Background of the Invention Traditionally, photographs for clothing and merchandise catalogs, magazines, brochures and the like have been taken by photographers"on location"to provide interesting backgrounds and framing that contribute to the aesthetics of the photograph. Modem computer software, such as Adobe Photoshop allows digital or digitized photographs to be manipulated in a variety of ways, one of which is layering. Layering can superimpose all or part of one photograph on another. Thus, a subject image from one photograph can be superimposed on another, and aspects of either or both layers of the composite image can be manipulated. Examples of such manipulation are horizontal or vertical translation, rotation, proportionate scaling, Gaussian blurring, addition of shadows or reflections, color manipulation, and so on.

Nevertheless, up to now there is no known system for substantially duplicating the quality and realism of a photograph taken on location by a skilled photographer by means of computerized component image assembly.

Summarv of the Invention One aspect of the present invention is the provision of photographic components specially designed and searchable for use in creating realistic composite photographs, also known as component imagery. For example, the present invention contemplates provision of a very large database of background images any one of

which can be provided in high resolution format. Each background image in the database has attributes associated with it, preferably numerical, pertaining to lighting conditions at the time the associated photograph was taken, and camera orientation.

Such conditions can include the horizontal angle of the sun or other lighting as compared to the line of sight of the camera, the vertical or elevation angle of the primary lighting relative to the horizontal orientation of the camera, a measure of the apparent ground angle perspective, and a measure of horizontal depth of field focal range boundaries. Preferably the database is searchable by one or more of these attributes. For ease of use, the database is also searchable by subject (beach scenes, mountain scenes, particular geographic locations, and so on), and specific image color attributes.

Once a user has selected a desired background image, the lighting and/or perspective attributes can be identified for that image. The user then can photograph a subject in a studio with substantially the same attributes. The subject image can be composited with the background image to create an extremely realistic composite photograph.

In addition to background images, the same attributes can be provided for masked foreground images, object images, and subject images within the same or separate databases. In theory, the entire final photo montage could be created from such a library of component imagery, but in most cases a user will supply at least part of the ultimate image, which could be as simple as a studio photograph of merchandise with or without a human model or subject.

Another alternative is to photograph the subject first, then search the background image database for images that have the same or close to the same attributes.

In another aspect of the present invention, the background images are photographed with a portion of the image foreground in focus and the image background progressively blurred as a function of distance. A subject image component can be photographed in focus. By use of a graphics program such as Adobe Photoshop the subject image can be positioned in the focused portion of the background image. Thus, an in-studio subject photograph can be composited with a stock background to create a cohesive appearance rivaling an on-location photograph, particularly considering that in the preferred embodiment lighting and perspective attributes also are matched, and that digital affects can be added, such as simulated shadows and reflection affects.

In another aspect of the present invention, two-dimensional tools are provided for quickly and easily determining the lighting attributes in a studio, in a form compatible with the attributes of the background images stored in the database, and for determining the apparent ground perspective angle of a subject image.

Brief Description of the Drawings The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIGURE 1 is a tabular representation of a database of background images for component imagery in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a diagram illustrating a first lighting attribute associated with one or more of the images of the database represented in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a diagram illustrating a second lighting attribute associated with one or more of the images of the database represented in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a diagram illustrating another attribute associated with one or more of the images of the database represented in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 (on the drawing sheet with FIGURE 1) is a tabular representation of additional attributes for a database for component imagery in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 6 is a block diagram of a distributed computer system that can be used in the component imagery system of the present invention.

FIGURE 7 is a representation of a tool useable for determining lighting attributes for use in a component imagery system in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 8 is a top perspective illustrating use of the tool of FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a representation of a tool useable for estimating the apparent ground angle (perspective value) of an image.

FIGURE 10 is a flowchart representing steps in the production of a composite photograph in accordance with the component imagery system of the present invention.

