Image Formation

Light can change the image and appearances (images from D. Jacobs)
What is the relation between pixel brightness and scene radiance?
What is the relation between pixel brightness and scene reflectance ?

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.1

 Camera Obscura

"When images of illuminated objects ... penetrate through a small hole into a very dark
room ... you will see [on the opposite wall] these objects in their proper form and color,
reduced in size ... in a reversed position, owing to the intersection of the rays".
Da Vinci

http://www.acmi.net.au/AIC/CAMERA_OBSCURA.html (Russell Naughton)

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.2

 • Used to observe eclipses (eg., Bacon, 1214-1294)
• By artists (eg., Vermeer).

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.3

 Cameras

Jetty at Margate England,

1898.
http://brightbytes.com/cosite/collection2.ht
ml
(Jack and Beverly Wilgus)
• First photograph due to Niepce
• First on record shown in the book - 1822

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.4

 Pinhole cameras
• Abstract camera • Pinhole cameras
model - box with a work in practice
small hole in it

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.5

 Light And then some
Source emits photons reach the
eye/camera.

Photons travel in a
straight line

When they hit an object they:

• bounce off in a new direction
• or are absorbed
• (exceptions later).
© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.6
 Irradiance, E
• Light power per unit area (watts per square meter) incident
on a surface.
• If surface tilts away from light, same amount of light
strikes bigger surface (less irradiance).

light

surface
© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.7
 Radiance, L
• Amount of light radiated from a surface into a given solid
angle per unit area (watts per square meter per steradian).
• Note: the area is the foreshortened area, as seen from the
direction that the light is being emitted.

light

surface

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.8

 Image Formation
A cos solid angle subtended by a small patch of area A.
 
R2
n̂
 R


A

L - radiance is the amount of light radiated from a surface per solid angle
(power per unit area per unit solid angle emitted from a surface. W m 2 sr 1 )

E - irradiance is the amount of light falling in a surface

(power per unit area incident in a surface. W m 2 )

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.9

 Surface Radiance and Image Irradiance
A n̂
Pinhole 
Camera  f
Model z 

I

Same solid angle

2
A cos I cos  A cos   z 
   
( z / cos  ) 2 ( f / cos  ) 2 I cos  f 

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.10

 Surface Radiance and Image Irradiance
A n̂
d

 f
z 

Solid angle subtended by the lens, I

as seen by the patch A
2
 d 2 cos   d
    cos 3

4 ( z / cos  ) 2
4z
Power from patch A through
2
the lens
 d
P  L  A cos   LA   cos  cos 
3

Thus, we conclude 4z

2 2
P A   d   d 
E L   cos 3
 cos   L   cos 4 
I I 4  z  4 f 

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.11

 Summary
2
 d
E  L   cos 4 
4 f 

•The irradiance at the image pixel is converted into the

brightness of the pixel

•Image Irradiance is proportional to Scene Radiance

•Scene distance, z, does not affect/reduce image brightness (the

model is too simplified, since in practice it does.)

•The angle of the scene patch with respect to the view (
reduces the brightness by the cos 4  . In practice the effect is
even stronger.

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.12

 The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution
Function (BRDF)
n̂
n̂ ( i , i )
i
( e , e )
i

 L( e , e ) BRDF - How bright a surface appears when

f ( i , i , e , e )  viewed from one direction while light
 E ( i , i ) falls on it from another.

Usually f depends only on e  i ,  i , e  true for matte surfaces and specularly

reflecting surfaces.

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.13

 Extended Light Sources and BRDF
   sin  i  i i
 i
Light source radiance arriving through solid angle 
A E ( i , i )  E ( i , i ) sin  i  i i
i
Power arriving at patch A from 
P  A cos i E ( i , i )  A E ( i , i ) cos i sin  i  i i
Foreshortening
thus the irradiance arriving at patch A is
 P   2
E0  
A
 
 0
E ( i , i ) cos i sin  i  i i
The radiance of a patch A at direction ( e , e ) is thus, given by
  2
L( e , e )  
 
f ( i , i , e , e ) E ( i , i ) cos i sin  i  i i
 0

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.14

 Special Cases of BRDF
1. Lambertian Surfaces (matte)- appears equally bright from all viewing
directions and reflects all incident light, absorbing none, i.e. the
BRDF is constant and L  E0. . What constant f ?
  2
L( e , e )  f  
 0
E ( i , i ) cos i sin  i  i i  f E0
Thus, the total “reflected power” from patch A becomes
  2
p  
 0
L( e , e ) A cos e sin  e  e e  f E0 A 
  2 Foreshortening
since

 0
cos e sin  e  e e  
p
Using that L   f E0  and for Lambertian surfaces L  E0 ,
A
1
we finally obtain f 

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.15
 Special Cases of BRDF
1. Specular Surfaces (mirrors) – reflects all light arriving from the
direction (into
i , i ) the direction ( i , i .The
 ) BRDF is in this case
proportional to the product of two impulses,  ( e and
i )
 (e  i .What
  ) is the factor of proportionality k ( i?, i )
  2
L( e , e )    k ( i , i )  ( e   i )  (e  i   ) E ( i , i ) cos i sin  i  i i
 0

 k ( e , e ) E ( e , e ) cos e sin  e
  2
E0    E ( i , i ) cos i sin  i  i i
 0
  2
L   L( e , e ) cos e sin  e  e e
 0
1
and for specular surfaces L  E0  k ( i , i ) 
cos i sin  i
 ( e   i )  (e  i   )
we finally obtain f ( i , i , e , e ) 
cos i sin  i
© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.16
 Lambertian Surface Brightness
How bright will a Lambertian surface be
when it is illuminated by a point source
of radiance E? and by a “sky” of uniform
radiance E? n̂ ( i , i )
For a point source the irradiance at the
surface is E0  E cos i and the radiance
must then be
( e , e )
1
L( e , e )  f E0  E cos i

Familiar cosine or “Lambert’s law” of reflection from matte surfaces
(surfaces covered with finely powdered transparent materials such as
barium sulfate or magnesium carbonate), and can approximate paper,
snow and matte paint.
Finally, for a “sky” of uniform radiance E we obtain
  2 1
L( e , e )    E cos i sin  i  i i  E !
 0 
© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.17
 Special Cases: Lambertian Examples

Lambertian sphere as the light

moves.
(Steve Seitz)
Scene
(Oren and Nayar)
© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.18
 Lambertian+Specular

(http://graphics.cs.ucdavis.edu/GraphicsNotes/Shading/Shading.html)

© 2003 by Davi Geiger Computer Vision September 2003 L1.19