System and method for adjusting perceived depth of an image

1. A computer-implemented method of altering objects in an image, the method comprising:

receiving a requested change in the objects in the image;

receiving a depth map corresponding to the image;

determining at least one characteristic of the image; and

applying an image process to the image, the image process varying in strength according to the depth map, and in accordance with a non-linear predetermined mapping relating a strength of the applied image process to a change in the objects, the mapping being determined with respect to the determined at least one characteristic,

wherein the non-linear predetermined mapping identifies a peak change in the objects in the image associated with the at least one characteristic of the image at a particular strength of the applied image process.

2. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic is determined with respect to a foreground region and a background region of the image.

3. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein application of the image process to the image is a local application limited to one of a foreground and background region of the image.

4. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the image process relates to one of clarity, sharpness, colour shift, saturation, brightness, exposure, noise, contrast and vibrance of the image.

5. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the requested change in the objects relates to foreground/background separation, a visual cue associated with an appearance of volume in objects in a scene of the image, and a visual cue associated with an appearance of physicality in object textures of the image.

6. A computer-implemented method of altering objects in an image, the method comprising:

receiving a requested change in the objects in the image;

determining at least one characteristic of the image based on a measured difference of the at least one characteristic in a foreground region of the image and a background region of the image;

selecting an image process for altering the objects in the image, said selected process having a different impact in the foreground region and the background region of the image as a result of the determined at least one characteristic in the regions; and

applying the image process globally to the image, in accordance with a non-linear predetermined mapping relating a strength of the globally applied image process to a change in the objects,

wherein the non-linear predetermined mapping identifies a peak change in the objects in the image associated with the at least one characteristic of the image at a particular strength of the globally applied image process.

7. A computer-implemented method of altering objects in an image, the method comprising:

receiving a requested change in the objects in the image;

determining at least one characteristic of the image; and

applying a combination of at least two image processes to the image, wherein a process strength of the combination is determined in accordance with corresponding non-linear predetermined mappings relating the strengths of the at least two applied image processes and the objects in the image, said mappings being determined with respect to the determined at least one characteristic,

wherein the non-linear predetermined mappings identify a peak change in the objects in the image associated with the at least one characteristic of the image at a particular strength of the combination of the at least two image processes.

8. The computer-implemented method according to claim 7 , wherein the at least two image processes are each associated with a predetermined effectiveness measure, and wherein the strengths of the applied image processes are determined according to the associated effectiveness measure.

9. A computer-implemented method of interacting with an image displayed on a display screen to alter objects in the image, said method comprising:

receiving a selection of a region of the displayed image and an indication associated with a requested change in the objects in the image; and

applying an image process to the selected region of the image to change the objects of the image, wherein size and position of the objects in the image remain constant,

wherein a strength of the applied image process corresponds to a peak change in the objects in the image associated with a non-linear predetermined mapping relating the strength of the applied image process to a change in the objects.

10. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9 , wherein the indication is received in the form of at least one of a gesture, a voice command to an object, and a vocal request to an image of a person in the image.

11. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9 , wherein the indication is received in the form of ray-casting from a user gesture.

12. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9 , wherein the indication is received in the form of a pinch gesture.

13. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9 , wherein the region of the image is selected by at least one of user indication and automatic segmentation.

14. A non-transitory computer readable medium having a program stored thereon for altering objects in an image, the program comprising:

code for receiving a requested change in the objects in the image;

code for receiving a depth map corresponding to the image;

code for determining at least one characteristic of the image; and

code for applying an image process to the image, the image process varying in strength according to the depth map, and in accordance with a non-linear predetermined mapping relating a strength of the applied image process to a change in the objects, the mapping being determined with respect to the determined at least one characteristic,

wherein the non-linear predetermined mapping identifies a peak change in the objects in the image associated with the at least one characteristic of the image at a particular strength of the applied image process.

15. Apparatus for altering objects in an image, the apparatus configured to:

receive a requested change in the objects in the image;

determine at least one characteristic of the image based on a measured difference of the at least one characteristic in a foreground region of the image and a background region of the image;

select an image process for altering the objects in the image, said selected process having a different impact in the foreground region and the background region of the image as a result of the determined at least one characteristic in the regions; and

apply the image process globally to the image, in accordance with a non-linear predetermined mapping relating a strength of the globally applied image process to a change in the objects,

wherein the non-linear predetermined mapping identifies a peak change in the objects in the image associated with the at least one characteristic of the image at a particular strength of the globally applied image process.

16. A system comprising:

a memory for storing data and a computer readable medium; and

a processor coupled to the memory for executing a computer program, the program having instructions for:

receiving a requested change in the objects in the image;

receiving a depth map corresponding to the image;

determining at least one characteristic of the image; and

applying an image process to the image, the image process varying in strength according to the depth map, and in accordance with a non-linear predetermined mapping relating a strength of the applied image process to a change in the objects, the mapping being determined with respect to the determined at least one characteristic,

wherein the non-linear predetermined mapping identifies a peak change in the objects in the image associated with the at least one characteristic of the image at a particular strength of the applied image process.

17. A computer-implemented method of processing an image, the method comprising:

receiving a requested change in objects in the image;

receiving a depth map corresponding to the image;

determining a value of at least one characteristic of the image using the image and the corresponding depth map, wherein the value of the at least one characteristic is related to colour-based properties of the image derived using the corresponding depth map; and

applying an image process to the image, the image process varying in strength based on the depth map and the requested change in the objects of the image, and in accordance with a non-linear predetermined mapping relating a strength of the applied image process to a change in the objects, the mapping being determined with respect to the determined value of the at least one characteristic.

18. The computer-implemented method according to claim 17 , further comprising:

selecting a plurality of processes to apply to the image based on the value of the at least one characteristic.

19. The computer-implemented method according to claim 18 , further comprising:

determining a plurality of combinations of parameters for the selected plurality of processes, wherein each combination results in the requested change in the objects of the image;

selecting a combination of parameters from the determined plurality of combinations for the selected plurality of processes based on a predetermined restriction.

20. The computer-implemented method according to claim 19 , wherein the restriction is determined with respect to the value of the at least one characteristic.

21. The computer-implemented method according to claim 19 , wherein the restriction is determined based on a total change to the image required by the combination.