JP5867425B2 - Imaging apparatus, imaging processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a photographing technique by remote control of an imaging apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique called a motion shutter is known that executes shooting when an operation of a subject (mainly a person) is detected at a specific position in a shooting screen (within an angle of view). In this case, if the detection is performed in the entire area of the screen, the detection area may be erroneously detected due to a motion other than the operator. However, the conventional motion shutter has to register the detection position of the operation in advance, and there is a problem that the detection position cannot be changed when the main subject (person) is a remote position. As a technique that can solve this problem, for example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique that performs photographing when a predetermined action is detected at a position in a screen that recognizes a person's face and is identified as around the chest. ing. According to such a technique, the motion detection position can be changed in conjunction with the position of the person who is the main subject.

JP 2011-97502 A

  However, the technique of Patent Document 1 has a problem in that only the operation detection position is changed in conjunction with the position of a person, and a shooting operation according to an operator by remote control cannot be performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to more reliably execute a photographing operation according to an operator by remote control.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the present invention, a storage unit that stores a face of a specific person and the content of a shooting operation in association with each other, and an image of a subject captured by the imaging unit is stored in the storage unit. Face detection means for detecting a face of a specific person, and detecting a motion of a subject in a detection area corresponding to the position of the specific face detected by the face detection means in the predetermined area in the image When a motion of the subject is detected in the detection area according to the position of the specific face by the motion detection means and the motion detection means, the shooting operation associated with the specific face and stored in the storage means An imaging control unit that executes imaging control according to the content is provided.

In order to solve the above-described problems, in the imaging apparatus of the present invention, a storage unit that associates and stores the face of a specific person and the content of the shooting operation, and an unspecified person from the subject image captured by the imaging unit a face detection means for detecting a face, before Symbol detecting the operation of the subject as a target detection area corresponding to the position of the face of unspecified person detected by the the face detecting means a predetermined area in the image a movement detecting means for, when the operation of the object is detected in the detection area corresponding to the position of the face of the unspecified persons by prior Symbol operation detecting means, storing the face of the person of the unspecified within the storage means Determining means for determining whether or not the face of the specified person is determined, and the determining means determines that the face of the unspecified person is the face of the specified person stored in the storage means. The specific Associated with the face of the object, characterized by comprising a photographing control means for executing a photographing control in accordance with the photographing operation contents stored in the storage means.

It is a block diagram of the digital camera common to each embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the memory area of a program memory | storage part. It is the figure which illustrated the operation | movement content set to the face of a person and each person's face. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content in the motion operation mode in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content in the motion operation mode in 2nd Embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of an electrical configuration of a digital camera 1 having a function as an imaging apparatus of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera 1 includes a control unit 2, a working memory 3, an imaging unit 4, a display unit 5, an image storage unit 6, a program storage unit 7, a face recognition unit 8, and a voice input / output unit. 9, each unit includes a strobe light emitting unit 10 and an operation unit 11.

  The control unit 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), its peripheral circuits, and an internal memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). The control unit 2 controls each unit of the digital camera 1 based on programs and data stored in the program storage unit 7 and also performs compression and expansion processing of image data as will be described later.

  The work memory 3 is composed of, for example, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and temporarily stores various data such as image data.

  The imaging unit 4 performs predetermined analog processing on a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary Meta10xide Semiconductor) type imaging device and an imaging signal output from the imaging device, and then converts the analog signal into a digital signal. It consists of AFE (Analog Front End). The imaging unit 4 sequentially captures a subject at a predetermined frame rate while the shooting mode is set in the digital camera 1, and supplies image data (imaging data) of the subject to the control unit 2.

  The image data supplied to the control unit 2 is converted into RGB data for each pixel in the control unit 2 and further converted into YUV data including a luminance (Y) component and a color difference (UV) component, and then to the display unit 5. Supplied and displayed on the display unit 5 as a live view image.

  The display unit 5 includes a color liquid crystal display panel and a display driving circuit that drives the color liquid crystal display panel in accordance with image data supplied from the control unit 2.

