solved. Also, even if the camera has the latest software, it may be broken, so update it.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the failure diagnosis is also performed based on the information collected by the advice service. Since the user performs the failure diagnosis by the work for receiving the advice service, the user does not have any burden for the failure diagnosis.

Naturally, a failure diagnosis service for performing only failure diagnosis may be operated separately from the advice service. Also,
Instead of coordinating with the advice service, failure diagnosis may be carried out in cooperation with other services. In addition to automatic diagnosis, if it is diagnosed that there is a possibility of failure, a warning mail containing image data and other data will be sent to the service personnel so that failure diagnosis can be performed manually. May be.

In the advice service of the first embodiment described above, both the shooting advice and the image editing advice can be received separately. Further, since there are limits to the shooting settings at the time of shooting and the corrections at the time of image editing, advice is provided by combining shooting advice and image editing advice.

Further, in the first embodiment, whether to receive the shooting advice or the image editing advice is selected after the user's information is input. Before the information is input by the user, either shooting advice or image editing advice may be selected, and the input items of the information input by the user may be different according to the selection.

Further, these advice services are not online services via the Internet,
It may be sold as a service of software driven by a personal computer or the like. (Second Embodiment) In the first embodiment, the user performs the image data selection work and the information input work by transitioning a plurality of pages. In the second embodiment, almost 1
The feature is that work items by the user are prepared on the page.

The system configuration in the second embodiment,
Since the advice control and the like are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted. When the login is completed by the same operation as in the first embodiment, a page as shown in FIG. 31 is displayed on the user side personal computer 1. FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating an example of a page when the advice service is logged in.

[Display various information] button 4 in FIG.
A button 01 is clicked when confirming the data added in association with the image data. The information added to the image data is displayed by clicking the various information display button. Most of the information is automatically added by a digital camera at the time of shooting. The “scene selection” menu 402 is for the user to set which scene in the image data selected as the advice target corresponds to. By clicking on the right side of the “scene selection” menu 402, it is possible to select a shooting scene such as a landscape or a person. The “range designation” button 403 is a button clicked when designating the area of the main subject in the image. A range can be specified by clicking and dragging in the image area after clicking the "range specification" button 403. The “enlarge display” button 404 is a button for enlarging and displaying the image displayed in the image display area 400. The “reduced display” button 405 is a button for reducing the image displayed in the image display area 400.

The “image selection” button 406 is a button for selecting image data in the album stored in the server computer 2 as an advice target. When the image data is selected, it is displayed in the image display area 400. The “image save” button 407 is a button clicked when image data optimized by the image processing of the advice control is stored in the server computer 2. The “upload” button 408 is a button for uploading image data stored in the memory of the user personal computer 1 or the peripheral device as an advice target. When the image data is uploaded, it is displayed in the image display area 400. The “download” button 409 is a button for downloading the image data optimized by the image processing of the advice control into the user personal computer 1. Also, "Download" button 4
Below the 09, a print radio button 424 and a viewing radio button 425 are provided. When the print radio button 424 is selected, the image data is downloaded from the printer information owned by the user so as to be optimally printed out by the printer owned by the user. When the viewing radio button 425 is selected, the image data is downloaded from the information on the monitor of the user's personal computer 1 so that the monitor viewing is optimized. The printer information and the monitor information use the information stored in the user information database area 212 user information of the memory 201 in the server computer 2. Also,
The user may be allowed to input printer information and monitor information when downloading.

"Full automatic" button 410, "level" button 411, "brightness" button 412, "gradation" button 4
13. The “Contrast” button 414 is a button clicked when performing image processing related to exposure on the image selected as the advice target. When the "Fully automatic" button 410 is clicked, image analysis is performed according to the program in the server computer 2 and image processing is performed so as to obtain optimum exposure. Then, the image after image processing is displayed in the image display area 400. "Level" button 41
1. Click on any one of "Brightness" 412, "Gradation" button 413, and "Contrast" button 414,
It becomes possible for each user to manually perform image processing.

The "fully automatic" button 415, the "sharpness" button 416, and the "noise" 417 are buttons that are clicked when performing image processing relating to resolution and graininess on the image selected as the advice target. When the "Fully automatic" button 415 is clicked, image analysis is performed according to the program in the server computer 2, and image processing is performed so as to obtain optimum resolution and granularity. Then, the image after image processing is displayed in the image display area 400. When either the “sharpness” button 416 or the “noise” 417 is clicked, the user can manually perform image processing.

The "automatic" button 418, the "color balance" button 419, and the "adaptive color" 420 are buttons that are clicked when performing image processing related to color reproduction on the image selected as the advice target. When the "Fully automatic" button 418 is clicked, image analysis is performed according to the program in the server computer 2, and image processing is performed so as to achieve optimum color reproduction. Then, the image display area 40
The image after image processing is displayed at 0. "Color balance"
Clicking either the button 419 or the “adaptive color” 420 allows the user to manually perform image processing.

The "operation cancel" button 421 is a button for canceling one of the image-processed operations. Here, the image processing for image analysis and optimization of the image data to be advised is the same as the control performed in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the server-side computer 2 is always automatically subjected to image processing to readjust by manual correction. However, the second embodiment may also do so.

