Topic: Group Shot lets you create a perfect group photo out of a series of group photos

[Software Santa]

MSR Group Shot helps you create a perfect group photo out of a series of group photos.

Microsoft Research Group Shot

Group Shot creates a composite image from a series of photos.  The photos must be of the same scene, taken from the same point of view within a short period of time. The application uses regions that you indicate to build a composite image automatically.

Getting Started:

The first step is to import a set of images. A set of images can be imported from the File Import Images menu or by dragging and dropping files from the File Explorer.  Files can be added either as a set or one image at a time.   Once you have loaded a series of images, you can view each individual image by using the tab strip at the top of the main window.


Creating a Composite:


     You begin a composite by selecting a region on an original image and adding it to the composite.  You can select a region by dragging a rectangle on an image.  Once you select a region, the contents of that rectangle on each of the original images show up on the filmstrip on the right.


     Select the rectangle in the filmstrip that looks best and click on “Add to Composite” (you can also just double click on your selection). This instructs the program to incorporate the selected region to the composite image.  In a few seconds you see a new composite image


     You can continue by selecting a new rectangle in the composite, or by selecting a rectangle in an original image. You can use the tab interface to look at your original images.  Once again, select the rectangle in the filmstrip that looks best and “Add to Composite”. In a few seconds you see a new composite image. Note that the composite image is only made up of regions from images that you have selected

 
Undo: You can always undo the latest change by clicking the undo button next to “Add to composite”.


Tips & Hints:
   

Selecting Regions:
You may select a region on any image, including the composite results.  Use the filmstrip on the right to select the image you want to use.

 

Unwanted Background:
You can get rid of unwanted background features by selecting better features in another image.



·Shortcut:
Double click on a filmstrip image to add it to the composite.

 

Saving Results:
   

When you are satisfied with the composite, you can save the results by selecting the File Menu item “Export Full Resolution Composite”.   This may take a few seconds, but it will produce the best quality image.  However, if you simply want a 640x480 sized composite image, choose the menu item “Save Low Resolution Composite”.


Possible problems:

 

People are cut in half:

Sometimes this just happens (luckily it is only a photo). You can always undo the latest change with the undo button. You can try again by selecting a slightly larger or smaller rectangle to better frame the region you want. This will often work.

 

Different sized input images:

Images must all be the same size.  If images are different sizes or dimensions, you may use tools such as the Microsoft Office Picture Manager and Digital Image Pro to crop or resize images to the same dimension.

 

Images vary too much:

You will get the best results if all of the images are taken from the same point of view and are of the same group of people.  Ideally the photographer will hold the camera fairly still and not change any exposure settings in between shots.  Minor view changes are fixed when the images are loaded, the Group Shot tries to align each image.  

Help Files:  http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/groupshot/help.aspx

Download:  http://research.microsoft.com/projects/GroupShot/