  The image data converted into YUV data is compressed as still image data in the control unit 2 by the JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) method or the like at the time of still image shooting, and then stored in the image storage unit 6 as a still image file. Is done.

  Furthermore, the image data converted into YUV data is sequentially compressed as moving image data in the control unit 2 by the MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) method or the like at the time of moving image shooting, and is stored in the image storage unit 6 as a moving image file.

  The image storage unit 6 includes, for example, a flash memory built in the digital camera 1, various memory cards that can be attached to and detached from the digital camera 1, and a card interface that enables data input and output to the memory card.

  Still image data or moving image data recorded as a still image file or a moving image file in the image storage unit 6 is read and expanded by the control unit 2 as necessary in the reproduction mode, and then a still image is displayed on the display unit 5. Or as a moving image.

  The face recognition unit 8 is an image processing circuit for performing known image recognition processing by binarization, contour extraction, pattern matching, and the like for an image captured by the imaging unit 4 at a predetermined frame rate in the shooting mode And a memory storing various parameters used for the face recognition processing.

  The face recognition process in the face recognition unit 8 is a process including individual identification, and is a process for recognizing the face of a specific person in an image. More specifically, it is a process of detecting the face of an arbitrary person in the image, and a process of determining whether or not the detected face matches the face of a specific person registered in advance in the digital camera 1. .

  The audio input / output unit 9 includes a microphone mainly for collecting ambient audio, an input amplifier for amplifying an audio signal output from the microphone, an A / D converter for digitally converting the amplified audio signal, and the control unit 2. A D / A converter that converts a digital audio signal supplied from the analog signal, an output amplifier that amplifies the converted audio signal, and a speaker that outputs the amplified audio signal.

  The audio data supplied from the audio input / output unit 9 to the control unit 2 when shooting a still image with audio or moving image with audio is encoded by the control unit 2. The encoded audio data is stored in the image storage unit 6 in association with a still image file when shooting a still image with sound, and is recorded as a moving image file by being superimposed on the compressed moving image data when shooting a movie with sound. The

  The audio data stored in the image storage unit 6 is read out and expanded together with corresponding still image data and moving image data by the control unit 2 and output from the speaker of the audio input / output unit 9 in the reproduction mode.

  The strobe light emitting unit 10 includes a light emitting tube such as a xenon tube which is a light emission source of strobe light, a reflector, a light emitting capacitor, a charging circuit thereof, a driving circuit for the light emitting tube, and a dimming circuit. The light source is driven according to the command, and the subject is irradiated with strobe light.

  The operation unit 11 includes a plurality of operation keys such as a power key, a shutter key, a mode switching key used for switching between a photographing mode and a reproduction mode, which are basic operation modes, and the surface of the color liquid crystal display panel of the display unit 5. And a capacitive type touch sensor and a drive circuit (not shown) thereof. The operation unit 11 supplies operation information of each operation key and a detection result (touch position information) of the touch sensor to the control unit 2.

  The program storage unit 7 is composed of a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory in which stored data can be rewritten as needed. The program storage unit 7 has a program data storage area 7a, a setting data storage area 7b, and a face image storage area 7c shown in FIG.

  In the program data storage area 7a, various programs and data for allowing the control unit 2 to control the entire digital camera 1 are stored. The various programs include programs for causing the control unit 2 to perform processing described later.

  In the setting data storage area 7b, various setting data for defining the operation of the digital camera 1, and data set by the user and data automatically set by the control unit 2 are stored.

  In the face image storage area 7c, a plurality of pieces of image data of the face portion of the specific person registered by the user are stored (see FIG. 3). Such image data is used in the face recognition process including the individual identification described above by the face recognition unit 8.

  The digital camera 1 is previously provided with a face registration mode for registering the image data (face image) as an operation mode. In the face registration mode, for example, when the user instructs registration in a state where an arbitrary image is displayed on the display unit 5, the face recognition unit 8 detects one or a plurality of face parts in the image, and these are detected as registration candidates for the user. When the user designates (touches) any face on the screen after the indication, the image data of the area including the face is cut out and stored in the face image storage area 7c.