FIGURE 11 is a representation of a composite photograph having a sharply focused subject image overlaid on a background image from a database in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 12 is a tabular representation of additional attributes for a database for component imagery in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 13 is a side elevation of lighting positioning equipment that can be used in a component imagery system in accordance with the present invention, and FIGURE 14 is a corresponding side elevation of such equipment with parts in different positions.

FIGURE 15 is a fragmentary enlarged top perspective of a portion of the equipment of FIGURES 13 and 14.

FIGURE 16 is a representation of a screen display of a controller for equipment of the type shown in FIGURES 13-15.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment The present invention provides a system of compositing one or more subject images with background images into a single composite to create a photo-realistic montage. In accordance with the present invention, this can involve matching lighting and other attributes between the subject image (s) and a separate background image. For example, as described in detail below, in one embodiment of the present invention a user can select a background image from a database of such images and discover lighting and perspective attributes associated with that background image.

The user then can photograph a subject in a studio with the same attributes so that when the subject image is composited with the selected background image, such as by use of a commercially available image manipulation program such as Adobe Photoshop the composite image will be very realistic and appear as though the subject was shot on location.

Part of the database can be represented by the table 10 of FIGURE 1. The entities of the database are the background images themselves, identified in the left column 12. Each background image has attributes associated with it which, in the preferred embodiment, include one or more lighting attributes (columns 14,16) and one or more additional attributes (column 18). In the illustrated embodiment, two lighting attributes and an apparent perspective attribute are associated with each background image.

For example, with reference to FIGURE 2, when the background image is initially photographed, the primary light source, typically the sun if the photograph is taken outside, will have a specific horizontal angular orientation relative to the line of sight of a camera 20. In one embodiment of the present invention, this angle is considered to be zero (or 360 degrees) if the light source is directly behind the

camera, as represented by circle 22. Otherwise, the horizontal light direction angle is given a value equal to the angle in degrees, proceeding clockwise from the zero degree position 22. The preciseness or resolution of the horizontal light direction values (abbreviated as HLD or simply H) can be 15 degrees. Thus, a value of "H 045"as an attribute for an image would indicate a front left orientation of the primary light source, as represented by circle 24 in FIGURE 2; whereas a full left orientation would be"H 090"as represented by circle 26; and so on up to a front right orientation of the primary light source which would be"H 315"as represented by circle 28; it being understood that FIGURE 2 shows resolution in 45° increments whereas in a representative embodiment resolution could be in 15° increments or another value selected by the designer.

With reference to FIGURE 3, another lighting attribute that can be associated with each background image is the vertical light angle (VLA or simply V). If the camera were viewed in side elevation, a VLA of zero degrees corresponds to a primary light source at the same elevation as the camera. The number stored in the database associated with one or more of the background images for the vertical light angle can have a resolution of 10°, from zero to 90. It is not necessary to accommodate for vertical light angles greater than 90°, because the horizontal direction is given by the HLD value, and for accurate representations it has been found that negative angles can be ignored (i. e., given a value of zero). Thus, for a very low elevation of the primary light source which corresponds to the line of sight of the camera, the value associated with a background would be"V 00"represented by circle 30 of FIGURE 3; an intermediate elevation angle could be represented as "V 40"corresponding to circle 32; and the highest elevation angle would be represented as"V 90" (primary light source directly overhead) as represented by circle 34.

Returning to FIGURE 1, another attribute that can be associated with one or more of the background images is a perspective value ("PV"or simply"P"- column 18), also known as the"ground angle,"which is represented in FIGURE 4.

Apparent ground angle can be an important attribute to be matched if a composite image is to appear as an on-location photograph. In general, the ground angle value is the angle a created by a direct line from the camera lens 20 to the base of the subject S. In some background images the"subject"would be the focused area of the background, discussed in more detail below. The perspective lines are sharper for a lower perspective value than for a higher perspective value. Stated in another way, at

a lower elevation of the camera, the horizon is lower and parallel lines at opposite sides will converge more abruptly than for a higher elevation where the horizon is higher. The perspective value can be stored as an attribute in the database in 5° increments.

