JP2011061452A - Pause photograph processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pause photograph processing system in which many pause images high in customer's satisfaction are prepared with as few burdens as possible. <P>SOLUTION: The pause photograph processing system has a function for supporting appropriate posing of an object by contrasting a pose guide image with images during photographing to be continuously generated with a digital camera 1. The pause photograph processing system is provided with: a pause guide image storage part which stores the pause guide image so that it can be retrieved and extracted; a pause guide image selection part which selects a specific pause guide image to be displayed on a monitor; and a new pause guide image registration processing part which fetches the specific image (excellent pause image) in the images during photographing to be processed into a format of the pause guide image, and registers the processed specific image in the pause guide image storage part as a new pause guide image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pose photo processing system having a function of supporting proper pose of a subject by comparing a pose guide image displayed on a monitor with images being shot continuously generated by a digital camera.

  A pose photo created by shooting a subject in a pose that makes the subject look beautiful is important to select an appropriate pose, as well as its background and lighting, and a high level of proficiency for photographers to take high-quality photos Is required. However, at photo print shops and the like, there are not many opportunities for taking poses, so high-level photographers are not resident. Therefore, in such pose shooting, not only the pose but also the background and lighting must be set appropriately in some cases, so the setting takes time and the shooting takes a long time. Not only that, but customers are often not satisfied with the finished photo prints. Therefore, a photo pose controller that supports pose photography has been proposed so that even a photographer who is not highly skilled can provide a pose photo that satisfies a customer (for example, Patent Document 1). This photo pose controller includes a memory for storing a plurality of pose images prepared in advance for each shooting theme (type of shooting) and shooting conditions corresponding to each pose, and a pose stored in the memory for each shooting theme. A pose display section that displays images as images, selection means for selecting a desired pose image from among a plurality of pose images displayed by the pose display section, and output of shooting conditions corresponding to the selected pose image And a photographing condition output unit. A plurality of pose images are prepared in advance according to the shooting theme such as Shichigosan and Miyasato and recorded in the memory (pose storage unit), and a plurality of pose images are presented to the customer for actual shooting, Ask the user to select the desired pose image. For this reason, a customer can anticipate a pause photograph beforehand, and a customer's satisfaction can be improved. Also, once the pose image desired by the customer is determined, the pose can be determined while referring to the pose image, so the pose shooting is smooth.

JP 2002-84437 A (paragraph numbers [0001]-[0006], [0016], FIG. 1)

In the pose photographing support apparatus for creating a pose photograph as described above, the number of poses selected by the customer and / or the photographer is the number of pose images registered in advance in the pose storage unit. In order to increase the number of pose images that can be used, it is necessary to register captured images that have been separately captured as registered pose images. However, the pose that is evaluated as appropriate varies depending on the physique and shape of the person who is the subject, or the person's personality, and the customer is not necessarily satisfied simply by preparing a pose image using a single model. I can't. In particular, since a customer who is a repeater wants many types of pose images in a model whose physique and body shape are similar to that of the customer, it is burdensome to prepare pose images that satisfy many customers.
Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a pose photo processing system in which many pose images with high customer satisfaction are prepared with as little burden as possible.

  In order to achieve the above object, in a pose photo processing system having a function of supporting proper pose of a subject by comparing a pose guide image displayed on a monitor with images being shot continuously generated by a digital camera. In the present invention, a pose guide image storage unit that stores the pose guide image so as to be searchable and extractable, a pose guide image selection unit that selects a specific pose guide image displayed on the monitor, and a specification in the captured image A new pose guide image registration processing unit that captures an image (a nice pose image), processes the image into a pose guide image format, and registers the processed specific image as a new pose guide image in the pose guide image storage unit; ing.

  According to this configuration, if a good pose is created during pose shooting, a captured image (generally called a viewfinder image), which is a camera image of the pose, is captured and processed as a new pose guide image. Registered in the guide image storage unit. The registered new pose guide image can be used as a selectable pose guide image (pause sample) from the next time. That is, in this configuration, when a good pose is created by chance, an image obtained by photographing the pose is registered as a new pose guide image, so that favorite poses are easily and efficiently accumulated.

