Patent Publication Number: US-2011052097-A1

Title: Method And System For Photo Planning And Tracking

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/463,295 titled “Method And System For Photo Planning and Tracking,” filed on Aug. 8, 2006, (now U.S. Pat. No. ______ issued ______) the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The proliferation of digital cameras continues to increase the number of people taking photos. During the process of taking photos, people play different roles. For example, people may play a conscious or subconscious role as a personal or family historian by taking photos that provide a history or story of their lives; the subjects of this photo history may include the people, objects, and events that are important to them. People also may play an official or unofficial role as chroniclers of organizations, such as soccer teams, churches, or clubs, for example. 
     Regardless of the roles people play, taking photographs is a continual process that requires each person to decide when to take a camera with them, when to take it out, and when and what to take pictures of. Through this decision process, people may simply forget to take pictures at moments and/or of subjects they had intended, particularly those that need to be taken on a regular basis. 
     As an example, a person may have every intention of taking pictures over the span of a vacation, but may end up taking photos only on the last day, loosing the moments and events of the previous days. As another example, during special events, such as a birthday party, a reunion, a wedding, a corporate event, or a philanthropic event, it is often desired to take a minimum number of shots of everyone as well as certain planned photos, such as the birthday person blowing out the candles at a birthday party, or of the best man giving a toast during a wedding. Keeping track of what photos have been taken and which photos remain can be a daunting task, whether for parents hosting the birthday party or a professional photographer at the wedding. Taking photos is a perishable opportunity—if missed, the photos cannot be taken later. Depending on the severity of these lapses in memory of the would-be photographer, a pictorial history of years or even entire relationships can be lost. 
     SUMMARY 
     A computer-implemented method and system are provided for tracking image capture compliance with an image capture criteria. Method and system aspects of the preferred embodiment include receiving user-defined criteria for specifying an image capture plan that defines at least one image capture subject and constraints associated with the at least one image capture subject; determining a progress towards completing the image capture plan based on whether information is received for an image capture occurrence of the at least one image capture subject by an image capture device, wherein multiple image capture occurrences occurring in any order are counted toward completing the image capture plan; and providing an indication of the compliance progress. 
     According to a further embodiment, a photo planning and tracking system and method are disclosed, which include an image planner component for receiving image capture criteria from a user in order for the user to specify an image capture plan, including the setting of goals and notification schedules; a progress monitor component for monitoring progress towards the capture of images specified in the image capture plan; and a notification service component for issuing electronic notifications of the compliance progress via multiple user-configurable delivery methods. 
     According to the embodiments disclosed herein, a tool is provided that enables users to plan their photos and set picture taking goals, and to receive notices of progress and reminders of photos yet to be taken, thereby ensuring that the user does not accidentally forget to take planned photos. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings provide visual representations which will be used to more fully describe the representative embodiments disclosed here and can be used by those skilled in the art to better understand them and their inherent advantages. In these drawings, like reference numerals identify corresponding elements, and: 
         FIGS. 1A ,  1 B, and  1 C are block diagrams illustrating several embodiments of a photo planning and tracking system. 
         FIG. 2  is a flow diagram illustrating the process of tracking image capture compliance with image capture criteria in accordance with the exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a flow diagram describing in further detail the process performed by the image planner for generation of the image capture plan. 
         FIG. 4A  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary portion of the user-defined criteria stored in the image plan database for defining the image capture plan. 
         FIG. 4B  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary portion of the user-defined criteria for identifying the image capture subject(s). 
         FIG. 4C  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary portion of the user-defined criteria for defining a set of constraints for the image capture subject(s). 
         FIG. 4D  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary portion of the user-defined criteria for defining notification information. 
         FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating the process of determining progress towards completing the image capture plan in further detail. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating an example capture image entry in the captured image database. 
