Systems and methods for digital photography

1. A device, comprising:

a non-transitory memory storing instructions; and

one or more processors in communication with the non-transitory memory, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to:

sample a first ambient image and a first strobe image;

generate an aligned ambient image based on the first ambient image;

generate an aligned strobe image based on the first strobe image;

blend the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image by:

initialing a first blend weight associated with the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image;

rendering a first combined image from the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image;

computing a cost function for the first combined image, wherein the cost function optimizes a pixel intensity associated with each of the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image;

determining whether the cost function is substantially minimized, wherein if the cost function is not substantially minimized:

the first blend weight is updated to substantially minimize the cost function,

the first combined image is updated based on the updated first blend weight, and

the user interface element associated with the updated first combined image is updated;

display, using a display:

the first combined image based on the first blend weight, and

a user interface element associated with the first combined image.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured such that the cost function is computed by interpolating one or more attributes for each of the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image.

3. The device of claim 2 , wherein the device is configured such that the one or more attributes includes at least one of a low intensity mark, a high intensity mark, or a half intensity value.

4. The device of claim 3 , wherein the device is configured such that the cost function is computed as a sum of a distance from a low intensity mark to a first half intensity value, and a distance from a high intensity mark and a second half intensity value.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured such that the cost function is computed from a plurality of median values from each of the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured such that the user interface element includes a control element.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured such that a position of the control element includes an offset estimate based on a user preference or a history of control element overrides.

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured such that the first blend weight is a function of the user interface element and modifying the user interface element overrides the updated first blend weight.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured such that the cost function is proportional to an area of the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image.

10. The device of claim 9 , wherein the device is configured such that the area includes a subset of the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image that is either overexposed or underexposed.

11. The device of claim 10 , wherein the device is configured such that the cost function is based on a sum where each pixel within the combined image adds a value to the cost function if a pixel intensity is below a low threshold or above a high threshold.

12. The device of claim 10 , wherein the device is configured such that the cost function is based on a sum where each pixel within the combined image adds an increasing value to the cost function in proportion to pixel intensity.

13. The device of claim 12 , wherein the device is configured such that as the pixel intensity increases above a high threshold or as the pixel intensity decreases below a low threshold, an increasing cost value is added to the cost function.

14. The device of claim 13 , wherein the device is configured such that the high threshold is ninety percent (90%) of maximum defined intensity for each pixel and the low threshold is ten percent (10%) of the maximum defined intensity for each pixel.

15. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured such that the cost function includes a repulsion cost component, wherein the repulsion cost increases the cost function as the user interface element approaches a preconfigured anchor point of the user interface element.

16. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured such that the cost function includes an attraction cost component, wherein the attraction cost decreases the cost function as the user interface element approaches a preconfigured anchor point of the user interface element.

17. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured such that the first blend weight is based on exposure coordinates of the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image, the exposure coordinates being selected based on searching the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image for a coordinate that satisfies a corresponding exposure requirement.

18. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured such that the cost function is substantially minimized by being minimized.

19. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured such that the cost function is substantially minimized by being completely minimized.

20. A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium that when executed by a processor instruct the processor to:

sample a first ambient image and a first strobe image;

generate an aligned ambient image based on the first ambient image;

generate an aligned strobe image based on the first strobe image;

blend the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image by:

initializing a first blend weight associated with the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image;

rendering a first combined image from the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image;

computing a cost function for the first combined image, wherein the cost function optimizes a pixel intensity associated with each of the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image;

determining whether the cost function is substantially minimized, wherein if the cost function is not substantially minimized:

the first blend weight is updated to substantially minimize the cost function,

the first combined image is updated based on the updated first blend weight, and

the user interface element associated with the updated first combined image is updated

display, using a display:

the first combined image based on the first blend weight, and

a user interface element associated with the first combined image.

21. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

sampling, using an image sensor, a first ambient image and a first strobe image;

generating, using a processor, an aligned ambient image based on the first ambient image;

generating, using the processor, an aligned strobe image based on the first strobe image;

blending the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image by:

initializing, using the processor, a first blend weight associated with the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image;

rendering, using the processor, a first combined image from the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image;

computing, using the processor, a cost function for the first combined image, wherein the cost function optimizes a pixel intensity associated with each of the aligned ambient image and the aligned strobe image;

determining, using the processor, whether if the cost function is substantially minimized, wherein if the cost function is not substantially minimized:

the first blend weight is updated to substantially minimize the cost function,

the first combined image is updated based on the updated first blend weight, and

the user interface element associated with the updated first combined image is updated

displaying, using a display:

the first combined image based on the first blend weight, and

a user interface element associated with the first combined image.