JPH11327012A - Photographic system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a photographic system capable of setting an illuminating means in an optimum illuminating condition by controlling the illuminating means based on inputted control information and outputting an image based on obtained image information. SOLUTION: An object 2 is illuminated by the illuminating means 3, and is photographed by an electronic camera 1. This means 3 is not a fixed one, and brightness, illuminating angle, and color information are changed based on the control information. The control information is given to a control means 5 from a selecting means 4. The means 5 controls the brightness, the illuminating angle, and the color, etc., of the means 3 based on the inputted control information. Consequently, by controlling the brightness, the illuminating angle and the color information of the means 3, the optimum illuminating condition can be set. A synthesizing means 8 synthesizes an object image extracted from the camera 1 with an inputted background image. The synthesized picture can displayed on the display device 6, and also printed out by a printer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photographing system, and more particularly to a photographing system for printing a portrait photograph such as a photograph for identification, and for synthesizing a background image and a subject image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a rapid photography service for portrait photograph users, a service using silver halide photography has been practically used. A typical example is a three-minute photo-taking box for taking a test or renewing a license. The user puts cash in a predetermined place, and places the eye of the subject on the line-of-sight mark of the optical device. The photographer photographs the subject with an optical device, exposes the inverted positive photographic paper input to the optical device, and performs a developing process with a developer to create a portrait photograph.

[0003] With the recent development of technology in this field, a technology for creating a portrait photograph using electrophotography instead of silver halide photography has been developed. In particular, in the case of the electrophotographic system, it is not necessary to use a silver halide photograph, and image processing is performed electronically, and a desired photograph can be printed. Since the image is digitally expressed, various image processing can be easily performed.

[0004]

In a conventional photographic printing system, the lighting is fixed so that a photograph of a certain finish can be obtained like an ID photographing apparatus.
For this reason, the direction of illumination, the amount of light, and the like were fixed, and it was not possible to obtain a photograph in which the illumination state was changed.

[0005] In recent years, a photographic print system has been used for various purposes such as obtaining an image synthesized with a background image and obtaining a seal print, as well as an ID photograph.
For this reason, print images in various scenes are being handled. In addition, there is a problem that a fixed photograph does not always provide a satisfactory photograph. However, as described above, in the conventional photographic print system, the proof is uniform, and it has not been possible to respond to such a demand.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a photographing system capable of setting an optimal lighting state.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided (1) an electronic camera for photographing a subject and obtaining image information, illuminating means for illuminating the subject, and controlling the illuminating means. Selecting means for inputting information, control means for controlling the lighting means based on the input control information,
Image output means for outputting an image based on the obtained image information.

According to the configuration of the present invention, the lighting means is controlled based on the control information, so that an optimum lighting state can be set. Here, the control information of the lighting means refers to information of brightness, lighting angle, and color.

(2) In this case, the information for changing the illumination state of the illumination means is information of brightness, illumination angle, and color. According to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to set an optimal illumination state by controlling the information of the brightness, the illumination angle, and the color of the illumination means.

(3) The control information of the lighting means is as follows:
It is characterized in that the control information is preset control information according to the light distribution pattern. According to the configuration of the present invention, the control information can be easily input by setting the control information in advance according to the light distribution pattern.

Here, the light distribution pattern means dusk, dawn, vertical distribution of the image intensity, and horizontal distribution of the image intensity. (4) Further, a plurality of the lighting means are provided, and the lighting is selectively performed according to the control information.

According to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to set an optimum lighting state by operating a required number of lighting means from a plurality of lighting means. (5) Further, a moving means for moving the lighting means based on the control information is provided.

According to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to set an optimal lighting state by moving the lighting means based on the control information. (6) storage means for storing a background image, and selection means for selecting a specific background image from the stored background images;
The image processing apparatus further includes a combining unit that combines the subject image information captured by the electronic camera and the selected background image information.

According to the configuration of the present invention, the background image and the subject image can be combined. (7) The illumination of the subject is controlled according to the selected background image information.

According to the configuration of the present invention, the illumination of the subject can be controlled according to the background image, and a high-quality image can be obtained. (8) The illumination means is controlled in accordance with the position and size of the subject.

