Preferred Racial Skin Color Reproduction in an Image based on Race Classification

Preferred skin color reproduction is an important factor for improving the image quality of display devices and systems. Therefore, this article presents a race-selective preferred skin color reproduction method for the case of multiple races in a single image. First, the proposed method detects skin regions using a focus map and skin candidate map. Next, the race of each detected skin region is classified by comparing the Euclidean distance of the average chromaticity for each detected skin region with a database of racial skin colors. Based on this classification, the racial preferred skin color for each detected skin region is then selected from candidate racial preferred skin colors that are predefined in a database generated through an observer's preference test. Finally, the skin color is reproduced toward the preferred skin color. Experimental results confirm that the proposed method can achieve race-selective preferred skin color reproduction in the case of multiple races in a single image. (C) 2015 Society for Imaging Science and Technology.