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GoogleGranted patentCameras & imagingInterest 6/10

Google patents photo trick to add photographer to group shots

This patent describes a method for creating a composite group photo that includes the person taking the picture. The phone uses its camera to track the original angle and position, then displays a guide on the screen to help the user take a second photo from the same spot. It combines the two images into one final picture, using depth data to make the subjects look natural together.

Why it mattersIt solves the common problem of the photographer missing out on group memories by automating the difficult task of matching angles for a seamless composite.

In the filing’s own words

A user device receives a request to generate a composite image. The media application a first image that includes one or more first subjects. The media application determines a previous pose of the user device associated with capture of the first image. The media application segments the one or more first subjects from the first image. The media application generates one or more overlays that correspond to the one or more first subjects based on segmenting the one or more first subjects. The media application displays the one or more overlays on a viewfinder of the user device to provide guidance for a user to capture a second image based on a comparison of a current pose of the user device to the previous pose of the user device. The media application generates the composite image.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, at a user device, a request to generate a composite image; receiving a first image that includes one or more first subjects; determining a previous pose of the user device associated with capture of the first image; segmenting the one or more first subjects from the first image; determining one or more first depths of the one or more first subjects; generating one or more overlays that correspond to the one or more first subjects based on segmenting the one or more first subjects; displaying the one or more overlays on a viewfinder of the user device to provide guidance for a user to capture a second image based on a comparison of a current pose of the user device to the previous pose of the user device, wherein the second image includes one or more second subjects; and generating the composite image that includes the one or more first subjects and the one or more second subjects, wherein the composite image is generated based on the one or more first depths.

Facts

Company
Google (Google LLC)
Official title
Generating a group photo that includes a photographer
Patent number
US12737945B2
Application number
18787384
Filed
Jul 29, 2024
Granted
Sep 15, 2026
Inventors
9
Claims
17

Classified under

G06T 11/60 Physics & computingG06T 5/50 Physics & computingG06T 5/60 Physics & computingG06T 5/77 Physics & computingG06T 7/11 Physics & computingG06T 7/194 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.