Color image reproduction of scenes with preferential color mapping and scene-dependent tone scaling

Apparatus for enhancing the color and lightness characteristics of a digital color image, the digital color image having pixel values from which digital luminance and color difference values can be deduced, comprising:

• a) means for deducing digital luminance and digital color difference values for pixels of the digital color image;
• b) means for using the pixels of the digital color image to calculate an image dependent transform;
• c) means for using the image dependent transform to modify the digital luminance values for pixels of the digital color image to form modified luminance values;
• d) means for calculating a preferred color transform that modifies the original digital color difference values in a manner that consistently and smoothly moves the values toward or away from predetermined digital color difference values;
• and
• e) means for using the preferred color transform to modify the original color difference values for pixels of the digital color image to produce modified color difference values.