JP2010161577A - Imaging apparatus, control method thereof, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely and quickly photograph an object in an unfixed direction without taking an impossible posture or the like when the optical axis direction of a camera is not horizontal. <P>SOLUTION: When the degree of inclination of the optical axis of the camera with respect to a horizontal direction is a prescribed value or more, a feature amount of a specific object image, such as a face is extracted from a multilateral direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a detection technique for detecting a specific subject image such as a face from an image signal obtained based on an image sensor.

  When a person is photographed with a digital camera, a digital video camera, or the like, it is required to focus on the face of the person as the main subject and shoot with an optimal exposure on the person's face. In response to this request, a camera having a function of detecting a region corresponding to a human face from an image signal has been proposed. In this camera, when an area corresponding to a human face is detected by image processing, the position of the face in the image signal can be calculated, and shooting can be performed with the optimal focus and optimal exposure for the human face. Become.

  In addition, as a method for detecting an area corresponding to a human face from an image, the method of Patent Document 1 below has been proposed. In this Patent Document 1, first, focusing on the skin color, a face candidate region presumed to correspond to a human face is detected from an image signal. Then, it is determined whether or not the face candidate area is an area corresponding to a human face, based on the degree of matching between the detected image signal of the face candidate area and a face template (shape data) prepared in advance.

  However, in the method according to Patent Document 1, since the face direction (tilt direction) in the image signal differs between when the camera is held vertically (vertical position) and when it is held horizontally (horizontal position), face candidates It is necessary to perform the region detection processing a plurality of times while changing the direction.

  In order to solve this problem, the camera posture sensor detects whether the posture is vertical or horizontal, limits the direction of face area detection processing according to the detection result, and speeds up the detection processing Is realized (Patent Document 2). In this patent document 2, as shown in FIG. 12, even when the face orientation in the image signal is different between the vertical orientation and the horizontal orientation, pattern matching at the time of face detection is performed according to the detection result of the camera posture sensor. By limiting the direction, the detection process can be speeded up.

JP-A-8-63597 JP 2005-130468 A

  However, the face detection method according to Patent Document 2 is based on the premise that the optical axis direction of the camera is always in the horizontal direction. For this reason, for example, when photographing a child lying on the floor, the face orientation with respect to the vertical or horizontal orientation of the camera is indefinite as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. ) Cannot be reliably detected, and a face in a desired direction may not be photographed.

  Therefore, in order to photograph a face in a desired direction, the photographer needs to take an unreasonable posture to change his / her orientation so that the face can be detected reliably or to change the way the camera is held. Is inconvenient.

  The present invention has been made under such a technical background, and its purpose is to ensure that a subject in an undefined direction is not forced to take an unnatural posture when the optical axis direction of the camera is not horizontal. In addition, the purpose is to enable quick shooting.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in an imaging apparatus having an imaging device, a storage unit that stores an image signal obtained based on the imaging device and an image signal stored by the storage unit are specified. Extraction means for extracting the subject image, detection means for detecting the inclination of the optical axis of the imaging device with respect to the horizontal direction, and based on at least the inclination of the optical axis detected by the detection means Control means for controlling the extraction means so as to change the extraction form of the subject image.

  In the present invention, the extraction form of a specific subject image such as a face is changed based on the inclination of the optical axis of the imaging device (camera) with respect to the horizontal direction.

  Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably shoot a subject in an indefinite direction when the optical axis direction of the camera is not horizontal. In this case, it is not necessary for the photographer to change his / her orientation so that the desired subject is reliably detected, or to take an uncomfortable posture to change the way the camera is held, and quickly shoots the desired subject. Can improve convenience.