  In addition, the setting data storage area 7b stores, as data set by the user, the shooting operation contents set for each person's face registered in the face image storage area 7c, that is, the operation contents related to the shooting operation. ing.

  This shooting operation content (hereinafter simply referred to as operation content) is also set as required by the user when an arbitrary person's face is registered by performing a predetermined operation in the face registration mode or at any time. can do. In the face registration mode, the set operation content can be changed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a person's face registered in advance and the shooting operation content (hereinafter simply referred to as operation content) set for each person's face. In this example, the registered person's faces are for 5 people from registration numbers 1 to 5, and the set operation contents are “still image shooting”, “start moving image shooting”, “stop moving image shooting” “Self-timer ON”, “Do not shoot”.

  Here, “still image shooting” is a normal one-time still image shooting operation. When a face of an arbitrary person is newly registered, “still image shooting” is initially set to the face of the person. The “Do not shoot” indicates that the shooting operation is not performed.

  Further, as operation contents other than those illustrated in FIG. 3, for example, “still image shooting during moving image shooting”, “continuous shooting”, “self-timer OFF” (self-timer shooting stop), “forced flash emission” “Still image shooting”, “Voice recording start without sound”, “Voice output after shooting”.

  The digital camera 1 of this embodiment is provided with a motion operation mode as a lower mode of the shooting mode. The motion operation mode is set to the recognized face when the face of the person registered in advance in the image of the subject that is sequentially captured is recognized and the movement of the subject can be detected in the vicinity of the recognized face. In this mode, a shooting operation with the above-described operation content is performed.

  In addition, the motion operation mode is a mode that can be used, for example, during moving image shooting after the user starts moving image shooting, or during shooting time countdown after the shooting operation by the self-timer set is started.

  The operation of the digital camera 1 according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the control unit 2 according to the program stored in the program storage unit 7 (program data storage area 7a) when the motion operation mode is set.

  After starting the operation together with the setting of the motion operation mode by the user, if the motion operation mode is not canceled (step S1: NO), the control unit 2 performs face detection processing (step S2).

  That is, while the motion operation mode is set, the image capturing unit 4 sequentially captures images at a predetermined frame rate. In the process of step S2, the control unit 2 sends the face recognizing unit 8 to the image capturing unit. Then, face detection processing for detecting the face portion of an arbitrary person is performed on the subject image captured in step 4.

  The control unit 2 continues the face detection process until one or more faces of any person can be detected in the image (step S3: NO), and can be detected if a person's face can be detected (step S3: YES). Motion detection is performed to detect the motion of the subject in the detection area corresponding to the face position (step S4).

  Motion detection is processing for detecting the presence or absence of movement of an arbitrary subject in an image for both images taken in time.

  In the present embodiment, the detection area corresponding to the position of the face is an area in the vicinity of the face of the person, for example, a rectangle passing through four points centered on the face of the person and separated from the face by a predetermined distance vertically and horizontally. It is an area (a face part may be included) excluding a face part in the area.

  In the process of step S4, if a plurality of faces can be detected in the process of step S2, the control unit 2 individually performs motion detection on a plurality of detection areas corresponding to the respective faces.

  If the movement of the subject cannot be detected in any one or a plurality of detection regions (step S5: NO), the control unit 2 returns to the process of step S1 and repeats the processes up to step S4.

  Thereafter, when the movement of the subject can be detected in any one of the one or a plurality of detection areas (step S5: YES), the control unit 2 detects the face corresponding to the detection area in which the movement of the subject can be detected, that is, the detection. It is confirmed whether or not the face in the area is a registered face (step S6).

  In this processing, the control unit 2 causes the face recognition unit 8 to display the image of the face part in the detection area and the image of each face part stored in the program storage unit 7 (face image storage area 7c) described above. Are compared, and face recognition is performed to determine whether the faces of both images are the faces of the same person, and the result is obtained.

  When the face corresponding to the detection area where the movement of the subject can be detected is not registered (step S6: NO), the control unit 2 returns to the process of step S1 as it is and repeats the process described above.

