Abstract:
A method for rating images to facitilate image retrival that includes, storing a plurality of digital image files in a digital memory; displaying the plurality of stored digital image files; permitting a user to select ratings for each of the plurality of displayed images, wherein the rating indicates how much the user likes each displayed image. Whereupon being responsive to the user ratings, user image values are provided for each of the the plurality of displayed images. Additionally, the user image values are stored as metadata in each of the plurality of stored digital image files corresponding to the plurality of displayed images, wherein the user image value uses a multi-point scale and wherein a maximum point value corresponds to a best rating.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a Regular Continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/635,837 filed Aug. 6, 2003, titled “Digital Camera For Capturing Images And Selecting Metadata To Be Associated With The Captured Images “by Kenneth A. Parulski, et al. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The invention relates generally to the field of photography, and in particular to collecting and categorizing images. More specifically, the invention relates to a personal database of metadata labels constructed prior to image capture.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Image metadata is well-known, and is useful in retrieving desired images from a large collection of images. The Kodak DC265™ camera formulates many metadata items, such as the date/time, camera lens setting, scene light level, etc. when the picture is taken, and stores this metadata within the Exif/JPEG digital image file. Unfortunately, this metadata cannot identify the subject of the photo, or whether this particular photo is one of the user&#39;s “favorite” photos. It is this latter type of information that is most useful in quickly and easily retrieving desired images from a large collection of pictures.  
         [0004]     Many software applications allow the user to manually type in text, such as a “picture title” or “picture description,” and store this text within the image file. This could be used to add a description including the people, events, or type of photo. The text strings from all images in the database could later be searched to retrieve images having the names, events, etc. of interest. Unfortunately, this is an extremely tedious method of adding metadata. In addition, since the user may type in different text to describe the same item (e.g. Matt, Matthew, or X-mas, Christmas) the database may not contain consistent names for the same picture categories. Some particular software applications, such as Image Expert 2000™ developed by Sierra Imaging Inc., allow the user to add keywords to captured images. The keywords are categorized as “location,” “occasion,” “photographer,” and “subject.” While viewing a group of thumbnail images, a user can create keywords in these categories and assign the keywords to one or more captured images by selecting the thumbnails and keywords. The keywords from all images in the database can later be searched to retrieve images that were assigned to those particular keywords.  
         [0005]     Unfortunately, these conventional software applications make it difficult for an untrained consumer to categorize their images in a way that enables them to later locate their favorite images of a selected subject. What is needed is a simple, fast method for the user to add emotional or aesthetic based type metadata to a collection of images, and to use this emotional or aesthetic based metadata to retrieve images of interest.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above. Briefly summarized, according to one embodiment of the present invention there is method for rating images to facitilate image retrival, including the steps of: storing a plurality of digital image files in a digital memory; displaying the plurality of stored digital image files; permitting a user to select one of the plurality of displayed images and to select a rating, wherein the rating indicates how much the user likes the image; responsive to the user rating, providing a user image value for the selected displayed image, and storing the user image value as metadata in the stored digital image file corresponding to the displayed image, wherein the user image value uses a multi-point scale and wherein a maximum point value corresponds to a best rating.  
         [0007]     Another embodiment of the present invention is summarized as a method for rating images to facitilate image retrival, including the steps of: storing a plurality of digital image files in a digital memory; displaying the plurality of stored digital image files; permitting a user to select ratings for each of the plurality of displayed images, wherein the rating indicates how much the user likes each displayed image; responsive to the user ratings, providing user image values for each of the the plurality of displayed images, and storing the user image values as metadata in each of the plurality of stored digital image files corresponding to the plurality of displayed images, wherein the user image value uses a multi-point scale and wherein a maximum point value corresponds to a best rating.  