         FIG. 7  shows an exemplary user interface for allowing the user to associate metadata with a captured image. 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram of a further embodiment for the photo planning and tracking service shown in  FIG. 1A , which relieves the user from the task of adding metadata tags to the captured images. 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram illustrating an update of a progress counter as a result of metadata processing for the example set of constraints shown in  FIG. 4C . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various aspects will now be described in connection with exemplary embodiments, including certain aspects described in terms of sequences of actions that can be performed by elements of a computing device or system. For example, it will be recognized that in each of the embodiments, at least some of the various actions can be performed by specialized circuits or circuitry (e.g., discrete and/or integrated logic gates interconnected to perform a specialized function), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Thus, the various aspects can be embodied in many different forms, and all such forms are contemplated to be within the scope of what is described. 
     According to the exemplary embodiment, a photo planning and tracking system and method are disclosed. The system enables a user to plan images and set goals, tracks which of the planned images have been taken, and sends the user notices of progress (or lack of progress) and/or reminders of images specified in the plan yet to be taken. 
       FIGS. 1A ,  1 B, and  1 C are block diagrams illustrating several embodiments of a photo planning and tracking system, where like components include like reference numerals. The exemplary embodiment is described with reference to  FIG. 1A , which shows a photo planning and tracking system  10  that is based upon a client/server model. The system  10  includes a photo planning and tracking service  12  that is accessible to a user and/or an image capture device  14  over a network  15 , such as the Internet. In one embodiment, the photo planning and tracking service  12  may be part of a photosharing web site that allows a user to store and share captured images  36 . A user may access the photo planning and tracking service  12  using a traditional web browser (not shown). 
     The image capture device  14  may be any electronic device that is capable of capturing digital still and/or video images  36 . Example types of image capture devices  14  include a digital camera, digital video camera, a camera phone, a camera-equipped personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), and the like. If the image capture device  14  is a wireless capable device, then the image capture device  14  may upload the images  36  to the photo planning and tracking service  12  directly over the network  15 . Alternatively, the images  36  may be uploaded to the photo planning and tracking service  12  from the image capture device  14  through an intermediary communication device, such as a PC. Once uploaded, the images  36  are preferably stored in a captured image database  24 . 
     According to the exemplary embodiment, the photo planning and tracking service  12  may include means for receiving image capture criteria  26  from the user in order for the user to specify an image capture plan  32 , including the setting of goals and notification schedules. For example, the photo planning and tracking service  12  may include an image planner  16  component in which the user inputs the image capture criteria  26  via a browser. 
     The photo planning and tracking service  12  may also include means for monitoring the progress towards the capture of images specified in the image capture plan. For example, the photo planning and tracking service may include a progress monitor  18  component that monitors information about whether or not images that have been captured and any time-based criteria associated with the image capture plan  32  (e.g., “take photos of daughter every month”). Based on the information received about the image captures or lack thereof, the progress monitor  18  may maintain a compliance progress  34  or status relative to meeting the goals specified in the image capture plan  32 . 
     The photo planning and tracking service  12  may also include means for issuing electronic notifications of the compliance progress  34  via multiple user-configurable delivery methods. For example, the photo planning and tracking service may include a notification service  20  component that is configured to issue compliance notifications  30   a  and  30   b  (collectively referred to as notifications  30 ) to one or more recipients using a variety of delivery methods, such as display on a website, sending of an electronic message to an image capture device, or sending an electronic message to a user device like a PC or a cell phone. 
       FIG. 1B  shows a second embodiment of the photo planning and tracking system  10 ′ in which components of a photo planning and tracking application  12 ′ are executed in the image capture device  14 ′. In this embodiment, the user provides the image capture criteria  26  to the image planner  16  through a user interface (UI) (not shown) of the image capture device  14 ′. After an image capture, the user may enter a description/metadata  28  describing the captured image through the image capture device  14 ′ UI, while the progress monitor  18  monitors compliance progress with the image capture plan  32 . The notification service  20  may then display the compliance progress notifications  30  on the image capture device  14 ′. 