  On the other hand, when the face corresponding to the detection area in which the movement of the subject can be detected is registered (step S6: YES), the control unit 2 first exemplified in FIG. 3 set to the registered face. The operation content, that is, the content related to the shooting operation set for the face is confirmed (step S7).

  Here, when the operation content is “do not shoot” (step S8: YES), the control unit 2 directly returns to the process of step S1 and repeats the above-described process. That is, in the process of step S2, even if the face of the person with the registration number 5 illustrated in FIG. 3 is detected and the movement of the subject can be detected in the area near the face of the person, nothing is done at that time.

  In addition, when the operation content is other content (step S8: NO), the control unit 2 further confirms whether or not the set operation content is currently valid operation content ( Step S9).

  Here, the valid operation contents and the invalid operation contents vary depending on the current operation state of the digital camera 1, and are described as follows in accordance with FIG.

  That is, the effective operation content is an operation content that is consistent with the current operation state of the digital camera 1, for example, “still image shooting”, “self-timer ON”, etc. Further, if the current video recording is in progress, “video recording stop” or the like is performed.

  On the other hand, the operation content that is not valid is an operation content that contradicts the current operation state of the digital camera 1, for example, “movie shooting stop” if the current shooting standby state is normal, and the movie shooting is currently in progress. Then, “still image shooting”, “self-timer ON”, and the like. It should be noted that although it is not inconsistent with the current operation state of the digital camera 1, the same operation content is treated as invalid operation content.

  Then, if the operation content confirmed in step S9 is not currently valid operation content (step S9: NO), the control unit 2 returns to step S1 as it is and continues the above-described processing. Conversely, if the operation content is currently valid (step S9: YES), the control unit 2 performs shooting control according to the operation content (step S10).

  Therefore, for example, when the digital camera 1 is in the normal shooting standby state, when the face of the person with the registration number 1 and the face of the person with the registration number 2 illustrated in FIG. The following shooting control is performed. That is, when the person with registration number 1 moves his hand in the vicinity (detection area) of his / her face, the control unit 2 automatically executes still image shooting in response to the movement of the person in the vicinity of his / her face. When the hand is moved in the vicinity (detection region) of the camera, in response to this, the moving image shooting is automatically started.

  In addition, when a person other than the person with the registration number 1 or 2 (regardless of registration) moves his / her hand near the face of the person with the registration number 1 (detection region), the control unit 2 responds accordingly. Then, still image shooting is automatically executed. Similarly, when a hand is moved in the vicinity (detection region) of the face of the person with the registration number 2, moving image shooting is automatically started in response thereto.

  Thereafter, the control unit 2 returns to the process of step S1, repeats all the processes described above, and during that time, if the motion operation mode is canceled at any time (step S1: YES), the motion operation mode at that time The process by is terminated.

  As described above, in the motion operation mode, not only the detection position of the operation can be changed in conjunction with the position of the person who is the main subject as in the prior art, but also the desired operation content can be applied to the face of the person to be photographed. By registering in advance, it is possible to specify the content of the shooting operation to be executed in response to the detection of the operation for each person to be imaged. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably execute a photographing operation according to the operator by remote control than in the past.

  Further, when a subject includes a plurality of persons whose faces are registered (hereinafter referred to as registered persons), for example, when taking a family photo, the shooting operation is performed by moving the hand in the vicinity of his / her face. If the person instructing the execution is different, a shooting operation with different contents is performed. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately select the content of the shooting operation at the stage of actually instructing the execution of the shooting operation.

  Also, if the subject contains multiple registered persons, when an action is detected in the detection area corresponding to one of the faces, the shooting operation for the content set to the closest face is performed. Is done. Therefore, when a subject includes a plurality of registered persons, even a person other than the registered person can instruct execution of the shooting operation, and even in that case, the execution of the shooting operation is actually instructed. The contents of the shooting operation can be selected in stages.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, since the motion detection area is in the vicinity of the face of the registered person, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a photographing operation is erroneously performed in accordance with a motion of a subject that is not intended by the user. . Therefore, a highly accurate motion shutter function can be realized.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the operation content that can be set for the face of a person includes “do not shoot” indicating that the shooting operation is not executed. That is, the motion shutter function based on the movement of an arbitrary registered person can be disabled as necessary. For example, if “do not shoot” is set as the action content on the face of an infant or the like, the execution of the shooting operation when the infant or the like moves unexpectedly when taking a family photo can be invalidated. This also realizes a highly accurate motion shutter function.