         [0008]     The present invention has the advantage of allowing a user to preemptively categorize photos that are particularly noteworthy to the user. The application can display a menu of metadata labels, including labels such as “favorite photos,” “funny photos,” etc. The metadata labels, or alternatively metadata label identifier codes, are then stored within the image files and/or in a database separate from the image files, but referencing the appropriate images. At a later time, when the database contains hundreds or thousands of images, several metadata labels can be selected together to easily retrieve images. For example, by selecting the categories “Matthew,” Matthew&#39;s Birthday,” and “favorite photos,” the user can get a thumbnail display or slideshow of the “best” photos of Matthew taken on his birthday every year, rather than searching through a collection of hundreds or thousands of captured digital image files.  
         [0009]     These and other aspects, objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood and appreciated from a review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and appended claims, and by reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is an example flow diagram of the method of this invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  shows a block diagram of a system that implements this invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  shows an example of a main user interface screen;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  shows an example menu for selecting labels;  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  shows an example of the main user interface screen as labels are selected;  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  shows a user interface screen displaying a selected picture with its corresponding metadata labels; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 7  shows the user interface screen displaying an image retrieved using selected labels.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     Referring to  FIG. 1 a  flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention for adding personalized metadata to a collection of images is shown. Operation block  100  discloses a user inserting an auto-launch CD-ROM into a CD-ROM drive of a computer in order to install software that implements the method of the present invention. Operation  110  discloses prompting a user to create “labels” for their pictures (i.e., images), prior to capturing any images, for the purpose of locating (i.e., retrieving) the pictures at a later time. An inquiry operation  120  asks the user to respond affirmatively or negatively. Should the user respond negatively, all operations cease. In contrast, should the user respond affirmatively, she would be prompted to enter nicknames of her family and friends by operation  130 . As will be described later, the user entries are prompted by questions including “please enter first names of family members and pets” and “please enter nicknames of friends you often photograph.” Subsequently, the user is prompted to either select or enter picture classifications, locations, and subjects according to operation  140 . As will be described later, the user entries concerning classifications are prompted by questions concerning the types of situations and occasions that they generally photograph.  
         [0018]     Operation  150  causes user labels to be stored in a metadata database. This completes the process of developing the database of pre-assigned metadata labels personalized for the particular user. Some time later (e.g., immediately thereafter, or several hours later, or several days later), a user can capture one or several images and transfer the captured images to the computer in operation  160 . Upon transfer of the images in operation  160 , operation  170  causes thumbnail images to be displayed.  
         [0019]     Operation  175  queries the user whether more labels should be added to the images. Simultaneously, operation  200  adds a selected label to metadata for all selected images. Operation  180  receives an affirmative response from the query of operation  175 . The user selects one, many, or all of the images from the thumbnail display in operation  180 . A final query operation  185  asks whether the label is part of a pull down menu. An affirmative response is an input for operation  190 , wherein the user selects a label by clicking on a menu item. Next, operation  200  adds the selected label to metadata for all selected images. A negative response to the final query operation  185  causes operation  195  to prompt the user to enter in a label, which is then added to the metadata database.  
         [0020]     A negative response to query operation  175  causes operation  210  to store metadata within each image file and in a separate database. Some time later (e.g., immediately thereafter, or many days later, or many years later), operation  220  prompts the user to select labels in order to retrieve images of interest. In the final operation  230 , images with corresponding labels are retrieved and viewed as thumbnails (so that the corresponding full resolution images can be selectively printed, transmitted, etc.) or may be viewed as a slide show.  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a digital imaging system useful in practicing the method of the present invention, which enables users to easily customize the interface and features of their digital camera prior to taking pictures. The digital imaging system includes a digital camera  10  which is supplied along with metadata categorization software provided on a compact disc  32 , CD-ROM  42 , a floppy disk  34 , or other digital media. The digital imaging system also includes a host computer  40 , such as a Dell Dimension XPS M200™, and a Network Service Provider  70 . In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention, metadata categorization software is executed external to the digital camera  10 , and is executed on the host computer  40 . However, the metadata categorization software can alternatively be executed by an Internet appliance, set-top box, or other external device, or can be executed internal to the digital camera  10 , provided that the digital camera has an appropriate user interface for displaying and responding to questions. The metadata categorization software can be provided along with the camera customization software described in commonly-assigned U.S. Ser. No. 09/549,356 filed Apr. 14, 2000 by Prabhu et al., titled “ Method And Apparatus For Providing A User Customizable Digital Camera.”   
