Patent ID: 8437048

Claim:
An image trimming method for automatically trimming a photograph image photographed by a photography means, the method comprising: setting a plurality of trimming range candidates by analyzing the photograph image; judging whether the zoom magnification ratio of the photography means during the photography of the photograph image corresponds to a predetermined limit, the limit being a maximum zoom magnification ratio that can be set by the photography means; and setting a trimming range by selecting one of the plurality of trimming range candidates as the trimming range, wherein: if the zoom magnification ratio is judged to be the maximum magnification ratio, a trimming range candidate that has a smaller range than that of a trimming range candidate selected if the zoom magnification ratio is judged not to be the maximum magnification ratio is selected as the trimming range; if the zoom magnification ratio is judged to be the maximum magnification ratio, a trimming range may be set by selecting a candidate of which the range is the smallest from the plurality of candidates; and if the zoom magnification ratio is judged to be not the maximum magnification ratio, a trimming range may be set by selecting a candidate other than a candidate of which the range is the smallest from the plurality of candidates; the zoom magnification ratio includes an optical zoom magnification ratio and an electronic zoom magnification ratio of the photography means during the photography; and the zoom magnification ratio is judged to be the maximum zoom magnification ratio when the optical zoom magnification ratio and the electronic zoom magnification ratio are both maximal; wherein the plurality of trimming range candidates is set by detecting a predetermined object included in the photograph image and by calculating the degree of interest of the detected object using a characteristic including at least one of the type of the object, the brightness of the object, the size of the object and the position of the object for each detected object so that each of the plurality of trimming range candidates includes an object, of which the calculated degree of interest is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value.