Imaging station and method for repeatable alignment of images

1. An imaging station for repeatable alignment of photographic images for a set of body poses, the imaging station comprising:

a stage having a structure to support sets of handles for positioning of a subject's hands for at least some of the body poses;

the sets of handles, wherein each handle is associated with a handle-position indicator to indicate a position of the associated handle;

a foot platform associated with a foot platform position indicator, the foot position indicator to indicate a position of the foot platform, and the foot platform to support a subject's foot for at least some of the body poses, wherein a height of the foot platform is adjustable; and

a monostand for placement of a camera for capturing photograph images of the subject, the monostand configured to allow the camera to be repeatably positioned with respect to the stage for each body pose to allow for alignment and comparison of skin-features in corresponding photographic images taken at different times,

wherein the handle-position indicators and the foot platform position indicator are used to repeatably position the handles for sets of body poses taken at different times,

wherein for each body pose a predetermined one or more handles are grasped by the subject, and

wherein a predetermined background color is provided behind the imaging station to allow for separation of body pixels from background pixels in the captured photograph images.

2. The imaging station of claim 1 wherein the monostand includes:

a forward-backward camera position-indicating element to indicate a distance from the camera to the stage;

a left-right camera position-indicating element to indicate a left-right position of the camera; and

an up-down camera position-indicating element to indicate an up-down position of the camera.

3. The imaging station of claim 1 wherein the stage is a rotatable stage that is configured to rotate to one of a plurality of ninety-degree positions with respect to the monostand.

4. The imaging station of claim 1 wherein the monostand comprises a light source and a fiber-optic cable, wherein the fiber-optic cable is coupled to the camera to project light through a lens for use in focusing and framing the photographic images.

5. The imaging station of claim 1 wherein the imaging station is configured to allow data for each body pose to be recorded, the data for each body pose to include:

a body pose name or description;

camera settings;

camera position information as indicated by camera position-indicating elements of the monostand;

a position of the stage;

position indications of the handles that are grasped; and

for body poses that use a foot platform, a position indication for the foot platform.

6. The imaging station of claim 2 wherein the monostand includes a support element to support the camera,

wherein the left-right position-indicating element is provided on the support element,

wherein the support element is configured to slide horizontally to allow the left-right position of the camera to be changed, and

wherein the camera is configured to be rotated ninety degrees.

7. The imaging station of claim 3 wherein the rotatable stage includes:

a mat with feet-position indicators thereon for placement of the subject's feet.

8. The imaging station of claim 3 wherein the rotatable stage comprises:

wheels to allow rotation of the structure; and

a circular track to allow rotation of the rotatable stage around a central axis.

9. The imaging station of claim 5 wherein when a subsequent set of photographic images for the subject are to be captured after an initial set of photographic images are captured, the imaging station is configurable to allow precise repeat capturing of a photographic image for each of the body poses based on the data recorded for each body pose.

10. A method for repeatably capturing photographic images of body poses comprising:

positioning a camera in a predetermined camera position using a monostand;

positioning a rotatable stage in a predetermined rotational position;

positioning one or more handles in a predetermined position using a handle-position indicator;

adjusting a height of a foot platform using a foot platform position indicator;

positioning a subject on the rotatable stage in a predetermined subject position, the predetermined subject position including the subject either grasping the one or more handles or placing a foot on the foot platform; and

providing a predetermined background color behind the subject opposite the camera to allow for separation of body pixels from background pixels in a photograph image,

wherein the photographic image is captured for each body pose of a plurality of body poses after the camera, the subject and the rotatable stage are positioned, and

wherein the monostand is configured to allow the camera to be repeatably positioned with respect to the stage for each body pose to allow for alignment and comparison of skin-features in corresponding photographic images taken at different times.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein each body pose is associated with:

the predetermined camera position on the monostand;

the predetermined subject position for the subject including positions of the handles as indicated by handle-position indicators for the handles that are grasped; and

