Method, system, and computer program for identification and sharing of digital images with face signatures

A method for recognizing one or more faces in a digital image, the method comprising:

• a. generating one or more face coordinates corresponding to one or more candidate regions for one or more candidate faces, the face coordinates generating comprising:
• initiating a first texture-based detection routine on the digital image to detect one or more candidate face regions, each candidate face region defined by respective face coordinates;
• applying a skin color detection test to the one or more candidate face regions to eliminate one or more of the candidate faces that fail the skin color detection test, if any;
• reducing the size defined by the face coordinates of the of the one or more candidate face regions to a predefined size;
• initiating a second texture-based detection routine on each size-reduced candidate face region to define a set of positively identified face objects and uncertain face objects;
• and
• defining further positively identified face objects, if any, by rotating the digital images associated with the uncertain face objects;
• b. generating eye coordinates based on the face coordinates of each positively identified face object;
• c. detecting each face using one or more projection images defined by the face coordinates of each positively identified face object and the eye coordinates;
• and
• d. comparing each projection image with one or more known projection images, wherein a similarity threshold is provided for defining a best match between the projection image and the known projection images.