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Seam Carving For Content Aware Image Resizing
Daily Ink
Stored in: Tools
Posted On: August 23 2007
By: Bryan Partington
Archival Photo
This is pretty difficult to explain.
Computers normally think of photos as a series of columns and rows. Rows and columns of pixels, where no element has any more importance than any other.
So when a computer resizes an image, all elements are resized with equal weight. This leaves a resized image that contains as much of the original image as possible, but is not perhaps the most effective image at the new size or aspect ratio.
Normally converting a photo from one ratio to another, which might be important for framing purposes or for viewing on a variety of different screens, objects can end up squished or stretched. This can be very noticeable, and very undesirable.
Seam carving is a technique for image resizing that attempts to preserve the dimensions of objects in the photo that might look awkward when squished or stretched, and distorting more benign background elements instead. This can even be done automatically, "on the fly".
the result is that a photo originally taken in landscape orientation can actually be converted into a portrait orientation photo with no apparent horizontal or vertical or horizontal distortion.
This video demonstration probably does a better job of explaining it than i do:
via dpreview
11 comments on this Ink
On August 23, 2007, David Wilkinson said ...
That's brilliant. Scary, but brilliant.
On August 24, 2007, Brenda Anderson said ...
That last example takes "cropping out a person" to a new level. Believe that news photograph you just saw?
On August 25, 2007, Mollie Taylor said ...
Brilliant, yet so simple I feel I should have thought of it myself.
On August 25, 2007, Rachel Cowan said ...
OK I want it I want it! I didn't understand even an eighth of what he was talking about, but I kind of 'got' the visuals... amazing stuff. And for digital art purposes, this would be invaluable.
On August 25, 2007, Phil Hilfiker said ...
wow.
yep, definitely don't believe any photos you see these days!
brilliant technology. - thanks for sharing this.
On August 26, 2007, Jorge Muxica said ...
Superb..!
The graphic boundaries have been yet again extended..
Incredible graphical engineering, mathematics and programming in this...
This is an extremely powerful program! So when will it become a beta or commercial app?
On August 27, 2007, Pixel Wrangler said ...
Several flickr photographers contributed photos to this project (including the one illustrating this Tools article, captioned "Archival Photo").
A full listing, along with their images can be found at
On August 27, 2007, Pixel Wrangler said ...
(trying again)
(http://www.flickr.com/groups/utata/discuss/72157601635463338/72157601666130491/)
On August 28, 2007, jossy02116 said ...
Wow, I didn't even imagined I could do this with Photoshop!! Now, I feel like a caveman trying to use Photoshop :-b
On September 02, 2007, Justin Lane said ...
That's impressive technology. A simple idea too. But I can't see the point really. And for this technology to work, all our internet browsers etc would need plug-ins to read and render the embedded info, or would another new image file format need to be invented?
On October 19, 2007, Bob Travis said ...
Amazing. Excellent mathematics, and a very cool application....
Otherwise, in Tools:
- Previously: Underwater Pinhole Photography
- Next: DIY Remote Shutter Release
Utata Ink is a daily publication edited by Bryan Partington (striatic). Photos used on utata.org are stored on flickr.com and obtained via the flickr API unless otherwise noted. To make a contribution to Ink, please visit Ink Me.
