JP2007116610A - Photographing device and photographing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photographing device and a photographing method which easily confirm whether an object is in a state of matching a user preference when photographing is performed so as to take a photograph. <P>SOLUTION: The photographing device has: a photographing means (12) for photographing an object and generating an image; a storage means (18) for storing the image photographed by the photographing means; a preview means (14, 15) which acquires a preview image for confirming the object and displays it on a display when photographing is performed by the photographing means, a face image extraction means (16, 17) for extracting the face parts of human beings existing in a frame photographed by the photographing means, and a face image display means (20, 14, 15) which displays at least one face image extracted by the face image extraction means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus and a photographing method capable of easily confirming whether or not a subject is in a user's favorite state during photographing.

In a conventional photographing apparatus, a frame image to be photographed is displayed on a liquid crystal screen. However, since the display area of the liquid crystal screen is small, it may be difficult to confirm the state of the face of the subject with the reduced image.
For this reason, it is not until the captured image is reproduced that the quality of the face of the subject is known, and there are many cases where the film and the photographing time are wasted, such as performing another photographing.

In order to solve such a problem, a technique for always taking a photograph of an eye-opened state by detecting that the subject is in the eye-opened state and allowing the shutter of the photographing device to be driven when taking a human photograph. Is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-8-251475

  However, although the method described in Patent Document 1 can prevent the subject from being photographed with the eyes closed, it is not always the case that the user wants to photograph that the subject is in the open eyes state.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a photographing apparatus and a photographing method capable of easily confirming whether or not a subject is in a user's favorite state at the time of photographing. For the purpose.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the imaging apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is an imaging apparatus that captures and stores a still image of a subject, and an imaging unit that captures the subject and generates an image. A storage means for storing an image photographed by the photographing means; a preview means for obtaining a preview image for confirming a subject when photographing by the photographing means; and a photographing means for photographing by the photographing means. Face image extraction means for extracting a human face portion existing in the frame, and face image display means for displaying at least one face image extracted by the face image extraction means on the display.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the photographing apparatus according to the second aspect, further comprising an operation member installed or attached to the photographing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention. Based on this, the face image extraction means extracts a human face portion from the frame, and the face image display means displays the extracted face image on the display for a second operation of the operation member. Based on this, the subject is photographed by the photographing means, and the photographed image is stored in the storage means.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the photographing apparatus according to the third aspect, wherein the face image display means, when the face image extraction means extracts a plurality of face images, A plurality of face images are displayed side by side on the display.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the photographing apparatus according to the above-described invention, a temperature image photographing unit that photographs a subject and generates a temperature image of the subject, and the temperature image photographing unit And a face candidate extraction unit that extracts at least one image that is a candidate for a human face part based on the temperature image, and the face image extraction unit is a candidate extracted by the face candidate extraction unit. Whether or not the image is a face is determined based on the characteristics of the image. If the image is determined to be a face, the candidate image is extracted as a face image.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographing method of a photographing apparatus for photographing and storing a still image of a subject, a photographing step for photographing the subject and generating an image, and the photographing step. A storage step for storing an image captured in step (a), a preview step for acquiring a preview image for confirming a subject when shooting is performed in the shooting step, and a display step for displaying the image on the display. A face image extracting step for extracting a human face portion, and a face image displaying step for displaying at least one face image extracted in the face image extracting step on the display.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographing method according to the sixth aspect, further comprising: an operation member installed or attached to the photographing apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention. Based on the above, the face image extraction step extracts a human face portion from the frame, and the face image display step displays the extracted face image on the display for a second operation of the operation member. Based on this, the photographing step photographs a subject, and the storage step stores the photographed image.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the photographing method according to the seventh aspect, wherein the face image display step includes a case where a plurality of face images are extracted in the face image extraction step. The plurality of face images are displayed side by side on the display.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the photographing method according to the above-described invention, a temperature image photographing step of photographing a subject to generate a temperature image of the subject, and photographing at the temperature image photographing step. And a face candidate extraction step for extracting at least one image that is a candidate for a human face part based on the temperature image, and the face image extraction step is a candidate extracted in the face candidate extraction step. Whether or not the image is a face is determined based on the characteristics of the image. If the image is determined to be a face, the candidate image is extracted as a face image.

  According to the present invention, since the state of the subject can be easily confirmed, the user can photograph the subject in a favorite state.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a photographing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
(1) of FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the photographing apparatus 1 viewed from the back. Two people side by side are displayed on the monitor screen 2 of the photographing apparatus 1.
Normally, the entire reduced image is displayed on the monitor screen 2 from the viewpoint of emphasizing the entire composition. Therefore, in this state, it is generally difficult to grasp a detailed facial expression of a person.

When the user presses the shutter 3 halfway, for example, a focusing operation is performed on a person. At this time, if the user holds the shutter 3 half-pressed for a predetermined time or longer, as shown in FIG. 1 (2), the monitor screen 2 displays a list of images obtained by extracting only the face area of the person.
This face image is displayed as a through image. Therefore, the user can check the facial expression of the person in real time. Note that when there are three or more persons, face images are arranged and displayed on the monitor screen 2 by the number of the persons.