1 is a circuit block diagram of an imaging apparatus (digital camera) according to first and second embodiments of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the imaging process in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows downward inclination-angle (theta) of a digital camera with respect to a horizontal direction. It is a figure which shows the diversity of the direction of a to-be-photographed object when holding a digital camera downward. It is a figure which shows the picked-up image corresponding to FIG. It is a figure which shows the face detection direction in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the imaging process in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the upward inclination angle (theta) of a digital camera with respect to a horizontal direction. It is the figure which illustrated the subject at the time of holding a digital camera upwards. It is a figure which shows the face image corresponding to FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the state of the face which may be image | photographed when holding a digital camera upwards. It is a figure which shows the face detection direction which concerns on the horizontal posture of a camera, and a vertical posture (for problem description). It is a figure which shows the state which held the camera downward (for problem description).

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
The first embodiment is a preferred embodiment when the optical axis of the camera is downward.

  FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of an imaging apparatus (digital camera) according to first and second embodiments of the present invention. The digital camera 100 shown in FIG. 1 has a face detection function and a posture detection function of the digital camera 100.

  In FIG. 1, the overall control of the digital camera 100 is performed by a CPU 101. The CPU 101 is connected to the ROM 102, RAM 103, memory slot 105, operation unit 106, lens driver 108, aperture driver 110, and image sensor 111 via the bus 116. The CPU 101 is connected to the image processing unit 112, the display unit 113, the camera posture sensor 114, and the face detection unit 115.

  The ROM 102 stores various programs such as application programs according to flowcharts shown in FIGS. The ROM 102 also stores a non-face condition filter (to be described later) and various reference pattern signals. The RAM 103 is used as a work area when the CPU 101 executes a program. For example, the RAM 103 is used as a temporary storage area for image signals and as a storage area for high-frequency signals obtained by filter processing described later.

  The memory card 104 is attached to and detached from the memory slot 105, and is used as a storage medium for storing image signals (image data) and the like. The operation unit 106 includes various operation buttons such as a shutter button and a display panel (not shown).

  The optical lens group 107 includes a plurality of optical lenses such as a zoom lens and a focus lens. When the zoom lens and the focus lens are driven by the lens driver 108, each operation of zooming and focusing is performed. The aperture drive of the aperture 109 is performed by the aperture driver 110.

  A subject light image taken into the camera via the optical lens group 107 and the diaphragm 109 is incident on an image sensor 111 constituted by an image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS, and is subjected to photoelectric conversion. The image sensor 111 converts a signal charge obtained by photoelectric conversion into a digital signal and outputs it as a digital image signal (image data).

  The image processing unit 112 performs various correction processes such as gamma correction and various image processes such as compression / decompression processes on the image signal. The display unit 113 displays captured images, various processing menus, and the like. The image signal compressed by the image processing unit 112 can be stored in the memory card 104 via the memory slot 105.

  The camera posture sensor 114 is a sensor for detecting the posture of the digital camera 100. In the first and second embodiments, a gravity sensor is used. The gravity sensor can be configured, for example, by disposing a metal sphere smaller than the space in a space surrounded by a plurality of piezoelectric elements (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-196395). By determining which of the plurality of piezoelectric elements is weighted by the metal sphere, the inclination θ of the camera optical axis with respect to the horizontal direction is detected. The camera attitude sensor 114 detects the horizontal shooting (horizontal posture) and vertical shooting (vertical posture) states shown in FIG. 12, and the inclination θ of the camera optical axis with respect to the horizontal direction shown in FIGS. Detect.

  The face detection unit 115 detects a human face region from the image signal output from the image processing unit 112. The face detection unit 115 performs a filtering process on the image signal, and a matching process between a high-frequency signal (edge information: contour information) obtained by the filtering process and a pre-stored reference pattern signal (contour pattern signal). Detect the area. That is, the face detection unit 115 functions as an extraction unit that extracts a specific subject image from the image signal.

  Further, when detecting a region corresponding to a face, the face detection unit 115 can change the reading direction of the image signal from the RAM 103 and the bandpass filtering direction in the filtering process, as will be described later. In other words, the face detection unit 115 can change the extraction form when extracting a specific subject image from the image signal under the control of the CPU 101.