the predetermined rotational position of the rotatable stage.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising selecting a predetermined sequence to capture the photographic images for a set of the body poses, the sequence being selected either for increased subject comfort or for reduced camera movement.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

repeating the positioning steps to capture photographic images of body poses at a subsequent time by positioning the rotatable stage, the subject and the camera in accordance with data recorded for each body pose at a prior time, the data including:

a body pose name or description;

camera settings;

camera position information as indicated by camera position-indicating elements of the monostand;

a rotational position of the rotatable stage;

position indications of the handles that are grasped; and

for body poses that use a foot platform, a position indication for the foot platform.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the rotatable stage includes a structure to support sets of the handles for positioning of the subject's hands for at least some of the body poses; and

wherein the monostand includes:

a forward-backward camera position-indicating element to indicate a distance from the camera to the rotatable stage;

a left-right camera position-indicating element to indicate a left-right position of the camera; and

an up-down camera position-indicating element to indicate an up-down position of the camera.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the method includes, for at least some of the body poses:

rotating the rotatable stage to one of a plurality of ninety-degree positions with respect to the monostand for a body pose;

moving either the camera or the monostand to a predetermined position based on the positions indicated on the camera position-indicating elements; and

positioning the subject on the rotatable stage to grasp one or more of the handles.

16. An imaging system to capture photographic images of body poses of a subject and associated data for each body pose, the system comprising:

an imaging station comprising a rotatable stage to support the subject and a monostand to support a camera, and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors to perform operations to configure a processing system to accept and store captured photographic images of the body poses including positional information for the camera, the rotatable stage and the subject for each body pose,

wherein the rotatable stage includes a structure to support sets of handles for positioning of hands of the subject for at least some of the body poses,

wherein the monostand is configurable for placement of the camera for capturing photographic images of the subject to allow the camera to be repeatably positioned with respect to the rotatable stage for each body pose to allow for alignment and comparison of skin-features in corresponding photographic images taken at different times, and

wherein for each body pose, the processing system is configured to store data including:

a body pose name or description;

camera settings;

camera position information as indicated by camera position-indicating elements of the monostand;

a rotational position of the rotatable stage;

position indications of the handles that are grasped by the subject for the body pose; and

for body poses that use a foot platform, a position indication for the foot platform, wherein the position indication for the foot platform includes a height of the foot platform, and

wherein a predetermined background color is provided behind the imaging station to allow for separation of body pixels from background pixels in the captured photograph images.

17. The imaging system of claim 16 further comprising:

camera position sensors on the monostand to electronically provide camera positional information to the processing system;

handle position sensors to electronically provide handle positional information to the processing system; and

stage rotation sensors to electronically provide a rotational position of the rotatable stage to the processing system.

18. An imaging station for capturing photographic images for a set of body poses, the imaging station comprising:

a rotatable stage having a structure to support sets of handles for positioning of a subject's hands for at least some of the body poses, wherein the rotatable stage includes

the set of handles each handle of the set of handles associated with a handle position indicator; and

a foot platform having an adjustable height, the foot platform associated with a foot platform position indicator; and

monostand for placement of a camera for capturing photographic images of the subject, the monostand configured to allow the camera to be repeatably positioned with respect to the rotatable stage for each body pose to allow for alignment and comparison of skin-features in corresponding photographic images taken at different times,

wherein the rotatable stage is configured to rotate to one of a plurality of ninety-degree positions with respect to the monostand,

wherein the monostand includes a plurality of camera position-indicating elements to indicate three-dimensional positions of the camera with respect to stage,

wherein the handle-position indicators and the foot platform position indicator are used to repeatably position the handles for sets of body poses taken at different times,

wherein for each body pose a predetermined one or more handles are grasped by the subject, and

wherein a predetermined background color is provided behind the subject opposite the camera to allow for separation of body pixels from background pixels in the captured photograph images.

19. The imaging station of claim 18 , wherein the rotatable stage includes:

a mat with feet-position indicators thereon for placement of the subject's feet;

wheels to allow rotation of the structure; and

a circular track to allow rotation of the rotatable stage around a central axis.