       FIG. 1C  shows a third embodiment of the photo planning and tracking system  10 ″, which is a combination of the first embodiment of  FIG. 1A  and the second embodiment of  FIG. 1B . In the third embodiment, the image planner  16  is hosted on a server  42 , and the image capture plan  32  is downloaded to the image capture device  14 ″, which executes the progress monitor  18  and notification service  20 . The user accesses the image planner  16  via a website and enters the image capture criteria  26 , taking advantage of the processing power, storage and GUI provided by the server  42 . The image capture plan  32  created by the user may be stored in the image plan database  22   a  of the server  42 , which may also store the image capture plans created by other users, as well as on a local image plan database  22   b  in image capture device  14 ″. 
     Although the image planner  16 , the progress monitor  18 , and the notification service  20  are shown as separate software components in  FIGS. 1A-1C , the functionality provided by the image planner  16 , the progress monitor  18 , and the notification service  20  may be implemented using a fewer or a greater number of software components. 
       FIG. 2  is a flow diagram illustrating the process of tracking image capture compliance with image capture criteria in accordance with the exemplary embodiment. The process begins in step  200  in which the photo planning and tracking service  12  receives the image capture criteria  26  from the user for specifying an image capture plan  32  that defines at least one image capture subject and constraints associated with the at least one image capture subject. 
     The user-defined image capture criteria  26  can be stored in the image plan database  22  to define the image capture plan  32  and compared to the metadata associated with the captured images  36  that is provided to the photo planning and tracking service  12 . The purpose for creating the image capture plan  32  is to ensure that the user captures all of the desired pictures associated with a specified image capture event. The image capture plan  32  minimally provides a list of photos that the user will want to take during an event. Events can be short-term or long-term. For example, a short-term event could be a birthday party, while a long-term event could be a super model photo shoot over a week or the collection of events (e.g., practices, games, and banquets) associated with a youth soccer team over a season. The impetus for creating the image capture plan  32  is that image capture events have finite time-frames from which the desired photos can be captured. 
     In operation, the image planner  16  preferably displays a form for allowing the user to enter the image capture criteria  26  to create a list of images specified for capture during one or more image capture occurrences. Each image on the list may be defined by identifying the subjects for image capture, such as the names of people or groups, roles (e.g., bride, groom, etc.), events, objects, and locations. 
     The constraints entered by the user may include settings for specifying a time-frame for completing an image capture occurrence, a quantity or number of images to be captured for the image capture subject, location information for specifying an image capture location for the image, scenery information for an image capture occurrence, such as background, clothing, and the like, an arrangement specifying which image capture subjects should be in a particular image, and other constraints related to an image capture occurrence. Each image capture subject may have its own set of constraints, or a set of constraints may be associated with a group of image capture subjects. The constraints may be manually entered by the user and/or provided to the user. For example, the image planner  16  may draw from contacts listed in a contact list of the user and then display the contacts for user selection. The image capture criterion  26  that defines the image capture plan  32  is preferably stored in the image plan database  22 . 
     In step  202 , the photo planning and tracking service  12  determines a progress towards completing the image capture plan based on whether information is received for an image capture occurrence of at least one of the image capture subjects by an image capture device  14 , where multiple image capture occurrences occurring in any order are counted toward completing the image capture plan  32 . Information received for the image capture occurrence may include metadata associated with the image and/or the time-frame specified for the image capture. Once metadata associated with a captured image  36  is received, progress towards completing the image capture plan  32  can be determined by comparing the image capture criteria  26  to the metadata. The metadata associated with an image  36  may include metadata associated with the image  36  by the image capture device  14  during the image capture occurrence, the description/metadata  28  provided by the user to photo planning and tracking system  12  either from the image capture device  14  or on a website, or metadata automatically generated from the captured image. 