As described above, in the second embodiment, since information required for advice can be input within almost one page, information input is completed in a short time without transitioning pages. In addition, by clicking one of the “shooting advice” button 422 and the “image editing advice” button 423 in FIG. 31, the advice process is executed based on the information input by the user. The “shooting advice” button 422 and the “image editing advice” button 423 are buttons that are clicked for the same purpose as the “shooting advice” button 327 and the “image editing advice” button 328 of the first embodiment. The control executed after clicking the “shooting advice” button 422 and the “image editing advice” button 423 is also the “shooting advice” button 327 of the first embodiment.
Since the control is the same as that performed after clicking the “image editing advice” button 328, description thereof will be omitted. (Third Embodiment) In the first and second embodiments, the server computer 2 performs image processing for automatically optimizing image data according to a predetermined program. Also,
The user himself who took the image manually performed the image processing.
Then, the embodiment is to give advice based on the image processing performed on the image data. Embodiment 3
Then, a third person, not the user who captured the image, manually performs image processing for optimization on the image data, and gives advice based on the image processing.

FIG. 32 is a diagram for explaining the system configuration of the third embodiment of the present invention. User side personal computer 1
A computer 2 on the server side, a personal computer 4 on the advisor side, and the Internet 3 for communicatively connecting them. Although FIG. 32 exemplifies a system using the Internet 3, it can also be realized by a system using a network such as a LAN or an extranet.

The user-side personal computer 1 in FIG. 32 is a personal computer used by a user who requests advice (hereinafter referred to as an advice requester). Advisor side PC 4
Is a personal computer used by the advisor who advises the adviser. The advice service according to the third embodiment will be specifically described below. The advice service according to the third embodiment is a mechanism performed using an electronic bulletin board format. This service is established when an advice requester who needs advice uploads comments, image data and related information on the bulletin board, and an advisor of a third party who browses the bulletin board page posts the advice on the bulletin board.

FIG. 33 is a diagram in which a part of the bulletin board page of the advice service in the third embodiment is extracted. In FIG. 33, only one advice request by a certain advice requester and the advisor's advice for the advice request are extracted. In FIG. 33, the image and comment uploaded by the advice requester are posted in the comment posting area 501 and the image posting area 502. The “advise” button 504 is a button that an advisor who sees the bulletin board clicks when giving advice.
The operation after the "advise" button 504 is clicked will be described later.

When the advice from the advisor is uploaded, the image and the comment posted by the advisor are posted in the comment posting area 505 and the image posting area 506. The “photographing advice” button 507 is a button that the advice requester clicks when he / she wants to obtain advice regarding the photographing method. The control executed by the server-side computer 2 when the "shooting advice" button 507 is clicked will be described later. A point 509 on the right side of the “photographing advice” button 507 indicates the number of points paid by the advice requester to the advisor when receiving the photographing advice. The advice bulletin board of the third embodiment is a system in which an advice requester pays points to an advisor.

The "image editing advice" button 508 is
This button is clicked by the advice requester when he / she wants to obtain advice regarding the image editing method in the image editing software. The control executed by the server-side computer 2 when the “image editing advice” button 508 is clicked will be described later. "Image editing advice"
A point 510 on the right side of the button 508 indicates the number of points paid by the advice requester to the advisor when receiving the image editing advice.

Hereinafter, how the user of the advice requester uploads the image and the comment will be specifically described. Note that the description of the third embodiment in common with the first and second embodiments is omitted. The advice requester inputs user information and image data information in accordance with the pages distributed by the server-side computer 2 shown in FIGS. 3 to 9 as in the first embodiment. When the advice requester clicks the “OK” button 321 on the page shown in FIG. 9, the server computer 2 delivers the page shown in FIG. 34. FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of a page used when the advice requester uploads image data and other information to the bulletin board. The advice requester can post the selected image and comment on the bulletin board by writing a comment in the comment field 511 in the page shown in FIG. 34 and clicking the "Upload to bulletin board" button 513. The selected image is displayed in the image area 512. Further, the advice requester can return to the page shown in FIG. 9 by clicking the “return” button 514 and can redo the input of information.

Next, how the advisor posts the advice to the advice requester on the bulletin board will be described. When the advisor clicks on the “advise” button 504 on the right of the image uploaded by the advice requester in FIG. 33, the server-side computer 2 delivers the page shown in FIG. 35 to the advisor-side personal computer 4. FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an example of a page for the advisor to give advice work. Upon receiving the page shown in FIG. 35, the advisor edits the image so that it becomes the image that he / she thinks is optimal.

The image area 518 in FIG. 35 is an area for displaying an image of the image data posted by the advice requester. The image area 519 is an area for displaying an image edited by the advisor. Edit menu 515
Is for selecting a function to be edited with the slider 516. The function editable by the slider 516 changes depending on the item selected in the edit menu 515. Items that can be selected in the edit menu 515 include “general” and “color balance”. For example, when "general" is selected in the edit menu 515, the functions that can be edited by the slider 516 are "brightness", "contrast", and "saturation" as shown in FIG. Further, when “color balance” is selected in the edit menu 515, the function that can be edited by the slider 516 is
The color balance of red, green, and blue is achieved, and the display on the right side of the slider 516 is also changed to “red”, “green”, and “blue”. The “operation cancel” button 517 is a button for canceling the image editing performed by the slider 516.

The page shown in FIG. 35 is created so that the advisor's personal computer 4 temporarily stores the image editing items, procedures, etc. that the advisor has applied to the image as image editing information. Server computer 2
Receives the data stored here and executes the advice control based on the data.

