Patent ID: 8134611

Claim:
An image processing method comprising: a step of capturing image signals converted from an image; a judgment step of judging whether the captured image signal values are signal values representing skin color pixel regions in the image; a skin color correction step of calculating skin color correction signal values in the case that it has been judged that said captured image signal values are signal values representing said skin color pixel regions; and a reconstruction step of reconstructing the image by applying said skin color correction signal values to said skin color pixel regions and by applying the captured image signal values to which skin color correction is not performed to pixel regions other than said skin color pixel regions, wherein a first white balance correction step of performing white balance correction to said skin color correction signal values is provided, and said image signal values are R 1 G 1 B 1 signal values of three primary color signals subjected to white balance correction beforehand, said image processing method has: an inverse correction step of performing inverse correction to said R 1 G 1 B 1 signal values to obtain R 2 G 2 B 2 signal values; and a step of converting said R 2 G 2 B 2 signal values into Y 1 Cb 1 Cr 1 signal values of component signals, said judgment step judges whether said Y 1 Cb 1 Cr 1 signal values are signal values representing said skin color pixel regions, said skin color correction step performs skin color correction to said Y 1 Cb 1 Cr 1 signal values to obtain Y 2 Cb 2 Cr 2 signal values in the case that said judgment step has judged that said Y 1 Cb 1 Cr 1 signal values are signal values representing said skin color pixel regions, said image processing method has: a step of converting said Y 2 Cb 2 Cr 2 signal values into R 3 G 3 B 3 signal values; a step of converting said Y 1 Cb 1 Cr 1 signal values into R 2 G 2 B 2 signal values in the case that said judgment step has judged that said Y 1 Cb 1 Cr 1 signal values are not signal values representing said skin color pixel regions; and a second white balance correction step of performing white balance correction to said R 2 G 2 B 2 signal values to obtain R 1 G 1 B 1 signal values, said first white balance correction step performs said white balance correction to said R 3 G 3 B 3 signal values to obtain R 4 G 4 B 4 signal values, and said reconstruction step reconstructs the image by applying said R 4 G 4 B 4 signal values to said skin color pixel regions and by applying in said R 1 G 1 B 1 signal values to said pixel regions other than said skin color pixel regions.