Preferably, each image in the database will have associated attributes for all three of horizontal light direction, vertical light angle, and perspective value, which could be represented as"H 150, V 40, P 25"for an image having a horizontal light direction of 150° (measured clockwise from the horizontal line of sight of the camera), a vertical light angle of 40° and a perspective value of 25°.

Additional attributes can be stored for the background images, including measures of color temperature (CT), light diffusion (LD--sharpness or absence of shadows) and ambiance (A--degree of ambient light) as represented in the table 11 of FIGURE 5. In a current embodiment, assigning values for these attributes is more subjective than for the lighting and perspective attributes discussed above. For example, color temperature (column 15) is assigned one of three values which can be described as"warm","medium", or"cool"depending on whether the color temperature of the primary light source is toward the red end of the visible spectrum, middle of the visible spectrum, or blue end of the visible spectrum, respectively. For example, incandescent light typically is"warm", sunlight is typically"medium" (except at sunrise and sunset), and often florescent lighting is"cool". Concerning diffusion (column 17), a value of 0,25,50,75 or 100 is assigned as a"percentage"of diffusion, 0 representing a very sharp shadow such as would occur from direct sunlight and 100 corresponding to no shadow at all, such as almost completely diffused light on an overcast or foggy day. The intermediate values (25,50,75) are assigned based on a subjective evaluation of the degree of light diffusion. Similarly, ambience (column 19) is measured on the or 100 scale as a"percentage" of ambient light or light from a secondary source. A value of 0 would indicate no ambient light, whereas a value of 100 would indicate all light is ambient, such as if essentially all of the light for the photograph is reflected light. Intermediate values indicate an approximate measure of the primary or direct light as compared to light from a secondary source or other ambient light. The values for these attributes (color temperature, diffusion, ambience) can be assigned at the time the original photograph is taken or be estimated based on the image itself. It is anticipated that one or more of these attributes could be determined empirically or at least in a less subjective manner.

With reference to FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 5, the database of table 10 and table 11 is stored in computer-readable media represented by the broken line box 36.

Any quickly accessible computer memory media could be used, most likely the memory of a personal computer or server, but in some instances, depending on the capabilities of the computer and the size of the database, the database could be stored on a disk, CD-ROM, zip drive, DVD, etc. While all of the compositing could be performed at one location by means of a single computer and associated software, it is more likely that aspects of the system will be performed at different locations.

For example, FIGURE 6 is a block diagram of a distributed computer network by means of which the present invention can be practiced. The system includes a server computer 40 that can be accessed by a number of customer or client computers 42 by way of a computer communication link such as the Internet 44. A client or customer accesses the server computer 40 by entering its Internet address into a web browser program running on the client computer. Some of the client computers may be part of a local or wide-area network 46 that accesses the Internet via an Internet server/firewall 48. One or more other client computers 50 may access the Internet 44 through a modem and an Internet service provider (ISP) 52.

In most cases the graphics manipulation program will be resident in the client computers and the subject image to be composited with a selected background image will be loaded therein. The database management system will be resident in the server computer 40 and be responsive to searching commands entered remotely at the client computers. For example, a particular customer or client may search the database in memory of the server computer 40 by any desired criteria, such as subject, and view, then select, a specific background image that is desired. That background image can be downloaded via the Internet, or provided to the customer on a CD-ROM 54 or any other computer-readable media. The background image will have associated with it the various attributes, preferably including HLD, VLA, and PV, and possibly also CT, LD and/or A, so that the customer can either select or obtain a subject image having matching attributes. Once both the background image and subject image are available, the two can be composited by means of commercial graphics manipulation software.