According to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to control the illuminating means in accordance with the position and the size of the subject so as to set an optimal illumination state. (9) Further, the control means selects one of the background images having different colors according to the situation of the subject.

According to the configuration of the present invention, a preferable image can be obtained by selecting a background image having a different hue according to the situation of the subject. A second invention for solving the above-mentioned problems includes: (10) an electronic camera that captures an image of a subject and obtains image information;
Lighting means for illuminating the subject, selecting means for inputting information for changing the lighting state, and image processing means for processing the image information according to the selected lighting state change information, I have.

According to the configuration of the present invention, by performing image processing in accordance with the change information of the lighting state, it is possible to obtain an image equivalent to the case of controlling the lighting means. (11) In this case, storage means for storing a background image, means for selecting a specific background image from the stored background images, subject image information captured by an electronic camera,
Synthesizing means for synthesizing the selected background image information.

According to the configuration of the present invention, the background image and the subject image can be synthesized. (12) Further, the information for changing the illumination state is information on brightness, illumination angle, and color.

According to the structure of the present invention, the brightness of the lighting means is improved by changing the lighting state by the image processing means.
As in the case of controlling the illumination angle and the color information, the optimal illumination state can be set.

(13) Further, the image processing means detects that the lighting means has run out of the lamp and performs correction based on the information on the running out of the lamp. According to the configuration of the present invention, the image processing unit detects that the lighting unit has run out of lamp, and performs image correction corresponding to the case of running out of lamp, thereby obtaining a preferable image.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an electronic camera for photographing a subject 2 to obtain image information, and 3 denotes an illuminating unit for illuminating the subject 2. Here, an electronic camera separates image information for each color through a filter, focuses the image information on a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD, and directly outputs R,
This is a camera that obtains image information such as G and B. The number of the lighting means 3 is not limited to one, and a plurality of lighting means 3 can be provided.

4 is a selection means for inputting control information of the illumination means 3, 5 is a control means for controlling the illumination means 3 based on the input control information, and 6 is an image based on the obtained image information. It is a display device as an image output means for outputting. As the image output means, a printer or the like is used in addition to the display device. 7 is a background image storage means in which a plurality of pieces of background information are stored as digital image data.
Is a synthesizing means for synthesizing subject information photographed by the electronic camera 1 and a background image stored in the background image storage means 7. The output of the synthesizing means 8 is provided to a display device 6 as an output device. The operation of the system configured as described above will be described below.

First, according to this embodiment, since the control means 5 controls the lighting means 3 based on the control information,
An optimal lighting state can be set. Here, the subject 2 is first illuminated by the illuminating means 3, and the subject 2 is photographed by the electronic camera 1. A rear wall 10 is provided behind the subject. The back wall 10 is, for example, a blue wall. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a shooting state of a subject. Light is emitted from the illumination means 3 to the subject 2 sitting on the chair 9. The lighting means is not fixed, but changes brightness, lighting angle and color information based on control information. The control information is transmitted from the selection unit 4 to the control unit 5.
Given to. Therefore, the control unit 5 controls the brightness, the illumination angle, the color, and the like of the illumination unit 3 based on the input control information.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, an optimal lighting state can be set by controlling the brightness, the lighting angle, and the color information of the lighting means 3. The control information is preset in accordance with, for example, a light distribution pattern. Therefore, control information can be easily input.

It is also conceivable that a plurality of lighting means 3 are provided. In this case, the control means 5 can select the lighting means based on the provided control information. Thus, it is possible to operate the necessary number of lighting units from the plurality of lighting units and set the optimum lighting state.

The illuminating means 3 can be moved using a moving means from the control means 5 receiving the control information. Thereby, the illumination means 3 can be moved and set to an optimal illumination state.

Here, the subject image taken by the electronic camera 1 enters the synthesizing means 8 from the electronic camera 1. The synthesizing unit 8 extracts a subject image from a captured image by, for example, a chroma key technique. On the other hand, the control means 5 controls the background image storage means 7 to select a specific one from the plurality of background images. The background image output from the background image storage means 7 enters the synthesizing means 8. The combining means 8 combines the subject image extracted from the electronic camera 1 and the input background image. The synthesized image can be displayed on the display device 6 or printed by a printer (not shown).