  In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pose guide image and the image being captured are combined and displayed on the monitor for comparison between the image being captured and the pause guide image. In this configuration, a composite image of the so-called finder image and pose guide image of the camera used for shooting is displayed on the monitor screen, so the pose of the actual subject contained in the finder image and the pose guide image The target poses in can be effectively compared. At this time, it is advantageous that the pose guide image is composed of a contour extraction image capable of defining a specific pose in order to facilitate a pose check in posing. A target pose can be realized simply by posing the image of the subject included in the currently-captured image (finder image) along the contour extracted image. In such a case, it is necessary to convert a captured image to be newly registered as a pose guide image into a contour extraction image. Therefore, in one preferred embodiment, the new pose guide image registration processing unit includes a pose guide image generation unit that generates the contour extraction image from the captured image being captured.

  When a nice pose image obtained during shooting of a pose of a general customer who is a customer is registered as a new pose guide image, a privacy problem arises if the person is identified by a face. In order to avoid this problem, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the new pose guide image registration processing unit includes a face detection unit that detects a human face region from the captured image, and a detected face region. And a face image processing unit that visualizes unclearly.

It is a perspective view which shows the mode of studio photography using the pose photograph processing system by this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the basic operation of the pose photo processing system according to the present invention and the flow of data. It is a functional block diagram of a controller in a pause photo processing system. It is a flowchart which shows a new pose guide image registration process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a state of pose photography in a photography studio in which a pose photograph processing system according to the present invention is installed. The photographing studio includes a digital camera 1 as a photographing device in a pose photo processing system, a controller 2 constituted by a computer as a control device in the pose photo processing system, a hard disk as an image storage unit 3 for storing image data, , A monitor 5 for displaying various images composed of a liquid crystal display, a keyboard and mouse as an operation input device 4 for performing a manual input operation, a lighting device 6, a background equipment 7, and the like are provided. The digital camera 1 is connected to the controller 2 so as to be able to transmit data, and is not only a captured image generated by pressing a shutter (hereinafter simply referred to as a captured image), but also a captured image that is always generated as a finder image being captured. Medium image data (hereinafter, simply referred to as a captured image) is also transferred to the controller 2. Accordingly, not only the photographed image for confirming the photographed image but also the photographed image that is a finder image for confirming the camera field of view during photographing from the outside is displayed on the monitor 5. The person who is the subject and other third parties can also know what pose the subject is posing.

  The illumination device 6 is equipment used in a general photography studio, and may employ a configuration controlled by the controller 2 and / or a configuration controlled independently from the controller 2. Is possible. Here, the basic setting is automatically performed by the controller 2 and then manually adjusted so that an optimal illumination state can be obtained while posing the subject. In any case, the adjustment information set by the lighting device 6 is sent to the controller 2.

  Here, the background equipment 7 is an unwinding type blue (or green, etc.) single-color sheet body as a background for performing chroma key composition. This makes it possible to select a single-color background image included in the captured image, and this can be replaced with another background image. Therefore, the hard disk 3 as an image storage unit also stores various background images to be replaced in chroma key composition together with a pose guide image described later.

  This photography studio is formed in a corner of a general photo print shop, and a pose photograph is taken for a subject as a customer by an employee of the shop. That is, since the photographer is not necessarily a professional photographer, the photographer receives the pose photographing guidance provided by the pose photograph processing system of the present invention, poses the subject based on this guidance, and performs pose photographing. The pose shooting guidance is provided in the form of a pose guide image displayed on the monitor 5, and a typical pose guide image is a reference pose. This reference pose clearly shows the outline of the model in an appropriate pose. By attaching the same pose to the subject as the reference pose, it is possible to easily create an excellent pose photo.

  The pose guide images including the reference pose are stored in advance in the image storage unit 3 constructed by a hard disk here, but there is a limit to the number of pose guide images to be recorded in advance. Even if the reference pose is stored, the appropriate pose for each customer varies depending on the body shape and age of the customer, and above all, it is necessary to prioritize the taste of the customer. For this reason, in this system, as described in detail below, if a more appropriate pose is found during shooting, while taking the reference pose as a reference, the captured image is acquired and registered as a new pose guide image. can do.

Next, with reference to FIG. 2, a basic operation and a data flow including a process for newly registering the pose guide image described above in the pose photo processing system will be described.
First, the final photo print image desired by the customer is heard and its shooting theme is set (# 01). For example, when “a scene that feels traveling on the beach in Hawaii” is set as a shooting theme, a background image and a pose guide image suitable for the shooting theme are extracted from the image storage unit 3 (# 02a, # 02b). At that time, the final selection of the background image and pose guide image suitable for the shooting theme requires the judgment of the customer, so there are multiple types of reduced background images and thumbnail images (thumbnail images) suitable for the shooting theme. These images are read out and displayed on the monitor 5 in a selectable manner. The finally selected background image and pose guide image are transferred to the controller 2 and developed in the working memory.