The user can check the face image displayed in an enlarged manner, and take a picture by fully pressing the shutter at a desired timing.
In this way, when photographing a plurality of persons, each face can be confirmed and the shutter can be released, so that it is possible to perform photographing while confirming that the subject is in the user's preferred state. .

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the photographing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The configuration and operation of the photographing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

  The lens unit 11 guides the subject light image into the photographing apparatus. The imaging unit 12 converts the subject light image to generate image data. The image temporary storage memory 13 is a buffer memory that temporarily stores image data. The image processing unit 14 performs image processing on the image data.

  The display unit 15 displays a thumbnail image of the processed image. The face image detection unit 16 detects a human face in the image data. The region cutout unit 17 extracts a region including a human face in the image data. The recording medium 18 stores a captured image that has been subjected to image processing. The control shutter unit 19 detects a half-pressed state and a fully-pressed state of the shutter 3. The control unit 20 controls the overall photographing apparatus.

When a signal indicating the half-pressed state is sent from the shutter control unit 19 to the control unit 20, the control unit 20 transfers image data from the imaging unit 12 to the image processing unit 14 via the image temporary storage memory 13. To do.
A thumbnail image of the image processed by the image processing unit 14 is displayed on the display unit 15. When the half-pressed state of the user continues for a certain time or more, the face image detection unit 16 and the region cutout unit 17 extract a region including a face from the processed image and generate a face image. The image processing unit 14 displays a list of face images on the display unit 15.
When a signal indicating that the shutter button is fully pressed is sent from the shutter control unit 19 to the control unit 20, the control unit 20 handles the image data transferred to the temporary image storage memory 13 as a main image, and performs image processing. After recording, the data is recorded on the recording medium 18.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the photographing operation of the photographing apparatus according to the first embodiment. This photographing operation is executed by the control unit 20 controlling each part of the photographing apparatus.

  When the photographing apparatus is turned on, a through image is displayed on the display unit 15 in step S01. When detecting that the shutter 3 is half-pressed in step S02, the control unit 20 activates a timer for monitoring the half-press time in step S03, and controls the autofocus operation in step S04.

  In step S05, the control unit 20 monitors whether or not the timer for monitoring the half-press time has passed a predetermined time. When the predetermined time has elapsed, in step S06, the face image detection unit 16 is controlled to detect a face image, and in step S07, the region cutout unit 17 is controlled to cut out the detected region. In step S08, the cut-out images are displayed on the display unit 15 as a list.

  The user monitors the displayed face image and fully presses the shutter 3 at a desired timing. When detecting that the shutter 3 is fully pressed in step S10, the control unit 20 acquires an image captured by controlling exposure in step S11. In step S12, the control unit 20 performs image processing on the acquired main image and performs recording. 18 to save.

[Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, in addition to photographing using visible light, a thermographic image is photographed using infrared light. And the point which cuts out a face image using the thermography image differs from 1st Embodiment.
Accordingly, the same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging apparatus according to the second embodiment.
The imaging apparatus 1 is newly provided with a spectroscope 21, a visible light imaging device 22, a visible light image temporary storage memory 23, a reflector 25, an infrared imaging device 26, and an infrared light image temporary storage memory 27.

The spectroscope 21 transmits visible light and reflects infrared light. The visible light imaging device 22 converts the subject light image by visible light to generate image data. The visible light image temporary storage memory 23 is a buffer memory that temporarily stores image data based on visible light.
The reflection plate 25 reflects infrared light. The infrared imaging device 26 generates image data by converting a subject light image by infrared rays. The infrared light image temporary storage memory 27 is a buffer memory that temporarily stores image data based on infrared light.

Light incident from the lens unit 11 is split into visible light and infrared light by the spectroscope 21. A subject light image based on visible light is guided to the visible light imaging device 22, and a subject light image based on infrared light is guided to the infrared light imaging device 26 via the reflector 25.
When a signal indicating the half-pressed state is sent from the shutter control unit 19 to the control unit 20, the control unit 20 sends the visible light imaging device 22 to the image processing unit 14 via the visible light image temporary storage memory 23. Transfer image data.

When the half-pressed state of the user continues for a certain time or longer, the image processing unit 14 requests the region cutout unit 17 to cut out the face image. When infrared light image data is present in the infrared light image temporary storage memory 27, the image data is transferred to the area cutout unit 17. Then, the face image detection unit 16 and the region cutout unit 17 extract a region including a face from the processed image and the infrared light image data, and generate a face image.
Since operations other than those described above are the same as those in the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for extracting a face image using a thermographic image. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of extracting a face image using a thermographic image. This operation is executed by the control unit 20 controlling the face image detection unit 16 and the region cutout unit 17. The operation will be described below with reference to FIGS.