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of image composition. By combining the background image shown in (a) and the subject image shown in (b), a combined image as shown in (c) can be obtained. In this case, in the present invention, the subject 2 is
Can be set to an optimal lighting state, and the obtained composite image is preferable.

In this case, the control means 5 can control the illumination of the subject (person) according to the selected background image information. Thereby, a high-quality image can be obtained. According to the present invention, the control unit 5 can control the illumination unit 3 according to the position and the size of the subject 2. According to this, it is possible to control the illuminating means 3 according to the position and the size of the subject, and to set an optimal illumination state.

Further, the control means 5 can select one of the background images having different colors according to the situation of the subject 2. Thereby, the color tone can be changed according to the situation of the subject, and a preferable image can be obtained.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the lighting means 3 is fixed. Therefore, one or a plurality of lighting means 3 are fixedly installed. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an image of an object 2 captured by an electronic camera. Reference numeral 4 denotes a selection unit for inputting information (control information) for changing the lighting state.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a background image storage means for storing a plurality of background images; 8, a synthesis means for synthesizing a subject image photographed by the electronic camera 1 with a background image read from the background image storage means 7; An image processing unit that receives image information synthesized by the synthesizing unit 8 and performs image processing having the same effect as controlling the lighting unit 3. The operation of the system configured as described above will be described below.

In FIG. 2, first, the subject 2 is
, And photograph the subject 2 with the electronic camera 1. A rear wall 10 is provided behind the subject. This back wall 10
Is, for example, a blue wall. Light is emitted from the illumination means 3 to the subject 2 sitting on the chair 9. This lighting means is fixed. The control information is provided from the selection unit 4 to the image processing unit 11.

The electronic camera 1 photographs the subject 2 and sends it to the image processing means 11. Next, the image information processed here is sent to the synthesizing means 8. The synthesizing means 8 extracts only subject information by using the chroma key technique as described above.
Further, the synthesizing unit 8 synthesizes the extracted subject image and the background image read from the background image storage unit 7.

Thus, the image processing means 11 performs image processing on the image data obtained from the synthesizing means 8 on the basis of the input control information with the same effect as controlling the lighting means 3.

For example, when the illuminating means 3 is dark, brightness control is performed to increase the image data value (brightness) so as to brighten the obtained image information. Further, the image processing unit 11 recognizes the illumination angle, the color, and the like of the illumination unit. Image processing is performed to obtain. As the image processing technique used here, an existing technique such as using a look-up table (LUT) or performing gamma correction can be used.

According to the above description, it is possible to obtain an image equivalent to the case of controlling the illuminating means by performing the image processing according to the change of the illumination state. Further, the background image and the subject image can be combined. Here, the synthesized image is an image having a preferable hue. The state of image composition is the same as that shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, as information for changing the illumination state, information on brightness, illumination angle, and color can be used. Thereby, the image processing means 11
By performing the process of changing the illumination state, the optimal illumination state can be set as in the case of controlling the brightness of the illumination means, the illumination angle, and the color information.

In this case, it is assumed that the lamp of the lighting means 3 has been cut off. Immediately, the brightness of the image data obtained by the electronic camera 1 is extremely low. The image processing means 11 receives the output of the synthesizing means 8, recognizes that the image data is extremely low, and can determine that the lamp of the lighting means 3 has been turned off. In this case, the image processing unit 11 detects that the lamp of the illuminating unit 3 has run out, and performs image correction corresponding to the case of running out of the lamp, thereby obtaining a preferable image.

[0041]

As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, (1) an electronic camera for photographing a subject to obtain image information, illuminating means for illuminating the subject, A control unit for inputting control information, a control unit for controlling the lighting unit based on the input control information, and an image output unit for outputting an image based on the obtained image information, Since the lighting unit is controlled based on the information, it is possible to set an optimum lighting state.

(2) In this case, since the information for changing the illumination state of the illumination means is information on brightness, illumination angle, and color, the information on brightness, illumination angle, and color information on the illumination means is obtained. Can be controlled to set an optimal lighting state.

(3) Further, the control information of the lighting means is as follows:
Since the control information is preset according to the light distribution pattern, the control information can be easily input assuming that the control information is preset according to the light distribution pattern.

