Patent ID: 8600191

Claim:
A method for forming a composite image of a scene, the method comprising: using an imaging device to capture a set of images depicting a scene over a period of time; acquiring input indicating a desired criterion; automatically identifying, using a processor, objects and associated elements within the set of images, the elements having attributes corresponding to the desired criterion; automatically ordering the elements, using the processor, by assigning scores to the elements according to an attribute of the elements relative to the desired criterion, wherein the desired criterion indicates mood or expression including one or more of: happy, sad, cynical, angry, scared, neutral or smiling; determining, using the processor, for each image from the set of images a combined score based, at least in part, on the scores from each image's elements relative to the desired criterion; selecting, using the processor, a base image from the set of images, wherein the base image comprises that image from the set of images with the highest combined score; modifying the base image with one or more of the elements to form a composite image of the scene; and displaying the composite image on an electronic display or storing the composite image in an electronic storage device.