Tabletop computed lighting for practical digital photography.
We apply simplified image-based lighting methods to reduce the equipment, cost, time, and specialized skills required for high-quality photographic lighting of desktop-sized static objects such as museum artifacts. We place the object and a computer-steered moving-head spotlight inside a simple foam-core enclosure and use a camera to record photos as the light scans the box interior. Optimization, guided by interactive user sketching, selects a small set of these photos whose weighted sum best matches the user-defined target sketch. Unlike previous image-based relighting efforts, our method requires only a single area light source, yet it can achieve high-resolution light positioning to avoid multiple sharp shadows. A reduced version uses only a handheld light and may be suitable for battery-powered field photography equipment that fits into a backpack.
Mohan
Ankit
A
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Northwestern University, 3.320 Ford Design Center, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA. ankit@cs.northwestern.edu
Bailey
Reynold
R
Waite
Jonathan
J
Tumblin
Jack
J
Grimm
Cindy
C
Bodenheimer
Bobby
B
D000465:Algorithms; D003196:Computer Graphics; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008029:Lighting / Q000379:methods*; D010781:Photography / Q000379:methods*; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D014584:User-Computer Interface