         [0022]     The digital camera  10  produces digital images that are stored on a removable memory card  30  or other digital storage device. The digital camera  10  has a zoom lens  12  that is controlled by a zoom switch (not shown) having telephoto (T) and wide angle (W) positions, and having zoom and focus motor drives (not shown), and an adjustable aperture and shutter (not shown) for focusing light from a scene onto an image sensor  14 . The image sensor  14  can be, for example, a single-chip, colored, charge-coupled device (CCD), using the well-known Bayer color filter pattern. When the user depresses a shutter button (not shown), the analog output signal from the image sensor  14  is converted to digital data by an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter  16 . The digital data is processed by a processor  18  that is controlled by firmware stored in a reprogram able memory, such as a Flash EPROM  28 .  
         [0023]     The processed digital image file is provided to a digital storage interface  20  which stores the digital image file on the removable memory card  30 , or on another type of digital memory device, such as a floppy disk or magnetic hard drive, or smart media. The removable memory card  30 , which is well-known to those skilled in the art, can include, for example, a memory card adapted to the PCMCIA card interface standard, as described in the  PC Card Standard , Release 2.0, published by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, Sunnyvale, Calif., September 1991. The removable memory card  30  can also be adapted to the Compact Flash interface standard, such as described in the  CompactFlash Specification Version  1.4, published by the CompactFlash Association, Palo Alto, Calif., July 1999, or to other memory devices such as the well-known SSFDC (Solid State Floppy Disc Card) or Memory Stick formats.  
         [0024]     The processor  18  performs color interpolation followed by color and tone correction, in order to produce rendered sRGB image data. The processor  18  can include internal buffer memory to store a portion of the image, or to store one or more entire images. Alternatively, the processor  18  can use a separate external memory, such as DRAM memory  19 . The rendered sRGB image data is then JPEG compressed and stored as a JPEG image file on the removable memory card  30 . The processor  18  also provides a lower resolution or “thumbnail” size image data to a color image display  22 , such as a color liquid crystal display (LCD), which displays the captured image for the user to review. The low-resolution image can be created as described in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,831 issued Nov. 17, 1992 to Kuchta et al., titled “ Electronic Still Camera Providing Multi - Format Storage Of Full And Reduced Resolution Images .” Several camera user buttons  24  are used to control the digital camera  10 . The camera user buttons  24 , together with text and icons displayed on the image display  22  (not shown), form the camera graphical user interface (GUI). This GUI is controlled by the user interface portion of the firmware stored in the Flash EPROM  28 .  
         [0025]     The digital camera  10  determines various metadata items, such as the date/time the picture was taken from the real-time clock (not shown) provided by the processor  18 , the camera lens settings, scene light level, etc. These metadata items are stored within a so-called “Exif” image file as defined in “Digital Still Camera Image File Format (Exif)” version 2.1, June 1998 by the Japan Electronics Industries Development Association (JEIDA), Tokyo, Japan. This format includes an Exif application segment that stores particular image metadata, for example the date and time the picture was captured, the lens f/number and other camera settings. It can also include user-selected custom metadata labels, as will be described later.  
         [0026]     After a series of images has been taken by the digital camera  10  and stored on the removable memory card  30 , the removable memory card  30  can be inserted into a memory card reader  48  communicatively attached to, as shown, or incorporated within (not shown) the host computer  40 . Alternatively, an interface cable  36  can be used to connect between a host interface  26  in the digital camera  10  and a camera interface  46  which may be external or internal to the host computer  40 . The interface cable  36  may conform to, for example, the well-known universal serial bus (USB) interface specification.  
