# US 7,412,105 B2 · Tone selective adjustment of images

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- Number: US 7,412,105 B2
- Document ID: US7412105B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 10/678,366
- Filed: 2003-10-03
- Published: 2005-04-07
- Granted: 2008-08-12
- Earliest claimed: 2003-10-03
- Assignees: Adobe Systems Incorporated
- Inventors: Gregg D. Wilensky
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7412105B2

## CPC

- G06T 5/90: Dynamic range modification of images or parts thereof
- G06T 2207/20012: Locally adaptive
- G06T 2207/20216: Image averaging
- G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL

## Abstract

Methods, systems and apparatus, including computer program products, for processing an image. A first tone value is determined for a location within the image based upon attributes of pixels within a first neighborhood surrounding the location. The first tone value specifies a local weight for a first tone adjustment in the image. A second tone value is determined for the location based upon attributes of pixels within a second neighborhood surrounding the location. The second tone value specifies a local weight for a second tone adjustment in the image. The image is adjusted at the location using the first and second tone adjustments according to the local weights specified by the first and second tone values, respectively.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for processing an image, the method comprising:
identifying one or more neighborhood size parameters, one or more tone function shape parameters, and one or more tone adjustment strength parameters; and
for each location of multiple locations within the image, performing tone selective adjustment, where performing tone selective adjustment comprises:
determining a shadow neighborhood and a highlight neighborhood, each neighborhood comprising an area of the image surrounding the location that is based on at least one of the one or more neighborhood size parameters;
determining a shadow neighborhood intensity for the shadow neighborhood, the shadow neighborhood intensity being a measure of values of a local attribute specified by pixels within the shadow neighborhood;
determining a highlight neighborhood intensity for the highlight neighborhood, the highlight neighborhood intensity being a measure of values of a local attribute specified by pixels within the highlight neighborhood;
determining a shadow tone value representing a characterization of a shadow tone of the neighborhood, where the shadow tone value is based on the shadow neighborhood intensity and a shadow tone function, where the shadow tone function is based on at least one of the one or more tone function shape parameters;
determining a highlight tone value representing a characterization of a highlight tone of the neighborhood, where the highlight tone value is based on the highlight neighborhood intensity and a highlight tone function, where the highlight tone function is based on at least one of the one or more tone function shape parameters;
determining a shadow local weight for a shadow tone adjustment based on the shadow tone value and at least one of the one or more tone strength adjustment parameters;
determining a highlight local weight for a highlight tone adjustment based on the highlight tone value and at least one of the one or more tone strength adjustment parameters;
adjusting the image at the location using the shadow local weight for shadow tone adjustment and the highlight local weight for highlight tone adjustment.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein:
for each pixel in each neighborhood, the value of the local attribute depends on luminosity of the pixel.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein:
for each pixel in each neighborhood, the value of the local attribute depends on a maximum color value of the pixel.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein:
for each pixel in each neighborhood, the value of the local attribute is a weighted average of a luminosity and a maximum color value of the pixel.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein:
determining each neighborhood intensity comprises averaging the values of the local attribute for pixels within the corresponding neighborhood.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein:
averaging the values of the local attribute for pixels within each neighborhood includes averaging the values of the local attribute according to gaussian weights that are assigned to each pixel in the neighborhood based upon a distance between the pixel and the location.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein:
averaging the values of the local attribute for pixels within each neighborhood includes averaging the values of the local attribute according to weights that are assigned to each pixel in the neighborhood based upon a difference between the local attribute at the pixel and the location.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving user input selecting a range of neighborhood intensity values for which the shadow or highlight tone value is substantially different from a reference value.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein:
the tone function is a generic function or a general Gaussian function.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein:
the shadow neighborhood and the highlight neighborhood are substantially identical.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
for each location of one or more of the multiple locations, performing the following operations:
identifying a graphics object within the image, the location lying inside the graphics object; and
restricting the shadow and highlight neighborhoods for the location inside the graphics object.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, wherein:
identifying the graphics object includes identifying lines or edges in the image.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining one or more additional tone values for the location, each of the additional tone values specifying a local weight for a corresponding tone adjustment in the image; and
wherein adjusting the image at the location includes using each of the additional tone adjustments according to the corresponding tone value.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, wherein:
at least one of the additional tone values is determined based on the shadow and highlight tone values.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the shadow and highlight tone adjustments are related to each other by a negative symmetry.

### Claim 16

A system for image processing, the system comprising:
a local adjustment tool to adjust an image including a plurality of pixels, the local adjustment tool including a shadow tone component and a highlight tone component, wherein:
each of the shadow and highlight tone components is operable to determine a tone value and a corresponding local weight for adjustment for a location in the image by performing operations comprising:
determining a neighborhood comprising an area of the image surrounding the location that is based on at least one of one or more neighborhood size parameters;
determining a neighborhood intensity, the neighborhood intensity being a measure of values of a local attribute specified by pixels within the neighborhood;
determining a tone value for the location, the tone value representing a characterization of a tone of the neighborhood, where the tone value is based on the neighborhood intensity and a tone function, where the tone function is based on at least one of one or more tone function shape parameters; and
determining a local weight for a tone adjustment based on the tone value and at least one of one or more tone strength adjustment parameters;
the local adjustment tool is operable to adjust the image at a location using the corresponding local weights determined by each of the shadow and highlight tone components according to the local weight specified by the corresponding tone value.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The system of claim 16, further comprising:
an image capturing device to generate the image.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The system of claim 17, wherein the image capturing device includes a digital camera or a scanner.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The system of claim 16, further comprising:
a display device to display the image.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein the display device is implemented in a portable device.

