Apparatus, method and program for image search
One or more representative images extracted from an image group comprising a plurality of images is/are displayed. A part or all of the representative image or images, such as a main subject region or a background region including a search target, is/are selected from the representative image or images, and used for setting search conditions. The image group is searched for an image or images agreeing with the search conditions having been set.
1. A computer implemented method comprising:
selecting, by a computing system, a first image portion of a first image, wherein the first image portion reflects at least one type of a main subject or a background;
in response to instructions provided by a user, performing, by the computing system, image processing on a first component of the first image portion to generate a processed first image portion;
performing, by the computing system, a first search on image data of the processed first image portion, wherein the first search generates a first set of search results based on the selected type;
selecting, by the computing system, a second image portion of a second image, wherein the second image portion reflects at least one type of a main subject or a background different from the selected type for the first image portion;
in response to instructions provided by the user, performing, by the computing system, image processing on a second component of the second image portion to generate a processed second image portion; and
performing, by the computing system, a second search on the image data of the processed second image portion, wherein results of the second search generates a second set of search results that is a subset of the first set of search results.
2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the image processing includes at least one of resizing, rotation, deformation, color change, blurring, color correction, red-eye correction, skin enhancement, or camera-shake correction.
3. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the image processing is based at least in part on memory of the user regarding the first component or the second component.
4. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the image processing is carried out after the selecting the first image portion of the first image.
5. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the image processing is carried out before the selecting the first image portion of the first image.
6. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first image portion is assigned a first weight, the second image portion is assigned a second weight, and the performing a search on the image data is based at least in part on the first weight and the second weight.
7. The computer implemented method of claim 6 , wherein the first weight or the second weight is based at least in part on at least one of a size, a position, and a degree of blurriness of the first image portion or the second image portion, respectively.
8. The computer implemented method of claim 6 , wherein the first weight and the second weight reflect a relative priority of, respectively, the first image portion and the second image portion for the search.
9. The computer implemented method of claim 6 , wherein the first weight and the second weight are based on a predetermined ratio.
10. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the selecting the first image portion of the first image and the second image portion of the second image is performable by the user.
11. A system comprising:
at least one processor; and
a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to perform:
selecting a first image portion of a first image, wherein the first image portion reflects at least one type of a main subject or a background;
in response to instructions provided by a user, performing image processing on a first component of the first image portion to generate a processed first image portion;
performing a first search on image data of the processed first image portion, wherein the first search generates a first set of search results based on the selected type;
selecting a second image portion of a second image, wherein the second image portion reflects at least one type of a main subject or a background different from the selected type for the first image portion;
in response to instructions provided by the user, performing image processing on a second component of the second image portion to generate a processed second image portion; and
performing a second search on the image data of the processed second image portion, wherein results of the second search generates a second set of search results that is a subset of the first set of search results.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the image processing includes at least one of resizing, rotation, deformation, color change, blurring, color correction, red-eye correction, skin enhancement, or camera-shake correction.
13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the image processing is based at least in part on memory of the user regarding the first component or the second component.
14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the image processing is carried out after the selecting the first image portion of the first image.
15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the first image portion is assigned a first weight, the second image portion is assigned a second weight, and the performing a search on the image data is based at least in part on the first weight and the second weight.
16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing system, cause the computing system to perform a method comprising:
selecting a first image portion of a first image, wherein the first image portion reflects at least one type of a main subject or a background;
in response to instructions provided by a user, performing image processing on a first component of the first image portion to generate a processed first image portion;
performing a first search on image data of the processed first image portion, wherein the first search generates a first set of search results based on the selected type;
selecting a second image portion of a second image, wherein the second image portion reflects at least one type of a main subject or a background different from the selected type for the first image portion;
in response to instructions provided by the user, performing image processing on a second component of the second image portion to generate a processed second image portion; and
performing a second search on the image data of the processed second image portion, wherein results of the second search generates a second set of search results that is a subset of the first set of search results.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the image processing includes at least one of resizing, rotation, deformation, color change, blurring, color correction, red-eye correction, skin enhancement, or camera-shake correction.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the image processing is based at least in part on memory of the user regarding the first component or the second component.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the image processing is carried out after the selecting the first image portion of the first image.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the first image portion is assigned a first weight, the second image portion is assigned a second weight, and the performing a search on the image data is based at least in part on the first weight and the second weight.