Dark flash photography with a stereo camera

Abstract

Scenes can be imaged under low-light conditions using flash photography. However, the flash can be irritating to individuals being photographed, especially when those individuals' eyes have adapted to the dark. Additionally, portions of images generated using a flash can appear washed-out or otherwise negatively affected by the flash. These issues can be addressed by using a flash at an invisible wavelength, e.g., an infrared and/or ultraviolet flash. At the same time a scene is being imaged, at the invisible wavelength of the invisible flash, the scene can also be imaged at visible wavelengths. This can include simultaneously using both a standard RGB camera and a modified visible-plus-invisible-wavelengths camera (e.g., an 'IR-G-UV' camera). The visible and invisible image data can then be combined to generate an improved visible-light image of the scene, e.g., that approximates a visible light image of the scene, had the scene been illuminated during daytime light conditions.