         [0027]     The captured images from the digital camera  10  can be downloaded to the host computer  40  and stored on a hard drive  56  under the control of a central processing unit (CPU)  50 . The CPU  50  is coupled to a display monitor  52 , which is used to view the images, and a keyboard  54 . A mouse  55  permits the user to readily communicate with the CPU  50 . The CPU  50  communicates with a CD Rom drive  42  in order to read the information on the compact disc  32 . The CPU  50  also communicates with the floppy disk drive  44  in order to read the information on the floppy disk  34 . The CPU  50  communicates with a local printer  58 , such as an Epson Stylus Photo 700™ printer, which produces hard copy prints of the images that were captured by the digital camera  10 .  
         [0028]     The digital camera  10  that is supplied to a user includes firmware that provides normal camera features and remains stored in the Flash EPROM  28 . In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the user can customize the firmware stored in Flash EPROM  28  of the digital camera  10  using the metadata categorization software provided with the digital camera  10 , so that the metadata labels entered or selected by the user in blocks  130  and  140  of  FIG. 1  are stored in Flash EPROM  28 . The color LCD image display  22  and user buttons  24  are then used to assign metadata labels to images, substituting for blocks  175  through  210  of  FIG. 1 , as the images are captured or reviewed using the digital camera  10 . The CPU  50  uses the metadata categorization software in accordance with the present invention to provide custom metadata labels within the firmware code that is downloaded under the control of processor  18  of the digital camera  10  via the removable memory card  30 , and stored in the Flash EPROM  28 , as described in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,264 issued Dec. 19, 1995 to Sarbadhikari et al. titled “ Electronic Imaging System Using a Removable Software - Enhanced Storage Device ,” or via the interface cable  36  as described in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,425 issued Mar. 31, 1998 to Takizawa et al. titled “ Electronic Still Camera With Replaceable Digital Processing Program.”   
         [0029]     The metadata categorization software provided on the compact disc  32  or the floppy disk  34  can also include digital image application software, such as the Picture Easy™ version 3.1 software developed by the Eastman Kodak Company. Alternatively, instead of being provided on a compact disc or floppy disk  34 , the metadata categorization software could be downloaded from the Network Service Provider  70  via a modem  60 . The modem  60  communicates via a channel  64  with another modem  72  at the Network Service Provider  70 , which is connected to a computer  74 , and a customer image storage device or system  76 . A billing system  78  can charge the user (e.g., via a credit card) for downloading the metadata categorization software. The computer  74  operates an application software database  80  that can also provide input to one or more hardcopy printers  82  for subsequent printing of images captured by the digital camera  10 .  
         [0030]     As shown in block  100  of  FIG. 1 , the user begins by installing the program on her computer. The program may be provided on a compact disc  32  which may be a Photo CD also having digitized images (so that the digital camera  10  is not needed), or can alternatively be included as part of application software provided with the digital camera  10 . As part of this installation process, the user is prompted to answer a number of questions (blocks  130  and  140  of  FIG. 1 ) that produce a personalized database of metadata “labels.” At least some of the database of metadata labels is derived from the user&#39;s emotional judgment about the content of the images that she usually captures. The present invention allows a user to develop emotional or aesthetic based metadata that is useful in categorizing several of the user&#39;s captured images according to the user&#39;s own emotional or aesthetic judgment regarding the captured images.  