     According to the exemplary embodiment, the order in which images specified in the image capture plan  32  are captured does not affect the compliance progress  34 , meaning that the capture of images listed in the image capture plan  32  may occur in any sequence. Compliance with the plan  32  is completed once it is determined that all the images  36  are captured within the time-frame specified in an image capture plan  32 . Alternatively, the user may be allowed to define the image capture plan  32  such that strict image capture occurrence order is required in order to count toward compliance with the plan  32 . 
     Progress towards plan  32  completion may be based on both identifying which images  36  were captured from the information received for an image capture occurrence, and whether each image  36  in the plan  32  was captured within a predetermined threshold of the time-frame specified in the image capture plan  32 . Thus, by monitoring time-frame constraints, the progress monitor is capable of tracking the progress towards plan completion even if the progress monitor received no information about an actual image being captured. 
     In step  204 , the photo planning and tracking service  12  provides an indication of the compliance progress, preferably using the notification service  12 . The indication of the compliance progress is preferably provided via notifications. The notifications may include identification of the images that have yet to be taken, and/or an identification of the images that have been taken. The notification service  20  may be configured either to provide notifications via the photo planning and tracking service  12  website, on the image capture device  14 , or via an electronic message, such as email or short message service (SMS), sent to a specified address (e.g. of the user or other recipient). In accordance with the exemplary embodiment, a notification that is associated with a long-term event(s) (e.g., monthly photos), referred to here as a long-term event notification  30   a , is preferably provided to the user via a web page or electronic message, while a notification associated with a short-term event(s) (e.g., a birthday party), referred to here as a short-term event notification  30   b , is provided directly on the image capture device  14 . It should be noted that the notifications  30   a  and  30   b  (collectively referred to herein as notifications  30 ) may be sent to the same or different user than the user who submitted the image capture criteria  26 . Similarly, the user who submitted the image capture criteria  26  may be the same or different from the user of the image capture device  14 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a flow diagram is shown describing in further detail the process performed by the image planner  16  for generation of the image capture plan  32  according to one specific exemplary embodiment. The image planner process begins in step  300  by allowing the user to base the image capture plan  32  on a predetermined plan type or on a new plan type created by the user. Example predetermined plan types include Birthday Party, Holiday, Family Reunion, and so forth. The reason for providing plan types is to provide a starting point for the user and to provide and suggest default configurations to make creating the image capture plan  32  an easier task. After selecting or creating a plan type, the user may provide a name for the image capture plan  32  and optionally provide date, time and location information about the event associated with the image capture plan  32 . 
       FIG. 4A  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary portion of the user-defined criteria  26   a  stored in the image plan database  22  for defining the image capture plan  32 . In this particular example, the image capture plan  32  may include fields for storing a plan name  400 , a plan type  402 , a time-frame  404  for the event that includes a date  404   a  of the image capture event, and a time interval  404   b , and a location  406  of the event. Note: this is not an exhaustive representation of what data can be stored for the image capture plan  32 . For example, the location field  406  could contain GPS data and both a start and end date could be included in the time-frame  56 . 
     Referring again to  FIG. 3 , after the image planner  16  receives the user-defined image capture criteria  26   a  defining the image plan  32  itself, the image planner  16  in step  302  allows the user to enter a portion of the user-defined criteria  26  that identifies the image capture subject(s) under the image capture plan  32 . 
       FIG. 4B  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary portion of the user-defined criteria  26   b  for identifying the image capture subject(s)  410 . The image capture subjects  410  are the objects that will be captured in the pictures during the event. In this example, the user has identified several image capture subjects  410  by entering names/descriptions for each. The image capture subjects  410  identified may include both animate and inanimate objects. For example, if the image capture plan type is Birthday, then the image capture subjects  410  may include the birthday person, birthday presents, birthday cake, relatives of the birthday person, and so on. Note: this is not an exhaustive representation of what the image plan database  22  may contain. For example, the image capture subjects  410  could be abstracted to relational information such as family members=brother, sister, mother, father, etc. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 3 , after the image planner  16  receives the user-defined criteria  26   b  identifying the image capture subject(s)  410 , the image planner  16  in step  304  allows the user to enter a portion of the user-defined criteria  26  defining the constraints associated with the image capture subject(s)  410 . Constraints are settings that help to remind the user to take pictures having particular qualities. 