  Next, imaging processing in the first embodiment will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  When the CPU I01 detects that the shutter button is half-pressed (step S201), the CPU I01 controls the optical lens group 107 and the aperture 109 so as to satisfy the first exposure condition (aperture value, exposure time) and the in-focus position. Then, the first image signal is acquired (step S202). The first exposure condition, the focus position, and the specific area are set in advance by default.

  Next, the CPU 101 determines the second exposure condition and the in-focus position based on the image signal in the specific area of the first image signal (step S203). Then, the CPU 101 controls the optical lens group 107 and the diaphragm 109 so as to satisfy the second exposure condition and the in-focus position, and acquires a second image signal (step S204).

  Note that the CPU 101 temporarily stores the acquired first image signal in the RAM 103, and stores the second image signal in the RAM 103 so as to overwrite the first image signal. As described above, by performing simple exposure control and focus control in advance in steps S201 to S204, the subject image in the image signal can be sharpened and the accuracy of the face detection process can be improved.

  Next, the CPU 101 determines the inclination of the camera optical axis with respect to the horizontal direction when the second image signal is acquired based on the attitude of the digital camera 100 detected by the camera attitude sensor 114 (step S205). Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the downward tilt angle θ (degree of tilt) of the camera optical axis with respect to the horizontal direction is equal to or greater than a specified angle θd (a specified value or greater).

  When the downward tilt angle θ of the camera optical axis is smaller than the specified angle θd, the CPU 101 further sets the camera posture detected by the camera posture sensor 114 as shown in FIG. 12A and in FIG. It is determined whether the position is the vertical position 1 or the vertical position 2 in FIG. 12C (step S206).

  If the CPU 101 determines that the camera is in the horizontal orientation (horizontal shooting), the face detection unit 115 reads the second image signal from the RAM 103 in units of one line in the vertical direction and applies a band-pass filter in the vertical direction. Then, the face detection unit 115 records the high-frequency signal (edge information: contour information) in the vertical direction obtained by this filtering process in the RAM 103 (step S207).

  When the CPU 101 determines that the vertical posture is 1 (vertical shooting 1), the face detection unit 115 reads the second image signal from the RAM 103 in units of one line in the horizontal direction and applies a band-pass filter in the horizontal direction. Then, the face detection unit 115 records the horizontal high-frequency signal (edge information: contour information) obtained by this filtering process in the RAM 103 (step S208).

  When the CPU 101 determines that the portrait is 2 (vertical shooting 2), the face detection unit 115 reads the second image signal from the RAM 103 in units of one line in the horizontal direction and applies a bandpass filter in the horizontal direction. Then, the face detection unit 115 records the high-frequency signal (edge information: contour information) in the horizontal direction obtained by this filtering process in the RAM 103 (step S209).

  Here, the vertical direction and the horizontal direction are directions when a long side of a rectangular image captured by the digital camera 100 is defined as horizontal and a short side is defined as a vertical direction. In the horizontal posture (horizontal shooting), a face image is obtained in the form as shown in FIG. 12A. Therefore, in step S207, filter processing (edge detection processing) along the arrow direction in FIG. In addition, since the image captured in the vertical posture 1 (vertical shooting 1) is as shown in FIG. 12B, in step S208, filter processing (edge detection processing) along the arrow direction in FIG. Since the image shot in the vertical posture 2 (vertical shooting 2) is as shown in FIG. 12C, a filtering process (edge detection process) along the arrow direction in FIG. 12 is performed in step S209.

  In the rectangular image shown in FIG. 12A, a vertically long face image (an ellipse having the longitudinal direction as the major axis in the entire face) is formed. In the rectangular images shown in FIGS. 12B and 12C, a horizontally long face image is formed. (The entire face has an elliptical shape with the horizontal axis as the major axis).

  When edge detection processing is performed on such a face image in a direction parallel to the short side of the rectangular image in the same manner, the edge detection result for the vertically long face image of FIG. The edge detection results for the horizontally long face images of b) and (c) are greatly different. Therefore, in the first embodiment, in order to obtain the same edge detection result in the case of FIG. 12A and the case of FIGS. 12B and 12C, according to the detection result of the camera attitude sensor 114. The direction of edge detection, that is, the extraction form of a specific subject image is changed.