         [0031]     The emotional or aesthetic based metadata is derived from a user answering queries about her family, friends, and her aesthetic judgment of the typical images that she captures. Consequently, the user is able to preemptively categorize “how much they like a picture” by using emotional or aesthetic based metadata labels such as “favorite photos,” “best photos,” “cute photos,” “important moments,” or “funny photos.” These metadata labels are then stored within the captured image files and/or in a database that may be separate from the image files, but still references the appropriate categorized images. Labels assigned to each digital image file may be stored as ASCII text strings or as other types of metadata label identifiers, such as digital code values assigned to a particular metadata label. For example, a user&#39;s “best” pictures may be stored with the ASCII text “BEST,” for “user image value,” or may be stored with the digital value “10” (using a 10 point scale where 1 is lowest and 10 is highest) as the metadata label identifier in the “user image value” field. After describing how the answers will be used, the following types of personal queries may be asked:  
         [0032]     Type the nicknames of immediate family members  
         [0033]     Type the nicknames of friends you often photograph  
         [0034]     Are these good ways to classify your pictures? (select, deselect, or add) 
        Best photos, funny photos, cute photos, important moments        
 
         [0036]     Where do you often take pictures (select, deselect, or add) 
        Our house, our yard, (friend&#39;s name&#39;s house), zoo, ______park, etc.        
 
         [0038]     What type of pictures do you often take (select, deselect, or add) 
        Portraits, landscapes, flower &amp; plants, sports        
 
         [0040]     In block  150 , the user&#39;s responses to these questions are used to configure and store a database of pre-assigned metadata labels for the user in a digital memory, normally hard drive  56  of computer  40 .  
         [0041]     In block  160 , the user then proceeds to use the metadata categorization software to display images either stored in or downloaded from the digital camera  10 , or provided from a compact disc  32 , or another image source. For example, in block  130  to  140  of  FIG. 1 , the user may develop metadata labels that relates to family members, that family member&#39;s birthday party, as well as emotional metadata labels, for example images that the user ‘feels’ are her favorite photos. For an explicit example, a user selects categories labeled “Matt,” “Matt&#39;s Birthday,” and “favorite photos.” Adding labels to the appropriate images as part of blocks  175  through  210  of  FIG. 1  will enable the user to later (in blocks  220  through  230 ) quickly and easily access a thumbnail display or slideshow of the “best” photos featuring Matt taken on his birthday every year that pictures were taken, rather than searching through a collection of hundreds or thousands of captured digital image files taken over many years.  
         [0042]     As part of block  160 , the images from the camera (or full size or thumbnail size images from the compact disc) are transferred to the computer hard drive  56 . In block  170 , the CPU  50 , running the metadata categorization software displays thumbnail size images of each new downloaded picture on the computer monitor, as depicted in  FIG. 3 , along with a message such as “Label your photos now, so you can find them later.” The user selects one, several, or all of the thumbnail images by clicking on the images. The user then selects, from a pull-down menu, a metadata category (e.g., “People—who&#39;s in the picture,” “Subject—who&#39;s in this picture,” “Type—What type of picture is this?” Then, for the selected category, they select one or more metadata items using blocks  175  through  200  of  FIG. 1 . For example, if they select “Subject—who&#39;s in this picture,” the application may display a menu listing “Ken, Susan, Matthew, JoAnn, etc.” and allow them to click on one or more names. If necessary, they can type in new names (block  195  of  FIG. 1 ), which are added to future display lists. When the user selects “Type—what type of picture is this,” the application displays a menu including a number of emotional or aesthetic categories such as “best photos,” “funny photos,” etc.” 
         [0043]     Example display and pull-down menu embodiments for blocks  175  through  200  of  FIG. 1  are shown in  FIGS. 3-6 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , a “Main User Interface Screen”  3000  includes the following toolbar buttons: an “Add Label”  3010 , a “Show labels”  3020 , a “Find with Labels”  3030 , a “Slide Show”  3040 , and a “Transfer Pictures”  3050 . The main user interface screen  3000  has a slider or scrollbar  3060  for scrolling up and down through a group of thumbnail images. Many thumbnail images  3070  (e.g. 16 thumbnail images) may be displayed for the user to view and choose.  