       FIG. 4C  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary portion of the user-defined criteria  26   c  for defining a set of constraints  414  for the image capture subject(s)  410 . In this example, the constraints  414  include a setting defining the arrangement  412  specifying which image capture subject(s)  410  should be in a particular image, a setting specifying the desired quantity  416  of images of each arrangement  412 . In addition, a progress counter  418  may also be provided, that is used to indicate captured image compliance. The progress counter  418  is typically updated by the progress monitor  18  when images are captured, but may also be updated by the user to indicate that previously captured images meeting the specified criteria should count towards meeting the plan goals. 
     In order to make creating the arrangements  412  easier, Boolean operators could be provided via a GUI within the image planner  16 . One example could be that the user would be able to click on image capture subject(s)  410  and drag them into a box that would generate the arrangement  412 . The example user-defined criteria  26   c  shown is not an exhaustive representation of what settings the constraints  414  may contain. For example, the arrangement  412  could include location information from the image plan  32  shown in  FIG. 4A . Although the constraints  414  shown are relatively simple, more complicated rule sets could be created to generate arrangements  412  for the image capture subjects. Also, the arrangement  412  may be used as the image capture subject  410  or in addition to the image capture subject  410 . Other example constraints include: 
     That a particular number of pictures is to be taken of a person. 
     That at least one picture of the birthday cake and the birthday boy is taken. 
     That there is a picture of the cat in a hat. 
     That there is a picture of the bride and the maids of honor. 
     That there is a picture of Alice on the beach 
     Referring again to  FIG. 3 , the image planner  16  in step  306  may also allow the user to enter a portion of the user-defined criteria defining notification information for the compliance progress indication, including a preferred notification type and delivery method. This notification information will be used to provide the progress indication for the user. 
       FIG. 4D  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary portion of the user-defined criteria  26   d  for defining notification information  420 . The notification information  420  may include a notification method  422 , an address  424  for sending the notification via the notification method  422  if necessary, and a frequency  426  of how often the notification or reminder should be sent. The notification service  20  may access the notification information  420  from the image plan database  22  to implement the notification function. Some example notification methods  422  provided by the notification service  20  may include a pop-up window, email, SMS, an audible message, webpage, and the like. The address information may be needed if a notification  30  will be sent outside of the photo planning and tracking service  12 . The frequency  426  could be based on time intervals or based upon actions. 
     After the user completes the process of entering the image capture criteria  26 , the progress monitor  18  begins to monitor compliance with the image capture plan  32 . 
       FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating the process of determining progress towards completing the image capture plan in further detail according to an exemplary embodiment. The process begins in step  500  by the progress monitor  18  receiving information for an image capture occurrence. As stated above, the information received for an image capture occurrence preferably comprises metadata that is associated with the images  26  and/or the time-frame information  406  from the image capture plan  32 . The progress monitor  18  may process information received regarding each image capture occurrence, i.e., image files and/or image metadata, as it is received, or may process received information in batches. 
     The metadata associated with a captured image  36  may originate from one or more of the following: the image capture device  14 , which automatically associates capture information from the image capture occurrence with a captured image  36 ; a description/metadata  28  for the captured image entered by the user after the image capture occurrence either on the image capture device  14  or the photo planning and tracking service  12  web site; or the metadata can be automatically generated from the captured image  36 , for example, by using face recognition, scene recognition or the image capture location, described below. 
     After an image capture occurrence, the user may provide the images captured during an event to the photo planning and tracking service/application  12 , and/or the user may provide user entered metadata for the captured images  36 , whereupon the progress monitor  18  can process the captured images  36  and determine the progress that is being made towards completing the image capture plan  32 . 