  When the edge detection process in any of steps S207 to S209 is completed, the face detection unit 115 performs a pattern matching process (step S210). In this pattern matching process, the face detection unit 115 compares the high-frequency signal (contour information) recorded in the RAM 103 with the reference pattern signal (eye contour pattern signal) stored in the ROM 102 in advance, so that a human eye candidate can be obtained. Detect groups. At the same time, the face detection unit 115 detects a candidate group of each part of each part of a human characteristic face such as a nose, a mouth, and an ear using a reference contour pattern signal of each part. To do.

  In this case, since the attitude of the digital camera 100 (camera optical axis direction) is known, it is possible to simplify the pattern matching process by performing the face recognition process within the range of candidate groups in the corresponding direction. Become.

  If the CPU 101 determines in step S205 that the downward tilt angle θ of the camera optical axis is greater than or equal to the specified angle θd (more than the specified value), the process proceeds to step S211. In this case, the downward tilt angle θ of the camera optical axis is a certain large value, and the subject exists below as viewed from the photographer. As an example of this photographing, a case where a person lying on the floor is photographed can be considered.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the face of a child or the like is photographed with the optical axis of the digital camera 100 facing downward. When the child in the state of FIG. 4 is photographed, the captured image is in the state shown in FIG. 5, and the digital camera 100 with the camera optical axis facing downward performs edge detection processing in both the face detection direction A and the face detection direction B. Without it, the face cannot be detected reliably.

  Therefore, in step S211, the face detection unit 115 performs three filter processes, that is, the vertical filter process and the two horizontal filter processes performed in steps S207 to S209, respectively, on the second image signal.

  Next, the face detection unit 115 performs matching processing with the corresponding reference pattern signal on the image signals of the face candidate areas detected by the above three filter processes (step S212). In this case, the face detection unit 115 performs a matching process only with a reference pattern signal related to a face size greater than a certain value among a plurality of reference pattern signals corresponding to a plurality of face sizes. By performing the matching process using only the limited reference pattern in this way, the increase in the processing amount due to the increase in the direction of the filter process is reduced to three, and the overall processing speed of the face detection process is reduced. Can be suppressed.

  As described above, by performing the three filter processes and the pattern matching process, the face is properly detected regardless of the face direction of FIGS. 12 (a), 12 (b), and 12 (c). It becomes possible.

  When the pattern matching process is completed, the face detection unit 115 determines whether or not a candidate for human eyes (both eyes) can be detected (step S213), and when the candidate for eyes can be detected. Performs the process of step S214.

  In step S214, the face detection unit 115 narrows down eye candidates by associating paired eye candidates in the detected eye candidate group. Next, the face detection unit 115 selects one of a plurality of non-face condition filters registered in advance in the ROM 102 based on the narrowed eye candidates and other part (nose, mouth, ear) candidates. The second image signal is filtered by the selected non-face condition filter. Note that the non-face condition filter has a function of deleting a candidate related to an unnatural part as a normal human face, for example, a nose is positioned beside the eyes.

  Therefore, the face detection unit 115 recognizes the image signal that has passed through the non-face condition filter as an image signal of “face” including facial parts such as eyes, nose, and mouth, and “eye (both eyes)” on the image signal. ”And“ face ”are calculated and notified to the CPU 101 (step S215).

  The CPU 101 weights the photometry area so that the notified face area is photometrically focused, and sets the area centered on both eyes as the focus adjustment area (step S216).

  On the other hand, if the face candidate cannot be detected by the face detection unit 115, the CPU 101 sets a default photometry area and focus adjustment area (step S217). When the CPU 101 completes the photometric area and focus adjustment area setting processing in step S216 or S217, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the shutter button is fully pressed (step S218). The above processing is repeated.

