High Dynamic Range image tone mapping approach based on separable Stationary Wavelet Transform decomposition using a coefficients weighted strategy

Abstract

This paper concerns the problem of converting High Dynamic Range (HDR) images into Low Dynamic Range (LDR) images so as to display the mapped images on LDR display devices. A fast, effective and flexible tone mapping algorithm preserving visibility, contrast and impression of the HDR real-world scene is developed. It is based on the Stationary Wavelet Transform (SWT) decomposition reducing a large part of halo artifacts on the reconstructed LDR image. Before the reconstruction step, the approximation and details coefficients of the coarsest subbands are weighted according to a given relationship depending on the characteristics of the HDR image. The proposed tone mapping algorithm performance is evaluated in terms of visual rendering and HDR reproduction fidelity measured with the TMQI metric. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm provides interesting results compared to competitive methods available in the literature.