Patent ID: 7738725

Claim:
A method for generating a stylized image of a scene including an object, comprising the steps of: acquiring a set of n input images I k , k=1 . . . n, of the scene with a camera, each one of the n input images being illuminated by one of a set of n light sources mounted on a body of the camera at different positions from a center of projection of a lens of the camera; determining for each of the n input images I k an intensity gradient G k (x,y) at each pixel position (x,y), a median of the n determined intensity gradients G(x,y)=median k (G k (x, y)) to remove outliers, and a reconstructed image I′ that minimizes |H′−G|, wherein H′ is the gradient image of I′; removing specular highlights from the n input images; detecting features in the set of n input images, the features including silhouette edges; combining the set of n input images in which the detected silhouette edges are enhanced in an output image; and wherein the acquiring, determining, removing, detecting and combining steps are performed using a computer.