When the advisor finishes the image editing process, "O
When the "K" button 520 is clicked, the server computer 2 delivers the page shown in FIG. Further, when the advisor clicks the "return" button 521, the advice work is canceled and the page returns to the page of FIG.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing a page for the advisor to confirm before posting on the bulletin board. The advisor finally checks the result of image editing on the page shown in FIG. 36 with the image displayed in the image area 524. In addition, the advisor writes the advice comment to be posted on the bulletin board in the comment field 522. In addition, the point column 52
Fill in 3. Then, when the advisor clicks the "Upload to bulletin board" button 525, the image data on which the image has been edited, the advice comment, etc. are transmitted to the server-side personal computer 2, and the advice can be posted on the bulletin board. At the same time, the image editing information temporarily stored in the advisor side personal computer 4 is transmitted to the server side computer 2. In addition, the advisor can return to the page shown in FIG. 35 by clicking the “Return” button 526 and redo the image editing again.

The advice service of the third embodiment has the following functions. When a term registered in advance in the server computer 2 is used in the advice sentence automatically created by the server computer 2,
A link is automatically added to the explanation page of the term. The first embodiment also has the same function, which has been briefly described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 18. A detailed description will be given here. For example,
If there is a comment in the advice sentence that says "Daytime sync photography" (see Fig. 16), the explanation page for that term is added to each term such as "Daytime sync photography" (Fig. 18).
A link to jump to (see) is attached. The requester who does not understand the term can read the term explanation page by clicking the term with the link. Further, in addition to the advice sentence created by the server computer 2, a link may be similarly attached to a comment created by the advisor.

The processing executed by the server-side computer 2 when providing advice to the advice requester, including the processing for creating a link to the comment page, will be described below. FIG. 37 is a flowchart showing the processing related to advice provision in the third embodiment. This flow starts by receiving a signal that the "shooting advice" button or "image correction advice" in the page shown in FIG. 33 is clicked.

In step S1001, the point information set by the advisor is acquired. In step S1002, it is detected whether or not the number of points held by the advice requester is equal to the number of points set by the advisor. If it is sufficient, the process proceeds to step S1004, and if it is not sufficient, the process proceeds to step S1003. Step S1
In 003, a page is created to the effect that the advice requester does not have enough points and cannot receive the advice, and the page is transmitted to the user computer 1 of the advice requester. In step S1004, the advice information received from the advisor is acquired. Step S1005
Then, the same advice processing as the processing described in the first embodiment is executed from the user information of the advice requester and the advice information. In step S1006, step S1
The advice sentence created by the advice processing in 005 is analyzed. In step S1007, step S10
It is detected whether or not there is a registered term in the analysis in 06. If there is a registered term, the process proceeds to step S1008, and if there is no registered term, the process proceeds to step S1009. In step S1008, the address of the page explaining the registered term is detected. In step S1009, an advice page as shown in FIG. 16 is created and transmitted to the user personal computer 1 of the advice requester. In step S1010, the points of the advice requester are decreased. In step S1011 the advisor points are added.

As described above, in the third embodiment, the advice service is provided in the electronic bulletin board format. As a result, since a plurality of advisors can give advice, it is considered that the advice requester can receive the advice in a relatively short time. In order to give suitable advice according to the number of years of photography of the advice requester, the camera model used, etc., it is necessary to use the privacy information of the advice requester. However, if the privacy information is provided to an advisor of a third party who is another person, the privacy information of the advice requester may be maliciously used. In the third embodiment, since the server side computer 2 gives the final advice, the adviser can obtain the appropriate advice without the advisors knowing various information about the adviser. Further, since the advice finally provided to the advice requester cannot be seen by the advisor, the privacy information such as the camera model name and the accessory cannot be guessed. Thus, in the third embodiment, an advice service that respects the privacy of the advice requester can be realized.

Further, in the third embodiment, since the person who is the advisor views the image of the advice object and edits the image, the work of selecting the main subject area, which is required in the first and second embodiments, can be omitted. . When a plurality of people receive advice, the advice requester looks at the advisor's comment and the edited image, and selects the "shooting advice" button 507 and the "image editing advice" button 508 for the favorite one. Just click. Of course, no points are paid to advisors who have not clicked. Further, the advice requester may specify a specific advisor in advance and request the advice. Further, the advice requester may decide the number of points and request the advice instead of the advisor.

In the case of the third embodiment, unlike the first and second embodiments, there is a time lag between the request for advice and the advice given by the advisor. The advice requester may be notified by e-mail when the advice by the advisor is completed. Alternatively, the user may be notified by email that the advice has been completed, and a predetermined page may be browsed.

The image data created by the advisor must be given permission so that the advice requester can freely use it for printing, copying, etc. (Fourth Embodiment) In the fourth embodiment, an advisor as a third party provides final advice such as a shooting method based on images and various information uploaded by an advice requester. In the first to third embodiments, the server-side computer 2 provides the final advice. In the fourth embodiment, since a person, not a computer, gives advice,
Can give accurate advice on composition etc.

The system configuration according to the fourth embodiment is shown in FIG.
The system configuration is the same as that of the third embodiment shown in FIG. An outline of the advice service according to the fourth embodiment will be described.
First, a user who requests advice (hereinafter referred to as an advice requester) uses the user-side personal computer 1 to request advice from the server-side computer 2. The server computer that receives the advice request notifies the specific advisor by e-mail that the advice request has been received. The adviser that has received the notification uses the adviser-side personal computer 4 to give advice, and sends the advice result to the server-side computer 2. The server computer 2 that has received the advice result notifies the advice requester that the advice result has been sent by e-mail. The advice requester who received the notification browses the advice result using the user personal computer 1.

The advice service according to the fourth embodiment will be specifically described below. An advice requester who receives an advice service uploads image data and various information to the server-side computer 2. The method of uploading the image data and various information by the advice requester is the same as the method described in the first embodiment, and therefore the description is omitted.

