System and method for generating a three-dimensional photographic image

An apparatus for generating a two-dimensional image with parallax shift effects providing an appearance of three-dimensional depth, the apparatus comprising:

• a camera;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• receive, from the camera, one or more frames of image data of a scene comprising a background and one or more three-dimensional objects, wherein each frame of image data comprises a raster of pixels of image data;
• detect, based on the one or more frames of image data, layer information of the scene, wherein the layer information is associated with a depth-based distribution of the pixels of image data in the one or more frames of image data;
• determine, based on the layer information of the scene, a multi-layer model for the scene, the multi-layer model comprising a plurality of discrete layers comprising a first discrete layer and a second discrete layer, wherein each discrete layer is associated with a unique depth value relative to the camera;
• map the pixels of image data to the discrete layers of the plurality of discrete layers;
• render the pixels of image data as a first image of the scene as viewed from a first perspective;
• and
• render the pixels of image data as a second image of the scene as viewed from a second perspective, the second image comprising a parallax shift effect of content in the first image based on repositioning the first discrete layer relative to the second discrete layer;
• wherein one or more pixels of the first discrete layer occlude a first set of pixels of the second discrete layer in the first image;
• wherein the one or more pixels of the first discrete layer occlude a second set of pixels of the second discrete layer in the second image;
• and
• wherein the first and second discrete layers of the multi-layer model are selected from a set of possible layers as satisfying depth and size criteria for providing the parallax shift effect.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause an apparatus to:

• receive, from a camera, one or more frames of image data of a scene comprising a background and one or more three-dimensional objects, wherein each frame of image data comprises a raster of pixels of image data;
• detect, based on the one or more frames of image data, layer information of the scene, wherein the layer information is associated with a depth-based distribution of the pixels of image data in the one or more frames of image data;
• determine, based on the layer information of the scene, a multi-layer model for the scene, the multi-layer model comprising a plurality of discrete layers comprising a first discrete layer and a second discrete layer, wherein each discrete layer is associated with a unique depth value relative to the camera;
• map the pixels of image data to the discrete layers of the plurality of discrete layers;
• render the pixels of image data as a first image of the scene as viewed from a first perspective;
• and
• render the pixels of image data as a second image of the scene as viewed from a second perspective, the second image comprising a parallax shift effect of content in the first image based on repositioning the first discrete layer relative to the second discrete layer;
• wherein one or more pixels of the first discrete layer occlude a first set of pixels of the second discrete layer in the first image;
• wherein the one or more pixels of the first discrete layer occlude a second set of pixels of the second discrete layer in the second image;
• and
• wherein the first and second discrete layers of the multi-layer model are selected from a set of possible layers as satisfying depth and size criteria for providing the parallax shift effect.