  On the other hand, if the shutter button is fully pressed, the CPU 101 controls the aperture 109 so that the photometric area related to the setting has an optimum luminance, and the optical lens group is focused in the focus adjustment area related to the setting. 107 is driven to perform main imaging (step S219). In this case, the actual drive control of the aperture 109 and the drive control of the optical lens group 107 are performed by the aperture driver 110 and the lens driver 108 under the control of the CPU 101, respectively. In addition, the CPU 101 causes the image processing unit 112 to perform image processing on the image signal obtained by the actual shooting, compression-encodes the image signal, and writes the image signal into the memory card 104.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, when the downward inclination of the optical axis of the digital camera 100 with respect to the horizontal direction is equal to or greater than a specified value, the face, that is, the subject, is compared with a case where the inclination is less than the specified value. Image features are extracted from multiple directions.

  Therefore, when photographing a child lying on the floor, the face (face area) is reliably detected even if the orientation of the face with respect to the vertical or horizontal orientation of the camera is indefinite as shown in FIG. You can shoot.

  In other words, when the optical axis direction of the camera is not horizontal, it is not necessary to change its orientation so that the face can be detected reliably, or to change the posture of the camera, and it is not necessary to change the orientation. The subject can be photographed reliably and quickly, and convenience is improved. In addition, AF (automatic exposure) control and AE (automatic focus) control suitable for the detected face are performed, that is, a face that is a desired subject is accurately photographed by photographing under photographing conditions suitable for the face. It becomes possible.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 2, the face detection process is executed in the three directions shown in FIG. 12 when the camera optical axis is tilted downward by a predetermined value or more. On the other hand, the face detection processing is further improved by performing face detection processing in more directions such as (2), (4), (6), (8) shown in FIG. May be.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, the case where the camera optical axis is downward is assumed. However, in the second embodiment, the case where the camera optical axis is upward is assumed.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the photographing process in the second embodiment. Steps S701 to S708 in FIG. 7 are substantially the same as the processes in steps S201 to S209 in FIG. However, in FIG. 2, after determining the tilt of the camera optical axis (step S205), posture determination is performed (step S206), whereas in FIG. 7, after posture determination is performed (step S705). ), The camera optical axis inclination is determined (step S709).

  That is, when the filter processing in any of steps S706 to S708 by the face detection unit 115 is completed, the CPU 101 performs the processing in step S709. In step S709, the CPU 101 determines the camera light in the horizontal direction when the second image signal is acquired based on the camera attitude detected by the camera attitude sensor 114, that is, the inclination of the camera optical axis with respect to the horizontal direction. Determine the tilt of the axis. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the upward tilt angle θ of the camera optical axis with respect to the horizontal direction is equal to or greater than a specified angle θd.

  When the upward tilt angle θ of the camera optical axis is smaller than the specified angle θd, the CPU 101 proceeds to the processing of step S710, and when the upward tilt angle θ of the camera optical axis is equal to or larger than the specified angle θd, the CPU 101 proceeds to step S710. The process proceeds to S711.

  The process of step S710 is exactly the same as the process of step S210 of FIG. 2 according to the first embodiment. When the process proceeds to step S711, the upward tilt angle θ of the camera optical axis is a large value to some extent, and the subject is present as viewed from the photographer. As an example of this photographing, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, it is conceivable to photograph a person on the veranda on the second floor or higher of the building from the ground. The face image captured in this case is highly likely to be as shown in FIG.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 11C, there is a high possibility that a face image in a tilted state or a face image close to the tilted state is detected, and a face image in a bird's-eye view state is detected as shown in FIG. It is considered unlikely that this will be done.

  Therefore, the face detection unit 115 corresponds to the face corresponding to the “−: minus” angle as shown in FIG. 11A among a plurality of reference pattern signals held in advance in the pattern matching processing in step S711. Matches only with the pattern. In other words, the face detection unit 115 does not perform the matching process with the face pattern corresponding to the angle “+: plus”. Thereby, the pattern matching process can be performed in a short time, and the time for the face detection process can be shortened. The processing after step S712 is exactly the same as the processing after S213 in FIG.