FIG. 38 is a flow chart showing the control executed by the advice service of the fourth embodiment. The flow of FIG. 38 is executed by the server computer 2,
It starts with the advice requester uploading image data and various information.

In step S1101, a page is created so that an advisor, who is a third party, can give advice work. FIG. 39 shows an example of the page to be created. The page shown in FIG. 39 will be described later. In step S1102, an e-mail indicating that the advice request has been received is sent to the advisor. Further, in the electronic mail, the address where the page shown in FIG. 39 can be browsed is described. In step S1103, it is detected whether the advice is completed. If the advice result is received from the advisor, it is detected that the advice is completed. If it has been completed, the process proceeds to step S1104,
If not completed, detection of completion is continued. In step S1104, a page viewed by the advice requester is created from the advice result from the advisor. Figure 4
7 shows an example of the page. The page shown in FIG. 47 will be described later. Next, in step S1105, an electronic mail indicating that the advice has been completed is sent to the advice requester. In addition, the e-mail describes the address where the page of the advice result can be viewed.

Next, the work of the advisor for advice will be specifically described. The advisor creates advice using the page to jump by clicking various buttons attached to the page shown in FIG. 39 created in step S1101. FIG. 39 is an example of a page for the advisor to perform advice work. On the page shown in FIG. 39, an image area 601, an image area 602, a “composition” button 603, an “exposure correction” button 604, an “auxiliary light” button 605, a “color correction” button 606, a “free” button 607, “ A “display various information” button 608 and an “display advice” button 609 are provided. The image area 601 displays the image selected by the advice requester as the advice target. Image area 6
02 displays an image after the advice work is reflected by the advisor. The various buttons will be described below.

[Composition] button 6 in the page shown in FIG. 39.
A button 03 is clicked when the advisor wants to advise on composition. By clicking on the "composition" button 603, a jump is made to the page shown in FIG. Figure 40
Is an example of a page on which an advisor can give advice regarding composition.

The advice work for composition will be described with reference to FIG. An image to be advised is displayed in the image area 615 of the page shown in FIG. The advisor designates a rectangular range 616 so that the image displayed in the image area 615 can be optimally composed by clicking and dragging with a mouse or the like. "Vertical" radio button 6
11. The “horizontal” radio button 612 is a button for selecting whether the rectangular range 616 of the composition is vertically long or horizontally long. In the pull-down menu 610 on the left side of the “vertical” radio button 611, the aspect ratio of the rectangular range 616 that can be selected as a composition can be selected. Pull-down menu 6
The aspect ratio that can be selected in 10 is "original""3:4"
For example, "5: 8". By default, "original"
Is selected, and the aspect ratio of the image data to be advised is selected. When either the “vertical” radio button 611 or the “horizontal” radio button 612 is selected, the end of the rectangular range 616 is clicked and dragged to pull down the pull-down menu 6
The rectangular range 61 while maintaining the aspect ratio selected in 10.
The size of 6 can be changed.

The “free” radio button 613 is a button clicked when setting the composition range within the image displayed in the image area 615 with a free aspect ratio. The comment field 614 is a field for entering a comment regarding composition advice. When the advisor finishes the work on this page and clicks the "OK" button 617, the work performed on this page is reflected and the page transitions to the page shown in FIG. Also, if the advisor clicks on the "Return" button 618, the work done on this page will not be reflected and
The page transitions to page 9.

"Exposure compensation" button 604 in FIG.
Is a button that the advisor clicks when he wants to advise on exposure compensation. By clicking the "exposure correction" button 604, the user jumps to the page shown in FIG. 41 which gives advice on exposure correction.
FIG. 41 is an example of a page for the advisor to give advice work regarding exposure compensation. An advice operation for exposure correction will be described with reference to FIG. An image to be advised is displayed in the image area 622 in the page shown in FIG. 41. The “+” button 619 and the “−” button 620 are buttons for adjusting the brightness of the image displayed in the image area 622. "+" Button 619
When is clicked, the brightness of the image displayed in the image area 622 is increased. Clicking the "-" button 620 darkens the image displayed in the image area 622. In the comment field 621, a comment regarding the exposure correction advice can be entered. When the advisor finishes working on this page and clicks the "OK" button 623,
The work performed on this page is reflected and the page transitions to the page shown in FIG. In addition, the advisor clicks the "Return" button 62.
When 4 is clicked, the operation performed on this page is not reflected and the page transitions to the page shown in FIG. 39.

"Auxiliary light" button 605 in FIG.
Is the button that the advisor clicks when he wants to advise on fill light. By clicking on the "auxiliary light" button 605, a jump is made to the page shown in FIG. FIG. 42
Is an example of a page for an advisor to do advice work on fill light. An image to be advised is displayed in the image area 630 of the page shown in FIG. The “area selection” button 625 is a button that is clicked when selecting a range for illuminating the auxiliary light. When the “area selection” button 625 is clicked, the range in which the auxiliary light is illuminated in the image area 630 can be selected as the selection area 629. When the “+” button 626 is clicked, image processing for brightening the inside of the selection area 629 is performed. When the “-” button 627 is clicked, image processing is performed to darken the inside of the selection area 629. Comments regarding fill light advice can be entered in the comment field 628. After the advisor has finished working on this page, the "OK" button 6
When 31 is clicked, the work performed on this page is reflected and the page transitions to the page shown in FIG. 39. Further, when the advisor clicks on the “Return” button 632, the work performed on this page is not reflected and the page shifts to the page shown in FIG. 39.