### Claim 21 (depends on 16)

The system of claim 16, wherein at least one of the tone components specifies an adjustment parameter for the corresponding tone adjustment, the system further comprising:
a user interface to set a value for the adjustment parameter.

### Claim 22

A computer readable storage device storing a computer program of instructions which, when executed by a computer processing apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform a method for processing an image comprising:
identifying one or more neighborhood size parameters, one or more tone function shape parameters, and one or more tone adjustment strength parameters; and
for each location of multiple locations within the image, performing tone selective adjustment, where performing tone selective adjustment comprises:
determining a shadow neighborhood and a highlight neighborhood, each neighborhood comprising an area of the image surrounding the location that is based on at least one of the one or more neighborhood size parameters;
determining a shadow neighborhood intensity for the shadow neighborhood, the shadow neighborhood intensity being a measure of values of a local attribute specified by pixels within the shadow neighborhood;
determining a highlight neighborhood intensity for the highlight neighborhood, the highlight neighborhood intensity being a measure of values of a local attribute specified by pixels within the highlight neighborhood;
determining a shadow tone value representing a characterization of a shadow tone of the neighborhood, where the shadow tone value is based on the shadow neighborhood intensity and a shadow tone function, where the shadow tone function is based on at least one of the one or more tone function shape parameters;
determining a highlight tone value representing a characterization of a highlight tone of the neighborhood, where the highlight tone value is based on the highlight neighborhood intensity and a highlight tone function, where the highlight tone function is based on at least one of the one or more tone function shape parameters;
determining a shadow local weight for a shadow tone adjustment based on the shadow tone value and at least one of the one or more tone strength adjustment parameters;
determining a highlight local weight for a highlight tone adjustment based on the highlight tone value and at least one of the one or more tone strength adjustment parameters;
adjusting the image at the location using the shadow local weight for shadow tone adjustment and the highlight local weight for highlight tone adjustment.

### Claim 23 (depends on 22)

The computer readable storage device of claim 22, wherein:
for each pixel in each neighborhood, the value of the local attribute depends on luminosity of the pixel.

### Claim 24 (depends on 22)

The computer readable storage device of claim 22, wherein:
for each pixel in each neighborhood, the value of the local attribute depends on a maximum color value of the pixel.

### Claim 25 (depends on 22)

The computer readable storage device of claim 22, wherein:
for each pixel in each neighborhood, the value of the local attribute is a weighted average of a luminosity and a maximum color value of the pixel.

### Claim 26 (depends on 22)

The computer readable storage device of claim 22, wherein:
determining each neighborhood intensity comprises averaging the values of the local attribute for pixels within the corresponding neighborhood.

### Claim 27 (depends on 26)

The computer readable storage device of claim 26, wherein:
averaging the values of the local attribute for pixels within each neighborhood includes averaging the values of the local attribute according to gaussian weights that are assigned to each pixel in the neighborhood based upon a distance between the pixel and the location.

### Claim 28 (depends on 26)

The computer readable storage device of claim 26, wherein:
averaging the values of the local attribute for pixels within each neighborhood includes averaging the values of the local attribute according to weights that are assigned to each pixel in the neighborhood based upon a difference between the local attribute at the pixel and the location.

### Claim 29 (depends on 22)

The computer readable storage device of claim 22, further comprising instructions operable to cause one or more data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:
receiving user input selecting a range of neighborhood intensity values for which the shadow or highlight tone value is substantially different from a reference value.

### Claim 30 (depends on 22)

The computer readable storage device of claim 22, wherein:
the tone function is a generic function or general Gaussian function.

### Claim 31 (depends on 22)

The computer readable storage device of claim 22, wherein:
the shadow neighborhood and the highlight neighborhood are substantially identical.

### Claim 32 (depends on 22)

The computer readable storage device of claim 22, wherein the method further comprises:
for each location of one or more of the multiple locations, performing the following operations:
identifying a graphics object within the image, the location lying inside the graphics object; and
restricting the shadow and highlight neighborhoods for the location inside the graphics object.

### Claim 33 (depends on 32)

The computer readable storage device of claim 32, wherein:
identifying the graphics object includes identifying lines or edges in the image.

### Claim 34 (depends on 22)

The computer readable storage device of claim 22, wherein the method further comprises:
determining one or more additional tone values for the location, each of the additional tone values specifying a local weight for a corresponding tone adjustment in the image; and
wherein adjusting the image at the location includes using each of the additional tone adjustments according to the corresponding tone value.

### Claim 35 (depends on 34)

The computer readable storage device of claim 34, wherein:
at least one of the additional tone values is determined based on the shadow and highlight tone values.

### Claim 36 (depends on 22)

The computer readable storage device of claim 22, wherein the shadow and highlight tone adjustments are related to each other by a negative symmetry.

### Claim 37 (depends on 17)

The system of claim 17, wherein the image capturing device includes a CCD device.

### Claim 38 (depends on 17)

The system of claim 17, wherein the local adjustment tool is configured to provide feedback to the image capturing device.

### Claim 39 (depends on 38)

The system of claim 38, wherein the image capturing device is configured to locally adjust sensitivity based on the feedback to generate an adjusted image.

### Claim 40 (depends on 20)

The system of claim 20, wherein the portable device includes a personal digital assistant, a mobile phone, or both.

### Claim 41 (depends on 40)

The system of claim 40, wherein at least a portion of the local adjustment tool is implemented in a remote server.

### Claim 42 (depends on 20)

The system of claim 20, wherein the local adjustment tool is implemented in the portable device.