     There are many ways that the captured images  36  can be provided to the photo planning and tracking service/application  12 , such as the following: transferring the captured images  36  from the image capture device  14  to a PC either by a direct connection or via a removable storage device such as a memory card or USB stick, and uploading the images, via email, and sending the images  36  directly using a web service or other protocol. Once uploaded, the images are stored in the captured image database  24  so that they can be processed. The user may be given the opportunity to indicate which image capture plan  32  the uploaded image should be processed against. It should also be understood that the images may come from several people. For example, during a family vacation several members may contribute images for a designated image capture plan. 
     As is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, most images  36  captured by image capture device  14  are provided with a minimal set of metadata that can be read from the images, as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating an example capture image entry  600  in the captured image database  24 . Typically, the image capture device  14  used to capture the image  36  provides the following metadata for the image  36 : a filename  602 , a time of capture  604 , and date  606 . Optional metadata may include location  608  (e.g., provided by a global positioning system), and a description/subject  610  provided by the user. Note: This is not an exhaustive representation of what data can or will be contained in captured image database  24 . 
     One alternative to uploading the captured images  36  is to allow the user to provide only the description/metadata  28  for each image  36  to the progress monitor  18 . This embodiment would be more efficient if the actual image files do not need to be examined. The user may provide the description/metadata  28  for each image  36  either to the photo planning and tracking service  12  via a website as in  FIG. 1A , or simply enter the description/metadata  28  into the image capture device  14 ′ as in  FIG. 1B . 
     Whether or not the user uploads the captured images  36 , the user is provided with the opportunity to enter and associate information/metadata  28  with the captured images  36  after image capture (either on the capture device or on the website). In accordance with a further embodiment, the progress monitor  18  may utilize elements entered from the image capture criteria  26 , such as the image capture subject identifiers  410  and arrangements  412 , to display to the user for selection to ease data entry, as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 7  shows an exemplary user interface  700  for allowing the user to associate metadata with a captured image  36  in which the captured image  36  is displayed along side a pull-down list  702  of portions of the image capture criteria  26  from the plan  32 . In this example, the pull-down list displays the arrangements information  412  for user selection. Once the user selects an item from the list, the selection is associated with the captured image  36  as a metadata tag. 
     Another alternative to assigning metadata is configuring the progress monitor  18  to automatically generate and associate metadata with a captured image. As stated above, this can be performed through the use of facial recognition and scene recognition, as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 8  is a block diagram of another embodiment for the photo planning and tracking service shown in  FIG. 1A , which relieves the user from the task of adding metadata tags to the captured images  36 . Rather, the user can provide the captured images  36  to the progress monitor  18 , which inputs the images  36  to software applications, such as a scene recognition component  800  or a facial recognition component  802 , for automatic generation of the metadata. The progress monitor  18  may then use the output from facial recognition and/or scene recognition components  800  and  802  to analyze the images  36  to determine if the images  36  match the image capture criteria  26 . For example, if the user had specified that an image of the birthday girl be taken with the cake, the system  10 ′″ would analyze each image to see if there was a match. 
     Facial recognition typically requires a reference image. Since users typically take photos of relatives and friends, these types of images may be readily available from a digital family photo album. Such reference images may be stored in a reference image database  806 . Although there may not be a reference photo available for every person depicted in the captured images  36 , a match of just a portion of the image capture subjects can be helpful. Reference images may also be retrieved from other sources, such as work or school image directories. Another source might include email signatures. If a reference image is not found, facial recognition could still be used to track the subjects and assign a temporary or blank identifier so that the user can fill-in the names later (3 shots of person x, 4 of person y, etc). In the case where there is not enough metadata for the progress monitor  18  to process, then the user may be prompted to provide additional metadata for those image files. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 5 , in step  502 , if the information received for an image capture occurrence comprises metadata, then the progress monitor  18  determines the progress in complying with the image capture criteria by comparing the metadata to the image capture criteria  26  defining the image capture plan  32  stored in the image plan database  22 . In step  504 , in response to the metadata and the image capture criteria  26  matching within a predetermined threshold, the progress monitor  18  identifies that an image of an image capture subject specified in image capture plan  32  has been taken, and if multiple images are specified in image capture plan, then progress monitor  18  identifies which ones of the images still need to be taken. In the exemplary embodiment, the progress monitor  18  identifies that an image of an image capture subject specified in image capture plan  32  has been taken by updating the progress counter  418 . 