"Color correction" button 606 in FIG.
Is a button that the advisor clicks when he wants to advise on color correction. By clicking on the "color correction" button 606, a jump is made to the page shown in FIG. 43 which gives advice on color correction.
FIG. 43 is an example of a page for the advisor to give advice work regarding color correction. An image to be advised is displayed in the image area 636 on the page shown in FIG. 43. The pull-down menu 633 is for selecting the name of the optical filter attached to the taking lens of the camera. When the filter name is selected by clicking on the right side of the pull-down menu 633, the effect of mounting the selected filter on the image displayed in the image area 636 is reflected in the image processing. Pull-down menu 63
Reference numeral 4 is for selecting the white balance items that can be set in the camera, such as sunlight, fluorescent lamps, and lamps. When the white balance is selected by clicking on the right side of the pull-down menu 634, the effect of setting the selected white balance on the image displayed in the image area 636 is reflected in the image processing. Comment field 635
You can enter comments about advice such as filters or white balance. When the advisor finishes the work on this page and clicks the “OK” button 637, the work performed on this page is reflected and the page changes to the page shown in FIG. 39. Further, when the advisor clicks on the “Return” button 638, the work performed on this page is not reflected and the page shifts to the page shown in FIG. 39.

"Free" button 607 in FIG.
Is the button that the advisor clicks when he wants to give free advice. "Free" button 607
Click to jump to the page shown in FIG. FIG. 44 is an example of a page for the advisor to freely perform various advice work. On the page shown in FIG. 44, various advice work can be performed using the pull-down menu 640 and the “+” button 641 and the “−” button 642. The pull-down menu 640 is for selecting an item for which advice work is to be performed, and includes items such as color balance red and color balance blue in addition to the advice items such as exposure compensation and auxiliary light described above. Therefore, finer advice work can be performed on the page shown in FIG. The "area selection" button 639 has the same function as the "area selection" button 625 in FIG.
In the comment column 643, a comment regarding all advice can be entered. When the advisor finishes working on this page and clicks the "OK" button 645,
The work performed on this page is reflected and the page transitions to the page shown in FIG. In addition, the advisor returns the "Return" button 64
When 6 is clicked, the work performed on this page is not reflected and the page transitions to the page shown in FIG. 39.

[Display various information] button 60 in FIG.
8 is information related to the uploaded image data,
This button is clicked when you want to see user information.
When the "display various information" button 608 is clicked, the page shown in FIG. 45 is received. FIG. 45 is a diagram showing an example of a page for confirming various information such as information related to uploaded image data and user information. Here, by looking at the various information displayed in the information display area 647, the photographed data, the camera used, the accessory, etc. can be known, and the advisor can give accurate advice. By clicking on the "Return" button 648, it is possible to return to the page shown in FIG.

The "display advice" button 609 in FIG. 39 is a button clicked when confirming the result of the advice work. "Advice" button 60
When 9 is clicked, the page shown in FIG. 46 is received. FIG. 46 is a diagram showing an example of a page where the advisor finally confirms the advice result. The page shown in FIG. 46 is an example of a page showing the advice result, and is almost the same as the page browsed by the advice requester. Lines 650 and 652 in the page shown in FIG. 46 indicate locations of advice and the like, and are for making the advice easy to understand. Comments entered by the advisor are displayed in the comment fields 651 and 653.

In the example page shown in FIG. 46, line 650.
Indicates an appropriate composition area designated by the advisor. Line 652 indicates the area designated to illuminate the fill light.
Further, in the page example shown in FIG. 46, in the comment field 651, the comment entered by the advisor regarding the composition is displayed in association with the line 650 indicating the proper composition area. In the comment column 653, the comment written by the advisor regarding the fill light is displayed in association with the line 652. In this way, the server-side computer 2 automatically lays out comments and lines by the advisor so that the advice can be easily understood.

The "enlarged display" button 656 is used for the image area 6
This button is clicked when enlarging the image displayed in 49. Also. The “reduce display” button 657 is a button clicked when reducing the image displayed in the image area 949. The advisor confirms the advice result on the page shown in FIG. 46 and then sends the “send” button 654.
Click to upload the advice information to the server computer 2. The advisor can return to the page of FIG. 39 by clicking the “Return” button 655 and can continue the advice work.

FIG. 47 shows a page browsed by the advice requester. FIG. 47 is a diagram showing an example of a page on which the advice requester browses the advice result. Figure 4
7 is a "send" button 654 on the page shown in FIG.
Instead of the “Return” button 655, a “Download” button 659 and a “Save image” button 658 are arranged. The “download” button 659 is clicked when the advisor downloads the image data image-processed by the advice work into the user-side personal computer 1. The “image save” button 658 is clicked when the advisor saves the image data image-processed by the advice work in the user's area of the server computer 2. In addition, a radio button 66 is provided near each of the “image save” button 658 and the “download” button 659.
0 and 661 are provided. Radio buttons 660,6
Reference numeral 61 is for selecting whether to save or download the overlay advice information together with the image data. When the advice requester checks the radio button 660 and clicks the "download" button 659, only the image data optimized by the advisor is downloaded. When the advice requester checks the radio button 661 and clicks the “download” button 659, the data for displaying the advice information overlaid on the image data is downloaded.

As described above, in the fourth embodiment, the line indicating the optimum composition area and the part to be processed in the image are displayed as an overlay. You can understand the advice more accurately. Since the layout of such an advice page is automatically created, the advisor can give advice with a minimum load.

Further, the advice requester can easily know the completion of the advice by notifying the completion of the advice by using e-mail or the like. (Embodiment 5) Embodiment 5 is an embodiment in which an advice service is received by directly communicating with a digital camera having a communication function instead of a personal computer installed at home or the like.