  Here, in this embodiment, when the control unit 2 detects the face of an arbitrary person in the image of the subject that is sequentially captured while the motion operation mode is set, it corresponds to the detected one or more faces. Motion detection is started for a detection area in the image. However, the timing for performing motion detection and the detection area can be changed as follows.

  That is, when a face of an arbitrary person is detected in an image of a subject that is sequentially captured, it is first checked whether the face of the person is a registered face, and a detection area corresponding to the face that can be confirmed to be registered. Motion detection may be performed only on the target.

  Furthermore, when there are a plurality of faces that have been confirmed to be registered, motion detection may be performed only on the detection area corresponding to the face of a specific person. As a face of a specific person, for example, a priority may be set for a face registered in advance separately from the operation content, and the face with the highest priority may be set.

  In that case, by limiting the detection area in which motion detection is performed, a situation in which a photographing operation is erroneously performed can be prevented more reliably, and a motion shutter function with higher accuracy can be realized.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, in the digital camera 1 shown in FIG. 1, when a user registers a person's face or after registration, a desired priority can be set for each face (person). In addition, the information regarding the priority set for each face is stored in the program storage unit 7 (setting data storage area 7b), similarly to the operation content illustrated in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, when the motion operation mode is set, the control unit 2 is different from that in the first embodiment in accordance with the program stored in the program storage unit 7 (program data storage area 7a), which will be described later. Execute the process. However, the motion operation mode of the present embodiment is provided for taking a group photo such as a family photo.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing of the control unit 2 in the present embodiment. In the following, in the present embodiment as well, the control unit 2 performs the face detection process if the motion operation mode is not canceled after starting the operation together with the setting of the motion operation mode by the user (step S101: NO) ( Step S102).

  Then, the control unit 2 continues the face detection process until a plurality of faces of an arbitrary person can be detected in the image (step S103: NO).

  Thereafter, when the faces of a plurality of persons can be detected (step S103: YES), the control unit 2 checks whether or not all the detected faces are registered faces (step S104).

  In such processing, the control unit 2 causes the face recognition unit 8 to detect a plurality of detected faces between the face portion images stored in the face image storage area 7c of the program storage unit 7 described above. Whether the features match is recognized and the recognition result is acquired.

  Here, when all of the detected faces are not registered faces, the control unit 2 includes, for example, at least one face that is not registered among the detected faces. (Step S104: NO), the process returns to Step S102, and the face detection process is repeated.

  In addition, when all the detected faces are registered faces (step S104: YES), the control unit 2 in the image corresponding to the position of the face having the maximum priority set in advance. Motion detection is performed on the detection area (step S105).

  Note that the detection area targeted by such motion detection is also an area in the vicinity of the face of the person, as in the first embodiment, and is, for example, centered on the face of the person and separated from the face by a predetermined distance vertically and horizontally. It is an area (a face part may be included) excluding a face part among rectangular areas passing through four points.

  Here, if the movement of the subject cannot be detected in the detection area (step S106: NO), the control unit 2 once returns to the process of step S1 and repeats the above-described process.

  On the other hand, when the movement of the subject can be detected in the detection area (step S106: YES), the control unit 2 confirms the operation content set for the face with the highest priority (step S107), and then confirms it. The photographing control according to the operation content is performed (step S108).

  Note that details of the imaging control at this time are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a specific description thereof will be omitted.

  Thereafter, the control unit 2 returns to the process of step S101, repeats all the processes described above, and during that time, if the motion operation mode is canceled at any time (step S101: YES), the motion operation mode at that time The process by is terminated.