         [0044]     The interface screen shown in  FIG. 3  provides an efficient way for the user to enter metadata for images, a “group” of thumbnails at a time. A typical digital memory card  30  can contain, for example, 24 pictures taken over 3 “picture taking sessions.” For example, over the course of a weekend, the group of images on the digital memory card  30  may include 12 shots taken at Matthew&#39;s birthday party at home, 8 shots taken during a visit to the zoo, and 4 taken during a stop at JoAnn&#39;s house. The thumbnail images  3070  shown in  FIG. 3  are 16 images from this set, corresponding to the position of scroll bar  3060  within the set of images. The thumbnail images  3070  are provided using the thumbnail image data stored within the Exif image file. The date each image was taken is also read from the Exif image file metadata and displayed beneath each image. In order to label images, the user selects the “add label” icon  3010 .  
         [0045]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , a screen entitled, “Menu for Selecting Labels”  4000  lists an example of pre-assigned metadata labels configured in blocks  130  to  150  of  FIG. 1 , which can now be selected by the user in block  190  of  FIG. 1 . The list includes the following menu selections: an “Add Label”  4010 , a “People”  4020 , a “Places”  4030 , a “Subjects”  4040 , a “Types”  4050 . At the next level, the selections correspond with the user&#39;s input to the previous selections. For example, selection  4060  corresponds with the user&#39;s input to menu selection  4020  (e.g. the list of family members and friends that are often photographed). Selection  4070  corresponds to the user input for menu selection  4030 . Selection  4080  corresponds to the user input for menu selection  4040 . Selection  4090  corresponds to the user input for menu selection  4050 . One of ordinary skill can envision further levels as well.  
         [0046]     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a display screen  5000  showing how the “main user interface screen labels are selected” is disclosed. A user selects “Add Label”  3010 , and uses the pull down menu to select “People”  4020 , whereby a second pull down menu with the user&#39;s input  4060  is shown. The display includes a scroll bar  3060  and several thumbnail images  3070  as well as icons or text  5010  that indicate which of the thumbnail images  3070  have associated metadata labels.  
         [0047]      FIG. 6  displays a screen  6000  that depicts a selected picture  6020  with its associated metadata labels  6010 . The current labels  6010  correspond to the labels selected during steps  175  through  200  of  FIG. 1 . The selected picture  6020  includes the labels  6010  “Matthew” (people), “Ken” (people), “Our backyard” (place), “Flowers” (subjects) and “Best photos” (type).  
         [0048]     In block  180 , the user selects one or more thumbnail images using the thumbnail images  3070 . For example, the user can quickly highlight the first 12 images, and then select (in block  190 ) Event→Matthew&#39;s birthday to label all of these images using the list shown in  FIG. 4 , and proceed to highlight and label the other groups if they wish (repeating blocks  175  through  200  of  FIG. 1 ). As another example, also shown specifically in  FIG. 5 , in block  180  of  FIG. 1  the user can highlight all the images on the roll with one click, deselect those few that do not include Matthew, and then select People→Matthew in block  190  to further label the appropriate images. As another example, in block  180  the user can highlight the one or two of the pictures they judge to be their very best images of the group, and select Type→Best Photos in block  190 . If an appropriate label does not exist, the user can create a new label in block  195 , which is stored in the metadata label database for future use.  
         [0049]     As labels are added to each image, graphics  6010  (or text) coded to indicate the category of labels provided for the image, are positioned in the corner of the corresponding thumbnail image display, as shown in  FIG. 6 . When the “show labels” button  3020  is selected by the user, the labels are displayed adjacent to the selected image, so that it is apparent what labels have been applied to a particular image, as shown in  FIG. 6 . In this mode, the user can also add additional labels or change previous-applied labels for that particular image.  