Thus, in one representative application of the present invention, the desired background is viewed, selected, and loaded into a customer or client computer along with the attribute values. Then the customer or client can photograph a subject image in the studio having matching attributes. In this regard, FIGURE 7 is an illustration

of a two-dimensional tool usable to determine horizontal light direction and vertical light angle in a studio, for identification and/or matching purposes, and FIGURE 8 illustrates use of the tool of FIGURE 7. With reference to FIGURE 7, tool 60 has a series of radial lines 62 emanating from a central hub 64. Hub 64 can have a diameter approximately the same as a standard 35 mm film canister (approximately 1.25 inches). In addition, a series of concentric circles 66 encompass the hub. With reference to FIGURE 7, a standard 35 mm film canister 68 is centered in the hub and the tool 60 is placed on level ground at the base of the subject and oriented with the 360 (or zero) radius toward the camera. Indicia 70 associated with the radial lines indicate the horizontal light direction, based on the direction of the shadow 71 cast by the canister. The most outward tip of the shadow, i. e., the concentric circle to which it is closest, indicates the vertical light angle.

Similarly, the circles 66 have associated indicia 72 which yield the vertical light angle by indicating the farthest distance of the shadow cast by the film canister from the central hub 64. For example, if the shadow reaches the second circle 66 from the hub, the vertical light angle is 70. As another example, broken line 74 in FIGURE 7 illustrates a representative shadow which would correspond to a horizontal light direction of 225 and a vertical light angle of approximately 60.

The perspective value can, with practice, be estimated based on the location of the camera relative to the base of the subject. Another way for estimating the perspective value is by use of the tool 76 of FIGURE 9 which is printed on a transparent sheet to be used as an overlay for a subject image already taken. The tool is laid over a print of the image and the closest match of the perspective lines 77 and object 79 and its shadow can be selected. The indicia 78 at the side indicate the perspective value or apparent ground angle. As noted above, the perspective value can also be estimated in the studio and then measured by use of the tool 76 after the image is obtained.

In summary, the aspects of the present invention described above can be represented by the diagram of FIGURE 10. Steps represented within broken line box 90 pertain to obtaining and categorizing the subject image. The user can photograph the subject against a solid color backdrop (box 92), and then measure the attributes for the studio conditions (boxes 94). Alternatively, the studio conditions can be measured before the subject photograph is taken Ultimately, a subject image with known attributes of horizontal light direction, vertical light angle, and/or

perspective value is obtained (box 96). The image may also have associated with it the estimated values for color temperature, light diffusion and ambience.

Steps represented within the broken-line box 100 pertain to obtaining a matching background image. The database of background images may be searched by one or more of horizontal light direction, vertical light angle, and/or perspective value (boxes 102), for example, with or without subject matter searching.

Ultimately, a background image having identified attributes is selected (box 104).

As represented in box 106, the final component imagery is composited from the background image (box 104) and subject image (box 96), which preferably have matching values for the different attributes.

Alternatively, the database of background images can be searched first. For example, the user may desire a background image based on other criteria, such as subject. A desired background image is selected, and the user then can discover the associated attributes. The desired subject can be photographed in a studio with attribute values matching those of the selected background. In either case, the closer the match, the more realistic the composite image will be. While at first it may appear that the background images should always be selected first so that the subject could be photographed with the appropriate attributes, in some cases a particular subject photograph will have great appeal and may be used on more than one background. The present invention allows matching of light, perspective and other attributes with different backgrounds for the same subject and vice versa.

Another aspect of the present invention is the provision of the background images with a sharply focused area in the near foreground of the image and the image background progressively blurred as a function of distance, which can be achieved by camera characteristics such as lens length and aperture settings. For example, with reference to FIGURE 11, the focus area of the background image is approximately between the locations indicated by the broken lines 110 and 112. The sharply focused subject image S, photographed in a studio, for example, will be most realistic when placed with its base between those lines, creating a highly realistic image appearing virtually identical to a photograph having the subject and progressively blurred background photographed together. Thus, in this aspect of the invention, the database of background images are all or at least largely images having progressively blurred backgrounds, but still with associated attributes for horizontal light direction, vertical elevation angle, and perspective value.