  As described above, in the motion operation mode of the present embodiment as well, in the same way as in the first embodiment, by registering in advance the desired action content on the face of the person to be imaged, the person to be imaged Each time, it is possible to specify the content of the shooting operation to be executed in response to the detection of the operation. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably execute a photographing operation according to the operator by remote control than in the past.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the photographing operation is performed only when all of a plurality of faces detected in the sequentially captured subject images are registered. Therefore, for example, when taking a family photo, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a shooting operation is erroneously performed in a state where a person other than the family is included in the angle of view. Therefore, it is possible to realize a highly accurate motion shutter function when taking a group photo.

  In the present embodiment, the movement of the subject is detected only in the detection region corresponding to the face with the highest priority among the plurality of faces, and if the movement of the subject is detected, the face with the highest priority is detected. The shooting operation with the operation content set to is performed. Therefore, by limiting the detection area in which motion detection is performed, a situation in which a shooting operation is erroneously performed can be prevented more reliably, and a motion shutter function with higher accuracy can be realized.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the photographing operation is performed only when all of the plurality of faces detected in the sequentially captured image of the subject are registered, but the following may be performed.

  For example, without limiting the detection area for performing motion detection, if all detection areas corresponding to a plurality of detected faces are detected and the movement of the subject can be detected in all the detection areas, the shooting operation may be performed. Good. In that case, it is possible to more reliably prevent a situation in which a photographing operation is erroneously executed as compared with the present embodiment, and to realize a more accurate motion shutter function.

  In the above-described embodiment, even if there are a plurality of human faces, the detection area corresponding to the position of the face is an area in the vicinity of the human face. An area excluding a face part (or a face part may be included) in a rectangular area passing through four points separated by a predetermined distance. However, when there are a plurality of human faces, for example, the detection area may be set to be divided with a line passing through the center of the positions of the plurality of faces in the screen as a boundary. Divide the overlapping area of rectangular areas that pass through four points that are centered on the face of the person and away from the face by a predetermined distance vertically and horizontally, and set each divided area as the closest face area. May be.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the movement of the subject is detected after the face is detected, but the order may be reversed.

As mentioned above, although several embodiment of this invention and its modification were demonstrated, if these are in the range in which the effect of this invention is acquired, it can change suitably, and embodiment after change is also a claim. It is included in the scope of the invention described in the scope of the invention and the invention equivalent to the invention.
The invention described in the scope of the claims of the present application will be appended below.
[Claim 1]
Storage means for storing the face of a specific person and the contents of the shooting operation in association with each other; face detection means for detecting the face of the specific person stored in the storage means from the image of the subject imaged by the imaging means; Motion detection means for detecting a motion of a subject in a predetermined area in an image corresponding to a position of the specific face detected by the face detection means; and the specific face by the motion detection means Shooting control means for executing shooting control in accordance with the shooting operation content associated with the specific face and stored in the storage means when the movement of the subject is detected in the detection area corresponding to the position of An image pickup apparatus comprising:
[Claim 2]
An imaging apparatus, further comprising: a registration unit that registers the face of the person designated by the user and the content of the shooting operation in the storage unit in association with each other.
[Claim 3]
The motion detection unit detects a motion of a subject in a detection region corresponding to the position of the specific face when the face detection unit detects the face of the specific person stored in the storage unit. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
[Claim 4]
The motion detection means detects a motion of a subject in a detection region corresponding to the detected positions of the specific faces when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detection means, and the photographing control 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means executes photographing control according to the photographing operation contents registered in association with the face corresponding to the detection area in which the motion of the subject is detected by the motion detecting means. The imaging device according to any one of claims.
[Claim 5]
5. The imaging according to claim 4, further comprising setting means for setting boundaries of a plurality of detection areas in accordance with the positions of the detected faces when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detection means. apparatus.
[Claim 6]
A priority is set in advance for the face of the person stored in the storage means, and the motion detection means targets only a detection area corresponding to the position of the face with the highest priority set from the image. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the movement of the subject is detected.
[Claim 7]
The photographing control means detects a plurality of faces detected by the face detection means when a plurality of faces are detected by the face detection means and all of the detected plurality of faces are registered faces. The imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein shooting control is executed in accordance with a shooting operation content registered in association with a specific face.
[Claim 8]
The photographing control means is further configured to detect the motion of the subject by the motion detection means in all of a plurality of detection areas corresponding to the positions of the plurality of faces detected by the face detection means. The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein shooting control is performed according to the shooting operation content registered in association with a specific face among the plurality of detected faces.
[Claim 9]
9. The imaging according to claim 7, wherein a priority is set in advance for the face of the person stored in the storage means, and the specific face is a face set with the highest priority. apparatus.
[Claim 10]
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control content associated with the face stored in the storage unit includes a control content indicating that photographing is not executed.
[Claim 11]
A step of associating and registering a person's face designated by the user and the contents of the photographing operation, a step of detecting an arbitrary person's face from the image of the subject imaged by the imaging means, and a predetermined area in the image And detecting the motion of the subject in the detection area corresponding to the position of the face, and the face detected from the image is a registered human face, and the motion detection means And a step of performing shooting control according to the shooting operation content registered in association with the face when the motion of the subject is detected in the detection region corresponding to the position.
[Claim 12]
A process of associating and registering the face of the person designated by the user and the contents of the shooting operation in the computer; a process of detecting an arbitrary person's face from the image of the subject imaged by the imaging means; and the image Processing for detecting the motion of a subject in a predetermined area corresponding to the position of the face detected from the image, and the person registered with the face detected from the image When a motion of a subject is detected in a detection area corresponding to the face and the position of the face, a process of executing shooting control according to the shooting operation content registered in association with the face is executed. A program characterized by letting

