Patent ID: 7209149

Claim:
A method of cropping and synthesizing an image on a screen, comprising the steps of: displaying a crop boundary with a reference point on an image to synthesize on said screen, upon selecting a template having at least a frame, said crop boundary having a corresponding shape to that of said frame of said selected template and being variable in size while keeping the same shape and being centered on said reference point; moving said crop boundary on said screen through an operation device, to place said reference point of said crop boundary on an appropriate point of said image to synthesize; displaying reference lines inside said crop boundary, to define an internal zone within said crop boundary, said internal zone having a predetermined proportion and a predetermined position relative to said crop boundary; moving at least one of said reference lines on said screen through said operation device while keeping said reference point on said appropriate point of said displayed image, to adjust said internal zone to an appropriate portion of said displayed image, wherein said crop boundary is automatically enlarged or reduced in cooperation with the movement of said reference line, so as to keep said internal zone in the predetermined proportion and position relative to said crop boundary; thereafter enlarging or reducing said crop boundary about said reference point, to bound an appropriate area of said image to synthesize; cropping an image of said bounded area; and pasting said cropped image in said frame of said template after enlarging or reducing said cropped image in accordance with the size of said frame of said template to produce a synthesized image.