In steps S21 and S22 in FIG. 5, a thermographic image is read, and a temperature region close to the body temperature of the person is extracted from the thermographic image.
In FIG. 6B, a plurality of temperature regions (feature extraction regions) close to the body temperature of the person extracted from the thermographic image are displayed.

In steps S23 and S24 in FIG. 5, an image of an area corresponding to the feature extraction area is extracted from the processed image. Then, the extracted image including the face image is extracted. Whether or not a face image is included can be determined using a known face recognition technique such as pattern matching or feature extraction technique.
In (3) of FIG. 6, the extracted face image is displayed.

  In steps S25 and S26 of FIG. 5, an image of a predetermined region including the extracted face image is cut out, and a composite image is generated to display the cut out face image as a list.

  According to this embodiment, since the temperature region close to the body temperature of the person is extracted from the thermographic image in advance, the recognition rate can be increased in the application of the face recognition technology, and further, the recognition processing is made more efficient. Time can be shortened.

In each of the above-described embodiments, a list of face images is displayed by half-pressing the shutter. However, when a shooting mode for displaying face images is provided and the shooting mode is selected, the above-described operation is performed. You may make it do.
An operation member for displaying a face image may be provided separately from the shutter, and the face image may be displayed by operating the member.
Further, the operation member for displaying the face image is not limited to the one provided in the photographing apparatus in advance like the shutter, and may be equipped when necessary.

  Each function described in the above embodiment may be configured using hardware, or may be realized by reading a program describing each function into a computer using software. Each function may be configured by appropriately selecting either software or hardware.

  Furthermore, each function can be realized by causing a computer to read a program stored in a recording medium (not shown). Here, as long as the recording medium in the present embodiment can record a program and can be read by a computer, the recording format may be any form.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine suitably the component covering different embodiment.

4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating a photographing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a photographing apparatus according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a photographing operation of the photographing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the imaging device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the procedure which extracts a face image using a thermography image. The figure explaining the operation | movement which extracts a face image using a thermography image.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Imaging device, 2 ... Monitor screen, 3 ... Shutter, 12 ... Imaging part, 13 ... Reduced image, 14 ... Image processing part, 16 ... Face image detection part, 17 ... Area extraction part, 19 ... Shutter control part, 20 ... Control unit, 22 ... Visible light imaging device, 26 ... Infrared imaging device.

Claims (8)

A photographing device for photographing and storing a still image of a subject,
Photographing means for photographing an object and generating an image;
Storage means for storing an image photographed by the photographing means;
A preview means for obtaining a preview image for confirming a subject and displaying it on a display when photographing with the photographing means;
A face image extracting means for extracting a human face portion present in a frame photographed by the photographing means;
Face image display means for displaying at least one face image extracted by the face image extraction means on the display;
A photographing apparatus comprising: It further has an operation member installed or attached to the photographing apparatus,
Based on the first operation of the operation member, the face image extraction means extracts a human face portion from the frame,
The face image display means displays the extracted face image on the display,
Based on a second operation of the operation member, the subject is photographed by the photographing means, and the photographed image is stored in the storage means.
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The face image display means displays the plurality of face images side by side on the display when the face image extraction means extracts a plurality of face images.
The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: Temperature image photographing means for photographing a subject and generating a temperature image of the subject;
Face candidate extraction means for extracting at least one image that is a candidate for a human face part based on the temperature image photographed by the temperature image photographing means;
The face image extracting means determines whether the candidate image extracted by the face candidate extracting means is a face based on the characteristics of the image, and if it is determined to be a face, the candidate image is used as a face image. Extract,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: A photographing method of a photographing apparatus for photographing and storing a still image of a subject,
A shooting step of shooting a subject and generating an image;
A storage step for storing the image captured in the imaging step;
A preview step for acquiring a preview image for confirming the subject and displaying it on the display when shooting in the shooting step;
A face image extraction step of extracting a human face portion present in a frame shot in the shooting step;
A face image display step of displaying at least one face image extracted in the face image extraction step on the display;
A photographing method characterized by comprising: It further has an operation member installed or attached to the photographing apparatus,
Based on the first operation of the operation member, the face image extraction step extracts a human face portion from the frame,
The face image display step displays the extracted face image on the display,
Based on the second operation of the operation member, the photographing step photographs a subject, and the storage step stores the photographed image.
The imaging method according to claim 5, wherein: In the face image display step, when a plurality of face images are extracted in the face image extraction step, the plurality of face images are displayed side by side on the display.
The imaging method according to claim 6. A temperature image capturing step of capturing a subject and generating a temperature image of the subject;
A face candidate extraction step of extracting at least one image that is a candidate for a human face part based on the temperature image captured in the temperature image capturing step;
The face image extraction step determines whether the candidate image extracted in the face candidate extraction step is a face based on the characteristics of the image, and if it is determined to be a face, the candidate image is used as a face image. Extract,
The imaging method according to claim 6.

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