         [0050]     In block  210 , the metadata text labels or other metadata label identifiers are then stored within the image files and/or in a database separate from the image files. At a later time, when the database contains hundreds or thousands of images, the metadata can be used to easily retrieve images.  FIG. 7  discloses a “Find with Labels” feature  7000  that allows a user to locate images using the pre-assigned metadata labels configured in blocks  130  through  150  of  FIG. 1  and assigned to particular images in blocks  175  through  210  of  FIG. 1 . Toolbar button “Find with labels”  3030  is selected. The user then selects, from the menu depicted in  FIG. 4 , labels of interest, for example the labels “Matthew,” “Zoo,” and “Best photos”  7020 . A scroll bar  3060  allows a user to scroll the images  7040  found by the label search. In the example of  FIG. 7 , by selecting the categories “Matthew,” “Zoo,” and “Best photos,” the user can get a thumbnail display or slideshow of the best photos featuring Matt taken on his birthday over the course of several years, rather than searching through a collection of hundreds or thousands of digital image files stored on hard drive  56 .  
         [0051]     In an alternative embodiment, blocks  170  through  210  of  FIG. 1  are implemented in the digital camera  10  of  FIG. 2 . In another alternative embodiment, the user identifies only certain types of images, such as favorite images, important events, or funny images, when the images are captured on digital camera  10 , by selecting the appropriate labels using user buttons  24  while reviewing captured image thumbnails on the color LCD image display  22 . The metadata labels associated with these emotional or aesthetic judgments are then stored within the Exif image files. Additional metadata labels can optionally be added when these images are transferred from the digital camera  10  to the computer  40 , as described earlier in relation to blocks  170  through  210  of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0052]     Computer program products, such as readable storage medium, can be used to store the customization software, and also the desired firmware components in accordance with the present invention. The readable storage medium can be a magnetic storage media, such as a magnetic disk (such as a floppy disk) or magnetic tape; optical storage media, such as an optical disk, an optical tape, or a machine readable bar code; solid state electronic storage devices, such as a random access memory (RAM) or a read only memory (ROM); or any other physical device or medium employed to store computer programs.  
         [0053]     The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications can be effected by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.  
       PARTS LIST  
       [0000]    
       
           10  digital camera  
           12  lens  
           14  CCD image sensor  
           16  A/D converter  
           18  processor  
           19  DRAM memory  
           20  digital storage interface  
           22  color LCD image display  
           24  user buttons  
           26  host interface  
           28  flash EPROM  
           30  memory card  
           32  compact disc  
           34  floppy disk  
           36  interface  
           40  host computer  
           42  CD-ROM drive  
           44  floppy disk drive  
           46  camera interface  
           48  memory card reader  
           50  CPU  
           52  display monitor  
           54  keyboard  
           55  mouse  
           56  hard drive  
           58  local printer  
           60  modem  
           64  channel  
           70  network service provider  
           72  modem  
           74  computer  
           76  customer image storage  
           78  billing system  
           80  application software database  
           82  printer  
           100  autolaunch operation  
           110  label query operation  
           120  user response  
           130  nickname operation  
           140  picture classification operation  
           150  label storage operation  
           160  image capture operation  
           170  image display operation  
           175  additional label query  
           180  image selection operation  
           185  menu query  
           190  label selection operation  
           195  metadata database input operation  
           200  label and metadata match operation  
           210  image-associated metadata storage operation  
           220  label selection operation  
           230  image viewing operation  
           3000  Main User Interface Screen  
           3010  Add label toolbar button  
           3020  Show labels toolbar button  
           3030  Find with labels toolbar button  
           3040  slide show toolbar button  
           3050  transfer pictures toolbar button  
           3060  scroll bar toolbar button  
           3070  thumbnail images  
           4000  Menu for selecting labels  
           4010  add label toolbar button  
           4020  people selection  
           4030  places selection  
           4040  subject selection  
           4050  types selection  
           4060  user input associated people selection  
           4070  user input associated places selection  
           4080  user input associated subjects selection  
           4090  user input associated types selection  
           5000  screen for how “Main User Interface labels are selected” 
           5010  metadata label icon  
           6000  screen for “Show Picture Labels” 
           6010  current picture labels displayed  
           6020  associated thumbnail image  
           7000  screen for “Find with Labels” 
           7020  user selected labels  
           7040  label search images