Course details

Computational Photography

VYF Acad. year 2023/2024 Summer semester 5 credits

Current academic year

Current digital cameras almost completely surpass traditional photography. They do not only capture light, they in fact compute pictures. That said, there is practically no image that would not be computationally processed to some extent today. Visual computing is ubiquitous. Unfortunately, images taken by amateur photographers often lack the qualities of professional photos and some image editing is necessary. Computational photography (CP) develops methods to enhance or extend the capabilities of the current digital imaging chain.

Guarantor

Language of instruction

Czech

Completion

Classified Credit (written)

Time span

  • 26 hrs lectures
  • 26 hrs projects

Assessment points

  • 40 pts mid-term test (written part)
  • 60 pts projects

Department

Lecturer

Course Web Pages

Learning objectives

The aim is to introduce computational photography methods (http://cphoto.fit.vutbr.cz/) and to get acquainted with the principles of mathematics and computer science in the field.

Why is the course taught

Computational photography techniques are placed at boundaries of image processing, computer vision, physics, visual perception and other fields. The course is offering a holistic view of this intersection, while many principles are demonstrated practically during lectures (photography, HDR acquisition, tone mapping, image registration, spherical panoramic imaging, etc.). Students may take part in photographic challenges and get a valuable feedback from their colleagues and tutors. Prior knowledge of computer vision, graphics or image processing is beneficial, but not required.

Fundamental literature

  • Radke, R.: Computer Vision for Visual Effects. Cambridge university press.  2013.
  • Szeliski, R.: Computer Vision: Algorithms and Applications, Springer. 2010.
  • Shirley, P., Marschner, S.: Fundamentals of Computer Graphics. CRC Press. 2009.

Syllabus of lectures

  1. introduction to CP, light and color (slajdy, projekty)
  2. photography, optics, physics, sensors, noise (slajdy)
  3. visual perception, natural image statistics (slajdy)
  4. image blending (slajdy)
  5. Color, color spaces, color transfer, color-to-grayscale image conversions (slajdy)
  6. High dynamic range (HDR) imaging - acquisition, storage and display (slajdy, HDR skript)
  7. High dynamic range (HDR) imaging - tone mapping, inverse tone mapping (slajdy)
  8. Image registration for computational photography (slajdy)
  9. Computational illumination, dual photography, illumination changes (slajdy)
  10. Image and video quality metrics (slajdy)
  11. Omnidirectional camera, lightfields, synthetic aperture (slajdy)
  12. Non-photorealistic camera, computational aesthetics (slajdy)
  13. Computational video, GraphCuts, editing software, guests

Progress assessment

  1. Project proposals
  2. Project assignments
  3. --
  4. --
  5. Consultations after the lecture - literature
  6. --
  7. Consultations after the lecture - implementation
  8. --
  9. Consultations after the lecture - testing
  10. --
  11. WRITTEN EXAM
  12. Finished implementations
  13. Presentations of assignments, final reports

Exam prerequisites

It is obligatory to be present at the written exam, submit the project including textual report and oral presentation. At least 50 points must be obtained, while the minimal score from the test is 16 points, the minimal score from the project is 24 points. During the term, one can get bonus points in practical photography challenges.

Course inclusion in study plans

Back to top