  The present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments described above. For example, as described above, the position of the eyes of a person is first detected, and other facial parts are detected based on the position. However, the present invention is not limited to the processing mode of detecting a region corresponding to a face by detecting. In this case, for example, it is conceivable to detect an area corresponding to a face by detecting only eyes.

  Further, the camera posture sensor is not limited to the gravity sensor. For example, even if the inclination of the camera optical axis is detected based on the value of the integral term of the control signal in the feedback control of an actuator such as a VCM (voice coil motor) used for driving the lens in the imaging apparatus. Good.

  It is also possible to exclude the limitation that matching is performed only with a reference pattern signal having a face size of a certain size or more. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the technical ideas according to the first and second embodiments can also be applied when shooting a subject image other than a face as a desired subject image. In addition, if the imaging device performs imaging using an imaging device (image sensor), the technical ideas according to the first and second embodiments are applied to a digital video camera other than a digital camera, a mobile phone with a camera, and the like. Can be applied.

  Furthermore, the object of the present invention can also be achieved by supplying a storage medium storing software program codes programmed to realize the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus. In this case, the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention. .

  Further, as a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-RW, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, A ROM or the like can be used. Furthermore, optical disks such as DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD + RW, etc. can also be used as a storage medium for supplying program codes. Alternatively, the program code may be downloaded via a network.

  Further, based on the instruction of the program code read by the computer, an OS (operating system) or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are achieved by the processing. The case where it is realized is also included.

  Furthermore, the case where the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer is also included. Further, based on the instruction of the program code, the CPU or the like provided with the extension function in the extension board or the extension unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. Cases are also included.

100 ... Digital camera 101 ... CPU
102 ... ROM
103 ... RAM
108 ... Lens driver 110 ... Aperture driver 114 ... Camera posture sensor 115 ... Face detection unit

Claims (11)

In an imaging apparatus having an imaging element,
Storage means for storing an image signal obtained based on the image sensor;
Extraction means for extracting a specific subject image from the image signal stored by the storage means;
Detecting means for detecting the inclination of the optical axis of the imaging device with respect to the horizontal direction;
Control means for controlling the extraction means so as to change the extraction form of the specific subject image based on at least the inclination of the optical axis detected by the detection means;
An imaging device comprising:   2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the inclination detected by the detection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control unit controls the extraction unit to change an extraction form of the specific subject image. The imaging device described in 1.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the extraction unit extracts the specific subject image by extracting a feature amount of the subject image from an image signal stored in the storage unit.   The said control means controls the said extraction means to extract the said feature-value from many directions, when the said inclination detected by the said detection means is more than a regulation value. Imaging device.   The control means increases the feature amount by changing the reading direction of the image signal stored by the storage means and the direction of the filtering process for extracting the contour of the specific subject image from the image signal related to the reading. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the extraction unit is controlled to extract from a direction.   6. The extraction unit extracts the specific subject image by performing a matching process between a contour of the subject image obtained by the filter processing and a contour pattern held in advance. The imaging device described in 1.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control unit supplies a multi-directional contour pattern held in advance to the extraction unit.   The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the detection unit detects an inclination of the optical axis based on a control signal of an actuator that drives a lens in the optical axis direction.   9. The imaging according to claim 1, wherein the control unit further includes a changing unit configured to change to a shooting condition suitable for the specific subject image extracted by the extraction unit. apparatus. In a control method of an imaging apparatus having an imaging element,
A storage step of storing an image signal obtained based on the image sensor;
An extraction step of extracting a specific subject image from the image signal stored by the storage step;
A detection step of detecting the inclination of the optical axis of the imaging device with respect to the horizontal direction;
A control step of controlling the extraction step so as to change the extraction form of the specific subject image based on at least the inclination of the optical axis detected by the detection step;
A method for controlling an imaging apparatus, comprising:   A program that is programmed so that a computer can execute the control method of the imaging apparatus according to claim 10.

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