  When studio shooting while posing is started, an image being captured (finder image) generated by the camera 1 is transferred to the controller 2 and displayed on the monitor 5 as a pose check image that can be compared with the pose guide image (# 04). ). The pose check image here is a target pose image whose outline is enhanced as a pose guide image, and this target pose image is superimposed on the image being captured. At that time, if the image on the upper side of the target pose image or the currently-captured image is made translucent, it becomes a suitable pose check image. Alternatively, the target pose image may be generated as a line drawing that is transparent except for the line.

  Although the pose check is performed while viewing the pose check image on the monitor 5, the customer can also participate in the pose check if a large screen monitor that is visible to the customer who is the subject is prepared. So it is convenient. In this pose check, the target pose is matched with the real-time pose of the subject. Therefore, if the match is established, the shutter chance is given and the shutter operation of the camera 1 is performed (the shutter chance is given). # 05).

  When the shutter operation is performed, a captured image is generated (# 06). The generated captured image is transferred to the controller 2, and the person image separated from the background by the chroma key process is extracted from the captured image as a clipped image (# 07), and the clipped image is combined with the background image (# 08). . The obtained composite image is subjected to normal image processing suitable for photographic printing, and becomes final print image data (# 09). The image data for print image is converted into print data suitable for operating the printer 8, transferred to the printer 8, and a desired photographic print is output (# 10).

  In the pose check in step # 04, a beautiful pose that seems to be a good photo and a pose that the customer likes, that is, a nice pose, is created even if the target pose and the pose of the subject in real time do not necessarily match. There is a case. It is convenient to register such a nice pose in the image storage unit 3 as much as possible as a target pose for future pose photography. Therefore, in this pose photo processing system, when it is determined that the pose is a nice pose (# 04a), a new pose guide image registration process for registering the nice pose as a new pose guide image in the image storage unit 3 is performed (#). 50). Therefore, even if it is a coincidence, when a nice pose is created, the nice pose is registered in the image storage unit 3 as a new pose guide image. Therefore, for each shooting theme, the customer's hobbies, and the customer's year Easy-to-use pose guide images that can be classified by age and body shape are easily accumulated.

  In the studio shooting while posing, unless the nice pose can be created (# 04b), the above-mentioned step # 05 is aimed to coincide with the pose, and steps # 03, # 04, # 04a, # 04b, # 05 are aimed at. Will be repeated.

  FIG. 3 shows a specific configuration of the controller 2 suitable for realizing the above-described pose shooting including the new pose guide image registration process. In the functional block diagram of FIG. 3, only the main functions related to the present invention are shown in the controller 2 which is a personal computer, and these can be created by software and / or hardware. It is. Here, as a functional unit that creates the main features of the pose photo processing system, a memory 20 used as a working memory, an image composition unit 21, a chroma key processing unit 22, and a display image generation unit that generates display image data on the monitor 5 23, a print data generation unit 24 that generates print data from the final print image to the printer 8, a pose guide image selection unit 25, a new pose image registration processing unit 26, and the like.

  The pose guide image selection unit 25 has a function of extracting suitable pose guide images from the image storage unit 3 based on the set shooting theme, displaying the list on the monitor 5, and selecting a pose guide image to be used from the list. Usually, the customer gives a selection instruction from the pose guide images listed on the monitor 5.

  The new pose guide image registration processing unit 26 takes a specific image (a nice pose image) in the image being captured (finder image) and processes it into a pose guide image format, and the processed specific image is used as a new pose guide image. It has a function of registering in the storage unit 3. Note that since the resolution and gradation of the finder image as the image being captured are lower than the captured image, if this finder image is insufficient for the pose guide image, the camera 1 of the camera 1 is determined when the nice pose is determined. A configuration may be adopted in which a captured image is generated by operating a shutter and the captured image is used as a pause guide image.

