Preferred skin color reproduction on the display

Abstract

We develop a methodology to find the optimal memory color (colors of familiar objects) boundary in YCbCr color space and a local image adjustment technique called preferred color reproduction (PCR) to improve image quality. The optimal memory color boundary covers most familiar object colors taken under various viewing conditions. The PCR algorithm is developed based on the idea that colors of familiar objects (memory colors) are key factors in judging the naturalness of an image. The PCR algorithm is applied to pixels detected as having a memory color. Memory color detection is conducted using color information by checking if an input color is inside the predetermined memory color boundary. The PCR algorithm transforms colors inside the memory color boundary to be shifted toward the boundary of constant interval in the center. The PCR algorithm is applied to skin colors, and psychophysical experiments using real images were conducted to determine the best parameters for the algorithm resulting in the most preferred image.