It may be a digital camera having a built-in communication function, or a digital camera connected to a communication terminal (mobile phone) or the like. FIG. 48 is a diagram for explaining the system configuration of the fifth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 48, it is composed of a digital camera 5, a server-side computer 2, and the Internet 3 that connects them in a communicable manner.

The advice services according to the first to fourth embodiments receive advice by uploading image data taken by a digital camera or the like to the server-side computer 2 using a terminal such as a personal computer. However, for example, even if the user receives advice about image data taken at a travel destination and understands the shooting method, there is a possibility that there is no chance to shoot at the same place.
Further, even if the images can be taken at the same place, if the season, time, and weather are different, it may not be possible to obtain the optimum image even if the advised shooting method is executed.

The advice service according to the fifth embodiment is controlled between the digital camera 5 and the server-side computer 2 so that advice can be obtained when the digital camera 5 is currently shooting. The outline of the advice service according to the fifth embodiment will be described below.

First, the user who wants to receive advice sets the digital camera 5 in the advice mode and performs preliminary shooting before the main shooting. The digital camera automatically transfers the image data obtained by the preliminary shooting to the server computer 2. The server-side computer 2 performs advice control based on the image data and various information. The digital camera 5 receives the advice result from the server-side computer 2 and changes the camera setting according to the advice result.
The user can obtain optimum image data by performing actual shooting with camera settings according to the advice result.

Further, it is possible to receive advice based on the image data already taken and various information instead of preliminarily shooting before the main shooting. At this time, the image data captured immediately before is selected as the default. Here, the image data is not always stored in the memory built in or inserted in the camera. For example, when transferring photographed image data to another storage location, the transfer destination image can be selected.

The control performed by the digital camera 5 and the server-side computer 2 will be described below with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 49 and 50. FIG. 49 is a flowchart showing the control performed in the digital camera 5.
This flow starts when the advice button provided on the digital camera 5 is operated.

In step S2001, the digital camera 5 tries to connect to the server computer 2. In step S2002, it is detected whether or not the server-side computer 2 is connected. If connected, step S2005
If no connection is made, the process proceeds to step S2003. In step S2003, it is detected whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the connection process was started. When the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S2004, and when the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S2002. In step S2004, since the connection with the server-side computer 2 has failed, the fact that the connection with the server-side computer 2 is impossible is displayed on the camera monitor. Step S20
In 05, the connection with the server-side computer 2 is successful, so that the control is performed based on the signal transmitted from the server-side computer 2. The control performed by the server computer 2 will be described later with reference to FIG.

In step S2006, the reception of the advice result is completed, and it is detected whether or not the connection with the server-side computer 2 is disconnected. Here, when the digital camera 5 receives the advice result, it automatically disconnects from the server-side computer 2. If the connection with the server-side computer 2 is lost, the process advances to step S2007 to perform advice control. The advice control in step S2007 will be described later with reference to FIG. Also,
If the connection with the server-side computer is not broken, the control led by the server-side computer 2 is continued in step S2005.

FIG. 50 is a flow chart showing the control performed in the server computer 2. This flow starts when the digital camera 5 is connected. In step S2101, it is detected whether the connected camera is in the shooting mode. If it is the shooting mode, the process proceeds to step S2102, and if it is not the shooting mode, the process proceeds to step S2105. If it is in the shooting mode, it is determined that the user wants shooting advice for the subject image to be shot. If it is not in the shooting mode, it is determined that the user wants shooting advice for image data that has already been shot. In step S2102, the data "Please press the shutter button" is transmitted so that the superimposed display can be performed on the viewfinder display of the camera monitor. FIG. 51 shows a display example displayed on the camera monitor. Superimpose "please press the shutter button" and also superimpose to indicate that the shooting is for advice.
In step S2103, it is detected whether the shutter button has been operated and photographing has been executed. If shooting is performed, the process proceeds to step S2104, and if shooting is not performed, step S2103 is repeated. Step S2104
Then, an instruction is given to transfer the captured image data and the shooting setting data. The resolution and size of the image data to be transferred need only be such that image analysis for advice can be performed, so the image data of the resolution and size set by the camera or the highest resolution and size that can be set by the digital camera 5 should be used. It will not be transferred. For example, in consideration of shortening the transfer time, the image data of medium resolution and size is transferred. The resolution and size of the image data to be transferred may be selectable according to the communication speed with the server computer 2. The image data taken here is taken for advice, but is stored in the memory in the camera. The resolution, size, etc. of the image data stored in the memory should be as set. This is because the image data taken here may be the only photo opportunity.

Further, in step S2105, data is transmitted to the camera so that "Please select an image" can be displayed on the camera monitor. FIG. 52 shows a display example displayed on the camera monitor for selecting an image. As described above, the image data taken immediately before is selected. In step S2106, it is detected whether image data has been selected. When the selection is made, the process proceeds to step S2107, and when the selection is not made, step S2106 is repeated. Step S2107
Then, an instruction is given to transfer the image data and the shooting setting information stored in the memory of the camera. Step S
At 2108, it is detected whether the data reception is completed. When it is completed, the process proceeds to step S2109, and when it is not completed, step S2108 is repeated. In step S2109, shooting advice processing is executed.
In step S2110, the result is transmitted.

The characters superimposed on the viewfinder display displayed on the monitor of the digital camera 5 are not downloaded from the server computer 2 each time, but are stored in the memory of the camera and the data are displayed. May be instructed to. Next, how the digital camera 5 executes the advice control using the advice result received from the server computer 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 53 is a flowchart showing the advice control.

