Face Detection Technology for the Perfect Group and Individual Portraits
March 30, 2009
Lets say you are at a wedding party and taking snaps of family and friends. Suddenly you find that the background effects are more clear as compared to the people in your photos. You don't need the background, you need your friends and relatives to be in focus. This can be done by using the Face Detection technology that has been incorporated in most of the modern compact digital cameras. Face detection is in fact a computer based technology that generally determines the locations and sizes of a human face in a digital image. It only detects the facial expressions and contours and ignores everything else in the background. This technology has been designed to automatically recognise faces within a given frame. This feature adjusts the autofocus in order to deliver sharp image while the exposure is adjusted to ensure that the frame is clear and precise.
Working Process: -
Basically Face Detection technology is a special form of the pattern detection technology. This feature uses an algorithm to locate the faces and to provide you with the preview on the camera's LCD screen. Using this feature is very simple. All you need to do is activate this function when you are out to shoot portraits. The camera first composes the photo and displays it on the LCD screen with the faces highlighted, and then flashes a green signal. This green light is an indication that the camera has adjusted the settings and is ready to capture the correct photo. One thing you need to remember is to turn off this feature while shooting landscapes or sports events. For these cases there are other shooting modes provided in the camera.
Advantages: -
This technology has proved to be handy while taking a portrait snap of multiple people or groups of persons. It also works effectively when the subjects are located away from the centre. With this technology incorporated in most of the digital cameras these days you need not have to worry about manually adjusting the exposure and contrast features. The camera does it automatically when you activate this functionality. Also it greatly increases your chances of getting perfect photos.
Limitations: -
One thing that we need to remember is that Face Detection technology is not fool-proof. It definitely cannot compensate for terrible lighting conditions nor can it adjust the focus or exposure for people situated very far away. Thus it is very important to know the basic laws of exposure and contrast compensation. While the camera is adjusting the internal settings, you may lose out on some interesting moment. Also you cannot keep the feature activated while shooting all types of photos such as nature, landscape, sports etc. For such instances there are other scenic modes provided by the camera manufacturers.
Conclusion: -
Though there are limitations to the Face Detection technology, it is still a boon for beginners and users of compact cameras for crisp and clear pictures. It helps in preserving those most important family get-together and wedding moments. It also makes the whole photographic experience a hassle-free and a memorable one.
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