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It has been well known since the earliest days of color photography that color-balance in general, and facial
reproduction (flesh tones) in particular, are of dominant interest to the consumer, and significant research resources
have been expended in satisfying this need. The general problem is a difficult one, spanning the factors that govern
perception and personal preference, the physics and chemistry of color reproduction, as well as wide field of color
measurement specification, and analysis. However, with the advent of digital photography and its widespread
acceptance in the consumer market, and with the possibility of a much greater degree of individual control over color
reproduction, the field is taking on a new consumer-driven impetus, and the provision of user facilities for preferred
color choice now constitutes an intense field of research. In addition, due to the conveniences of digital technology, the
collection of large data bases and statistics relating to individual color preferences have now become a relatively
straightforward operation. Using a consumer preference approach of this type, we have developed a user-friendly
facility whereby unskilled consumers may manipulate the color of their personal digital images according to their
preferred choice. By virtue of its ease of operation and the real-time nature of the color-correction transforms, this
facility can readily be inserted anywhere a consumer interacts with a digital image, from camera, printer, or scanner, to
web or photo-kiosk. Here the underlying scientific principles are explored in detail, and these are related to the practical
color-preference outcomes. Examples are given of the application to the correction of images with unsatisfactory color
balance, and especially to flesh tones and faces, and the nature of the consumer controls and their corresponding image
transformations are explored.
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