(4) Further, by providing a plurality of the illuminating means and selectively illuminating according to the control information, a required number of the illuminating means are operated from the plurality of illuminating means to obtain an optimal lighting state. Can be set to

(5) Further, by providing the moving means for moving the lighting means based on the control information, it is possible to move the lighting means based on the control information and set an optimum lighting state.

(6) storage means for storing the background image, selection means for selecting a specific background image from the stored background image, subject image information photographed by the electronic camera, and the selected background image By having the synthesizing means for synthesizing information, the background image and the subject image can be synthesized.

(7) By controlling the illumination of the subject in accordance with the selected background image information, the illumination of the subject can be controlled in accordance with the background image and a high-quality image can be obtained.

(8) By controlling the illuminating means in accordance with the position and size of the subject, the illuminating means can be controlled in accordance with the position and size of the subject to set an optimal lighting state. it can.

(9) Further, the control means selects one of the background images having different colors according to the situation of the subject, thereby selecting the background image having different colors according to the situation of the subject. A preferable image can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, (10) an electronic camera for photographing a subject to obtain image information, an illuminating unit for illuminating the subject, a selecting unit for inputting information for changing an illumination state, and a selecting unit And image processing means for processing the image information according to the changed lighting state information, thereby performing image processing according to the changed lighting state information to obtain an image equivalent to that when controlling the lighting means. be able to.

(11) In this case, storage means for storing a background image, means for selecting a specific background image from the stored background images, subject image information shot by an electronic camera, By having the synthesizing means for synthesizing the image information, the background image and the subject image can be synthesized.

(12) Since the information for changing the lighting condition is information on brightness, lighting angle and color, the lighting condition is changed by the image processing means, and the brightness of the lighting means and the lighting angle are changed. In the same manner as in the case of controlling color information, it is possible to set an optimal lighting state.

(13) Further, the image processing means detects that the lighting means has run out of lamp and corrects the information based on the lamp running out information. The image correction corresponding to the case (1) is performed, and a preferable image can be obtained.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a photographing system capable of setting an optimal lighting state.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a shooting state of a subject.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of image synthesis.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic camera 2 Subject 3 Illumination means 4 Selection means 5 Control means 6 Display device 7 Background image storage means 8 Synthesis means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI H04N 5/272 H04N 5/272

Claims (13)

[Claims] An electronic camera for photographing a subject to obtain image information; an illumination unit for illuminating the subject; a selection unit for inputting control information of the illumination unit; and the illumination based on the input control information. A photographing system comprising: control means for controlling the means; and image output means for outputting an image based on the obtained image information. 2. The photographic system according to claim 1, wherein the information for changing the illumination state of the illumination means is information on brightness, illumination angle, and color. 3. The photographing system according to claim 1, wherein the control information of the lighting unit is control information set in advance according to a light distribution pattern. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of said illuminating means, and selectively illuminating according to said control information.
The photography system described. 5. The photographing system according to claim 1, further comprising a moving unit that moves a lighting unit according to the control information. 6. A storage unit for storing a background image, a selection unit for selecting a specific background image from the stored background images, and synthesizing subject image information photographed by an electronic camera and the selected background image information. 2. The photographing system according to claim 1, further comprising: a synthesizing unit that performs the combining. 7. The photographic system according to claim 6, wherein the illumination of the subject is controlled according to the selected background image information. 8. The photographing system according to claim 1, wherein said illuminating means is controlled according to the position and size of a subject. 9. The control means according to a situation of a subject,
The photographing system according to claim 6, wherein one of the background images having different colors is selected. 10. An electronic camera for capturing an image of a subject to obtain image information; an illuminating unit for illuminating the subject; a selecting unit for inputting information for changing a lighting state; And an image processing means for processing the image information. 11. A storage unit for storing a background image, a unit for selecting a specific background image from the stored background images,
11. The photographing system according to claim 10, further comprising: synthesizing means for synthesizing subject image information photographed by an electronic camera and selected background image information. 12. The photographing system according to claim 10, wherein the information for changing the illumination state is information on brightness, illumination angle, and color. 13. The photographic system according to claim 10, wherein said image processing means detects a lamp out of the lighting means and performs correction based on the lamp out information.