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital camera 2 Control part 3 Work memory 4 Imaging part 5 Display part 6 Image storage part 7 Program storage part 7a Program data storage area 7b Setting data storage area 7c Face image storage area 8 Face recognition part 9 Voice input / output part 10 Strobe Light emitting unit 11 Operation unit

Claims (3)

Storage means for associating and storing a specific person's face and shooting operation content;
Face detection means for detecting the face of an unspecified person from the image of the subject imaged by the imaging means;
Motion detection means for detecting a motion of a subject in a predetermined area in the image and a detection area corresponding to the position of the face of an unspecified person detected by the face detection means;
When a motion of a subject is detected in a detection area corresponding to the position of the face of the unspecified person by the motion detection means, the face of the unspecified person is stored in the storage means. Discrimination means for discriminating whether or not it is a face;
When the determining means determines that the face of the unspecified person is the face of the specific person stored in the storage means, the face is stored in the storage means in association with the face of the specific person. Shooting control means for executing shooting control in accordance with the shooting operation content,
An imaging apparatus comprising: An imaging processing method in an imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging unit; and a storage unit that associates and stores a face of a specific person and shooting operation content,
Face detection processing for detecting the face of an unspecified person from the image of the subject imaged by the imaging means;
A motion detection process for detecting a motion of a subject in a predetermined region in the image and a detection region corresponding to the position of the face of an unspecified person detected in the face detection process;
When a motion of a subject is detected in a detection region corresponding to the position of the face of the unspecified person in the motion detection process, the face of the unspecified person is stored in the storage unit. A discrimination process for discriminating whether or not it is a face;
When it is determined in the determination process that the face of the unspecified person is the face of the specific person stored in the storage means, the face of the specific person is associated with the face of the specific person and stored in the storage means. A shooting control process for performing shooting control according to the shooting operation content,
An imaging processing method comprising: A computer that controls an imaging apparatus including an imaging unit and a storage unit that stores a face of a specific person and shooting operation contents in association with each other;
A face detection function for detecting the face of an unspecified person from the image of the subject imaged by the imaging means;
A motion detection function for detecting a motion of a subject in a predetermined region in the image and a detection region corresponding to a position of an unspecified person's face detected by the face detection function;
When the motion detection function detects the motion of the subject in the detection area corresponding to the position of the face of the unspecified person, the face of the unspecified person is stored in the storage unit. A discrimination function for discriminating whether or not it is a face;
When the determination function determines that the face of the unspecified person is the face of the specific person stored in the storage means, the face is associated with the face of the specific person and stored in the storage means. A shooting control function for performing shooting control according to the shooting operation content being
A program to realize

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