       FIG. 9  is a diagram illustrating the progress counter  418  updated as a result of metadata processing for the example set of constraints shown in  FIG. 4C . The progress monitor  18  may continue to update the progress counter  418  until the quantity  416  value has been reached. Uploaded images  36  that do not match image capture criteria  26  or exceed the specified quantity may be kept in the captured image database  24  and associated with the image capture plan  32 , but do not contribute towards progress in completing the image capture plan  32 . 
     Referring again to  FIG. 5 , after the metadata has been processed and/or according to a preset schedule, in step  506  one or more notifications  30  is generated by comparing the current date and time with the time-frame information  406  associated with each image capture subject for which images are still required (as indicated by the progress counter  418 ). 
     In step  510 , if the current date and time is within a predetermined threshold or exceeds the date/time specified in the image capture plan  32  (e.g., within 1 hour of the specified date), then it is determined that progress towards completing the image capture plan  32  has failed and an entry for the image capture subject is added to the notification  30 . In one embodiment, the notification service  20  generates the notifications  30  based upon a frequency value set by the user. In an alternative embodiment, the progress monitor  18  generates the notifications  30 . In step  510 , the notification service  20  transmits the generated notification  30  to notify the user of the compliance progress  34  with the image capture plan  32 . 
     According to the exemplary embodiment, the notifications  30  only indicate those images that have not yet been captured based on the quantity  416  value set for them. An example notification  30  message is shown below.
         ********Attention Joe Smith********   Pictures Left to Take:   (1) of Scott and Birthday presents   (1) of Mona and Bob   *********End Message*************
 
The content of the notification  30  can vary, depending on for example, the delivery method used to send a notification, and multiple methods can be used to send the notifications  30 . For example, a notification  30  sent via an email message may list image capture subjects  410  or arrangements  412  that have not yet been captured, as shown in the example above. Alternatively, if the user views the notification  30  via a browser, the notification  30  may display the entire image capture plan  32 , with an indication of which image capture subjects  410  or arrangements  412  have been completed and which remain to be completed. Or, if an SMS message is used, the notification  30  may simply report that there are photos remaining to be taken and contain a link to a website from which the image capture plan  32  can be accessed.
       

     According to a further embodiment, the time-frame  404  information may be obtained from sources other than image capture plan  32 . For example, the photo planning and tracking service/application  12  may monitor the user&#39;s electronic calendar entries and search for particular events, people, or places. If an image of that person, place, or event is needed to complete an image capture plan (ICP), a reminder is sent. Reminders can be sent before events and also during events. Calendar entries can also be used to set up reminders by activity, for example, the photo planning and tracking service/application  12  can check for certain types of events on calendars and could notice recurring events, e.g., Ballet lessons for Amanda, on the calendar. The system then could send a reminder to the user to access image planner  16  and specify any photo goals for this activity. 
     A method and system for planning and tracking image capture compliance has been disclosed. The method and system of the exemplary embodiments provide users a tool for ensuring that planned picture taking opportunities are not accidentally forgotten. The method and system encourages and enables the planning of images, tracks which images have been taken and which need to be taken, and reports the progress to the user via a variety of delivery methods. 
     The present invention has been described in accordance with the embodiments shown, and one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiments, and any variations would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.