  In this embodiment, the new pose guide image registration processing unit 26 includes a face detection unit 26a, a face image processing unit 26b, and a pose guide image generation unit 26c. The face detection unit 26 has a known face detection algorithm, detects a human face in the image, and generates face detection information including the number and size of the detected faces, coordinate values in the image of each face area, and the like. To do. The face image processing unit 26b has a function of performing a smearing process on a face region in an image obtained based on face detection information using a blur filter or the like so that a person in the image cannot be identified. The pose guide image generation unit 26c generates a contour extraction image that can define a specific pose of a person who is a subject in a nice pose image captured for the purpose of registering a new pose guide image. As an outline extraction image for such a person, an edge detection filter is used to emphasize the outline of the body, the face appearance, the ridgeline of the costume, etc., or a complete line drawing image that has been line-touched Can be adopted.

The new pose guide image registration process (step # 50 in FIG. 2) executed by the controller 2 including the above-described new pose guide image registration processing unit 26 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
If a “nice pose” is determined during pose photography, a nice pose photographed image (finder image (low resolution) or photographed image (high resolution)) is acquired from the camera 1 through the operation of the operation input device 4 and stored in the memory 20. The person area image is extracted by the chroma key processing unit 22 (# 52) with respect to the nice pose photographed image developed in the memory 20 (# 51). The face detection unit 26a performs face detection on the extracted person area image, and outputs the generated face detection information to the face image processing unit 26b (# 53). Only the face area is selected as a processing target based on the coordinate value of the face area described in the face detection information (# 54). A blurring process such as a blur process or a mosaic process is performed on the selected area (# 55). This blurring process makes it impossible to specify this person. An outline detection process is performed on the entire person image having the face area subjected to the blurring process, and a line drawing obtained by drawing the person picture is generated as a pose image of a new pose guide image (# 56). When the pose guide image is composed of only the pose image, the pose image is used as it is, but when adding a guidance message or the like to the pose image, an appropriate guidance message is added to the pose image. Further, the pose guide image is linked to information (subject information) of the customer who is the specific shooting theme or subject in which the pose was born as a record newly registered in the image storage unit 3 and then stored in the image storage unit 3. Stored. As a result, when this specific theme is selected in the subsequent pose shooting, this pose guide image is displayed on the monitor 5 as one of the list display images as a selection target. Furthermore, when this customer visits this shop as a repeater and wishes to take a pose, the user can view the pose guide image registered previously as a favorite pose.

[Another embodiment]
(1) The pose guide image is stored in the pose guide image record stored in the image storage unit 3 by including the setting state of the illuminating device 6 and setting the illuminating device 6 as defined therein. It is possible to optimize the posing and photography situation based on.
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the pose photo is a composite photo of a person taken in the studio and the background stored in the image storage unit 3 in advance. You can also set a pose photo including the background in the studio.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the person who poses as a subject is a customer, and the operator of the pose photo processing system that photographs the camera is a shop employee. However, the operation of the pose photo processing system including the camera 1 can be operated by a remote control so that a person who poses as a subject operates the pose photo processing system to create a pose photo and can register a new favorite pose. A configuration is also possible.

1: Camera 2: Controller 3: Image storage unit (pause guide image storage unit)
5: Monitor 6: Lighting device 8: Printer 21: Image composition unit 22: Chroma key processing unit 23: Display image generation unit 24: Print data generation unit 25: Pause guide image selection unit 26: New pose guide image registration processing unit 26a: Face detection unit 26b: Face image processing unit 26c: Pause guide image generation unit

Claims (5)

A pose photo processing system having a function of supporting proper pose of a subject by comparing a pose guide image displayed on a monitor with images being shot continuously generated by a digital camera,
A pose guide image storage unit for storing the pose guide image in a searchable manner;
A pose guide image selection unit for selecting a specific pose guide image displayed on the monitor;
New pose guide image registration that captures a specific image (a nice pose image) in the captured image, processes it into a pose guide image format, and registers the processed specific image as a new pose guide image in the pose guide image storage unit A processing unit;
Pose photo processing system equipped with.   The pose photograph processing system according to claim 1, wherein the pose guide image and the image being captured are combined and displayed on the monitor for comparison between the image being captured and the pose guide image.   The pose photograph processing system according to claim 1, wherein the pose guide image is a contour extraction image capable of defining a specific pose of a subject.   The pose photograph processing system according to claim 3, wherein the new pose guide image registration processing unit includes a pose guide image generation unit that generates the contour extraction image from the captured image being captured.   The new pose guide image registration processing unit includes a face detection unit that detects a human face area from the captured image, and a face image processing unit that visualizes the detected face area unclearly. 5. The pose photo processing system according to any one of 4 above.

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