With reference to FIGURE 12, information concerning the focused area of one or more of the background images stored in the database can be included as attributes, as represented in Table 114. Table 114 contains the column 12 for the image identifier, similar to the tables of FIGURES 1 and 5. A"near focus" (NF) attribute (column 116) and"far focus" (FF) attribute (column 118) can be associated with all or selected images. In a representative embodiment, the near focus and far focus values can indicate a percentage of the overall height of the image for the location of the line of nearest focus (line 110 of FIGURE 11, for example), and the percentage of the overall height of the image for the line of farthest focus (line 112 of FIGURE 11). Resolution can be in 5° increments so that attributes of"NF005, FF015"would indicate that the focused area of the background image is between 5 and 15° of the overall height of the image, as measured from the bottom. This can be particularly useful when low resolution representations of the images are scanned, such as when subject searching over the Internet. In a low resolution reproduction, it may not be apparent where the focused area of the background image begins and ends and, consequently, whether or not a particular background image is appropriate for a desired subject.

With reference to FIGURES 13-16, the horizontal light direction and vertical light angle values can be used to control the position of mechanized lighting equipment in a studio. The equipment of FIGURES 13-15 is representative of a mechanized lighting design that could be used. As seen in FIGURES 13-15, such equipment includes a top hub 120 mountable to a ceiling. A first curved support 122 is essentially cantilevered from hub 120 by a shaft 124. Shaft 124 is rotatable by a motor 125 in the hub. A second arcuate support 126 is slidably mounted on the first arcuate support 122 by a carriage assembly 128 best seen in FIGURE 15. As also seen in FIGURE 15, both the upper and lower arcuate supports 122,126 have two laterally spaced rails 130 (for the upper support) and 132 (for the lower support).

The carriage 128 has brackets 134 which span the adjacent support members and carry rollers 136 that permit movement of the lower support member 126 relative to the upper support member 122. In addition, the carriage 128 includes an open topped housing 138 between the laterally spaced rails. A motor 139 is mounted in the housing with an output gear for rotating another gear 140 fixed to a cross axle 142.

Rotation of the motor output gear drives the gear 140, axle 142 and, also, a drive pulley or gear 144 for an endless belt or chain 146. Belt or chain 146 drives gears 148 carried by cross axles 150 at the opposite ends of the housing 138. In turn,

the cross axles have small gears 152 at their outer ends, which mesh with teeth on the facing surfaces of the upper and lower rails 130,132.

A light source 156 is mounted on the lower arcuate support member 126.

Actuation of the motor is effective to drive the lower rail relative to the upper rail between the position of FIGURE 13 in which the light source is directed straight down (90° or"high noon"position) and the position of FIGURE 14 (0° or"sunset" position). This motion corresponds to the vertical light angle. Similarly, the motor 125 of the stationary, ceiling mounted hub 120 is effective to rotate both arms together, change to the horizontal light direction. A computer/microprocessor 160 can be used to automatically position the light source at a desired horizontal and vertical position. For example, FIGURE 16 shows a representative window 162 of a display associated with the computer microprocessor. In the illustrated embodiment, a user may manipulate a cursor to select the"filename"box 64 and enter an identifier for a particular background image for which the identifier is stored in or accessible by the computer/microprocessor 160. Next, selecting the"autoset"button 166 on the display will actuate the lighting equipment to move to the horizontal light direction and vertical light angles associated with that image. Alternatively, the user can select the"preferences"button 168 of the display and then input desired horizontal and vertical positions for the light source in boxes 170 and 172. Additionally, from selected positions, buttons 174 can be selected for changing the horizontal and/or vertical position, or the arrows 176 can be moved along respective arcs 178 on the display to select the desired lighting positions. Preferably, the support arms are sufficiently long that the light source is positioned a large enough distance from the subject (which can be positioned directly under the hub 120) so as not to interfere with the camera work. In a representative embodiment, each support arm can encompass an arc of about 90°, with a radius of curvature of 16 feet. While FIGURES 13-16 disclose one embodiment of light positioning equipment that can be automatically or manually controlled based on attributes of applicant's novel database, other positioning equipment could be used or adapted for the system of the present invention.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.