In step S2201, the selection menu screen shown in FIG. 54 is displayed on the camera monitor. FIG. 54 shows
It is a figure which shows an example of the selection menu screen displayed on a camera monitor. When “automatic setting” in FIG. 54 is selected, the camera setting of the digital camera 5 is automatically changed according to the advice result. Further, when “display advice” is selected, the camera setting method in the digital camera 5 according to the advice result is displayed on the camera monitor. Therefore, if the user selects "automatic setting", the next shooting can be instantaneously performed with the optimum setting, and if "display advice" is selected, the user can learn the setting method.

Next, in step S2202, it is detected whether or not the automatic setting is selected. When the selection is detected, the process proceeds to step S2203, and when it is not selected, the process proceeds to step S2204. Step S2203
Then, the camera setting is automatically changed according to the advice result received from the server computer 2. If the camera itself cannot automatically change the setting and the user needs to perform a manual setting operation, the setting procedure is displayed on the monitor. In step S2204, it is detected whether the advice display is selected. When the selection is detected, the process proceeds to step S2205, and when it is not selected, the process returns to step S2202. Step S2205
Then, the advice as shown in FIG. 55 is displayed on the camera monitor. FIG. 55 is a diagram showing an example of the advice screen displayed on the camera monitor. The advice display shown in FIG. 55 advises how to operate the digital camera 5 to set the camera so that optimum image data can be obtained.

As described above, in the fifth embodiment, the advice service can be realized between the digital camera 5 and the server computer 2. In the fifth embodiment, since the advice is received by the digital camera 5, only the shooting advice is explained. However, the image editing advice may be given. Further, the failure diagnosis may be performed as in the first embodiment. In that case, if the failure is caused by a software defect, the software in the camera may be automatically rewritten.

As in the advice service of the fifth embodiment, it is extremely effective to perform the shooting advice processing by the server computer 2 in order to reduce the processing load in the digital camera 5. Also, the server computer 2 is
Since it has a large-capacity memory for storing user data, it is possible to give appropriate advice.

Also, in the fifth embodiment, the Internet 3
Although an example has been described in which the advice service is provided between the digital camera 5 and the server-side computer 2 via the, the shooting advice program may be stored in the camera so that the camera itself can provide shooting advice. . (Sixth Embodiment) In the fifth embodiment, the preliminary shooting is performed before the main shooting, and the image data at the preliminary shooting is transmitted to the server computer 2 only for the advice service to obtain the advice.

In the sixth embodiment, the advice service is provided as a part of the image data storage service for transferring the image data to the server computer 2 after the image capturing and storing it in the image data area 214 of the memory 201 in the server computer 2. To do. Therefore, the user can receive the advice service and the failure diagnosis service only by the normal shooting operation and image upload.

The control performed in the sixth embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
6, the flow chart of FIG. 57 will be described. Figure 5
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the control performed in the digital camera 5. This flow starts when a shooting operation is performed by the digital camera 5.

In step S3001, connection with the server computer 2 is established. In step S3002, the captured image data is transmitted to the server computer 2. In step S3003, it is detected whether or not the data of the advice information or the failure diagnosis information is received. If received, the process proceeds to step S3004, and if not received, reception detection is repeated. In step S3004,
The shooting settings of the digital camera 5 are automatically changed according to the advice information received. When the failure diagnosis information is received, the failure is displayed on the monitor. If the cause of the failure is software, the latest software is downloaded and updated.

FIG. 57 is a flow chart showing the control performed by the server computer 2. This flow starts when the digital camera 5 is connected and image data reception is started. In step S3101, image data is received from the digital camera 5. In step S3102, it is detected whether the reception of the image data is completed. If completed, step S3103
If not completed, the reception is continued in step S3101. In step S3103, the memory 20
The image data is stored in the storage area of the transmitted user in the 1-internal image data area 214. In step S3104, the received image data is subjected to image analysis. Step S3105
Then, the advice control and the failure diagnosis control are executed. Since the image analysis, the advice control, and the failure diagnosis control are the same as those in the first embodiment, detailed description will be omitted here. In step S3106, the advice information and the failure diagnosis information are transmitted to the digital camera 5.

In the sixth embodiment, the digital camera 5
Although the example in which the image data is transferred to the server-side computer 2 immediately after the shooting in the above is described, the image data may be transferred at any timing. Further, an advice service is provided as a part of the image data storage service in the system in which the captured image data is transferred to the server side computer 2 by the personal computer as in the first embodiment, not the system in which the digital camera 5 directly transfers to the server side computer 2. You can also do it.

Although various embodiments have been described above, these advice services may be provided as paid services for collecting an advice fee from the user. Since the billing system in the case where the advice service is charged is possible by using the conventional technique, description thereof will be omitted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a system configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a component configuration in the server computer 2.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a page for logging in an advice service to a user.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control performed by the server-side personal computer 2 by logging in.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a page when a user logs in to an advice service.

FIG. 6 shows a memory 20 in the server computer 2
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a page for selecting image data owned by a logged-in user, which is stored in one image data area 214.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a page for selecting image data stored in a memory in the user's personal computer 1 or a peripheral device memory connected to the user's personal computer 1.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a page for prompting a user to input information regarding image data.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a page for allowing a user to select a region of a main subject in an image.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an advice process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an advice process.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a page displaying an image optimized by performing image analysis by performing image analysis on the basis of information acquired by the image data selected by the user.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a page for allowing a user to further operate an image subjected to image processing by the server-side computer 2 to obtain a desired image.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a page for allowing a user to further operate an image subjected to image processing by the server-side computer 2 to make it a favorite image.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the processing executed in step S211.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of an advice page.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of an advice page.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of an advice page.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of an advice page proposing an alternative means.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a process executed in step S212 of FIG.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of an image editing advice page.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing control for performing failure diagnosis.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a page stating that accurate advice cannot be given.

