Researcher Kevin Karsch and his team at the University of Illinois are developing software that lets users easily insert objects into photographs. The most impressive aspect of this software is how it handles the lighting in the scene and it's effect on the inserted objects. This opens up a whole world of possibilities for photographers. Composite images in photoshop can take hours of retouching work to achieve a similar effect. Matching the lighting is usually the most difficult part of the process.
Abstract from developers: "We propose a method to realistically insert synthetic objects into existing photographs without requiring access to the scene or any additional scene measurements. With a single image and a small amount of annotation, our method creates a physical model of the scene that is suitable for realistically rendering synthetic objects with diffuse, specular, and even glowing materials while accounting for lighting interactions between the objects and the scene. Our system has applications in the movie and gaming industry, and user content creation, among others" (photographers!)
Rendering Synthetic Objects into Legacy Photographs from
Kevin Karsch on
Vimeo.
*click on images for a large view*
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