FIG. 24 is a flow chart diagram for explaining the control performed in step S504 of FIG. 22.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of a page stating that the camera that has captured the image data may be out of order.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of a page describing repair costs.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of a page explaining a repair receipt number and a method for receiving repairs.

FIG. 28 is a flow chart diagram for explaining the control performed in step S505 of FIG.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example of a page stating that the camera that captured the image data may be out of order.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of a page describing rules and methods for downloading update software.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of a page when logging in to an advice service.

FIG. 32 is a diagram for explaining the system configuration of the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a diagram in which a part of the bulletin board page is extracted.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of a page used when an advice requester uploads image data and other information to a bulletin board.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an example of a page for an advisor to give advice work.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing a page for an advisor to confirm before posting on the bulletin board.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart showing a process regarding provision of advice according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 38 is a flowchart showing control executed by the advice service according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 39 is an example of a page for an advisor to perform advice work.

[FIG. 40] FIG. 40 is an example of a page for an advisor to perform advice work regarding composition.

FIG. 41 is an example of a page for an advisor to perform an advice work related to exposure correction.

[FIG. 42] FIG. 42 is an example of a page for an advisor to perform an advice operation regarding fill light.

FIG. 43 is an example of a page for an advisor to give advice work regarding color correction.

FIG. 44 is an example of a page for an advisor to freely perform various advice tasks.

FIG. 45 is a diagram showing an example of a page for confirming various information such as information related to uploaded image data and user information.

FIG. 46 is a diagram showing an example of a page in which the advisor finally confirms the advice result.

FIG. 47 is a diagram showing an example of a page on which an advice requester browses advice results.

FIG. 48 is a diagram for explaining the system configuration of the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 49 is a flowchart showing control performed in the digital camera 5.

FIG. 50 is a flowchart showing control performed in the server computer 2.

FIG. 51 is a diagram showing a display example displayed on the camera monitor.

FIG. 52 is a diagram showing a display example displayed on the camera monitor for selecting an image.

FIG. 53 is a flowchart showing advice control.

FIG. 54 is a diagram showing an example of a selection menu screen displayed on the camera monitor.

FIG. 55 is a diagram showing an example of an advice screen displayed on the camera monitor.

FIG. 56 is a flowchart showing control performed in the digital camera 5.

FIG. 57 is a flowchart showing control performed by the server computer 2.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... User side personal computer 2 ... Server computer 3 ... Internet 4 ... Advisor side PC 5 ... Digital camera

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Mitsuhashi             Tokyo Stock Exchange 1-325, Futaba 1-32             Company Nikon technical workshop (72) Inventor Akira Omura             Tokyo Stock Exchange 1-325, Futaba 1-32             Company Nikon technical workshop F term (reference) 5B050 AA08 BA20 CA05 DA10 EA19                       EA20 FA02 FA09 FA14 FA19

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A first receiving means for receiving image data photographed by a user from a user terminal, a second receiving means for receiving advice information for the image data from an advisor terminal, and confirmation that the advice information has been received. And an advice system for notifying the user that the advice has been completed when the confirmation means confirms that the advice information has been received. 2. The advice system according to claim 1, wherein the advice information is information that advises a shooting method by a camera. 3. The advice system according to claim 1, wherein the advice information is information that advises an image editing method using image editing software. 4. A first receiving means for receiving image data taken by the user from a user terminal, a second receiving means for receiving advice information for the image data from an advisor terminal, and managing point information owned by the user and the advisor. An advice system, wherein the management means moves the points of consideration for receiving the advice information from the user-owned points to the advisor. 5. The advice system according to claim 4, wherein an advisor designates points of consideration for receiving the advice information. 6. The advice system according to claim 4, wherein the image data received from the user terminal and the advice information received from the advisor terminal are provided as an electronic bulletin board in association with each other and displayed. . 7. The advice system according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the advice system is communicably connected to the user terminal and the advisor terminal via a network. 8. In an advice system in which an advisor advises image data from a user, a specified point providing means for allowing the advisor to specify a target point for advice in image data, and an advisor comment for the target point to the advisor. It has an advice input means for inputting, and an arranging means for arranging with respect to image data by associating the target location designated by the designated location providing means with the advice comment input by the advice input means. Advising system to. 9. The advice system according to claim 8, wherein the arranging unit indicates the range of the target location with a line. 10. The advice system according to claim 9, wherein the arranging unit arranges the range of the target location so as to overlap the image data. 11. The advice system according to claim 8, further comprising download means for downloading the image data including the advice information arranged by the arrangement means. 12. The image data photographed by the user is received from the user terminal, the advice information for the image data is received from the advisor terminal, the advice information is confirmed to be received, and the advice information is received. An advice providing method characterized by notifying the user that the advice has been completed upon confirmation. 13. An image data captured by a user is received from a user terminal, advice information for the image data is received from an advisor terminal, point information held by the user and the advisor is managed, and advice information is received from the user-held points. A method of providing advice, which is characterized by moving points of consideration to an advisor. 14. In an advice system in which an advisor advises image data from a user, the advisor is allowed to specify a target portion of the advice in the image data, and an advisor comment for the target portion is input to the advisor, and the advise is designated. An advice method characterized by arranging the target location and the input advice comment in association with each other for image data.