Patent Grant
10375255
This invention relates to photography, and more particularly, to creating, processing, selling, and distributing image-based products and services to customers.
Digital image technology is being used to offer various on-line photographic services. For example, services are available that allow consumers who have their film developed to receive on-line access to their images. Consumers with access to the Internet may order reprints by clicking on various on-screen prompts. Services based on digital images are offered.
For example, consumers may download images for printing in their home. Digital images can also be placed in on-line photo albums or sent to friends and relatives using e-mail.
Some mail-order photo labs allow consumers to receive their images on a floppy diskette or a compact disk when they are developed.
Digital imaging technology is being used by professional photographers. Digital cameras are available that allow fairly high-quality images to be taken digitally. By attaching a monitor to the camera, photographers can display images to allow clients to decide immediately whether they find a particular image acceptable. Because digital images may be printed as soon as they have been acquired, novelty photographs such as a child posing with Santa or other subject for which immediate results are desirable are possible.
Digital image acquisition systems are available that allow images to be cropped on-screen after they have been acquired. However, such systems are generally self-contained and do not allow images to be manipulated over the Internet.
Stock photographers have used the Internet to promote their image portfolios to potential buyers, but have generally not used the Internet to sell images.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide techniques for creating, processing, selling, distributing, and otherwise using image-based products and services.
This and other objects of the invention are accomplished in accordance with the principle of the present invention by providing a system in which a customer may view images taken by a photographer and may order products or services related to the images. The photographer may take images for the customer using a film-based camera or using digital image acquisition equipment. The photographer may collect customer information such as the customer's e-mail address or mailing address manually or electronically. For example, the photographer or customer may enter the customer information into a portable computer or handheld computing device on which an application for image acquisition and customer information collection is implemented.
Images may be made available to the customer using order servicing equipment. The order servicing equipment may contain an order servicing computer, film development equipment, image digitizing equipment, printing equipment, packaging and mailing equipment, and other equipment. The photographer may provide images to the order servicing equipment manually or electronically. For example, the photographer may mail film to the order servicing equipment for developing by the operator of the order servicing equipment. If desired, order servicing equipment may be configured to provide the photographer with an opportunity to upload digital images to the order servicing equipment.
The photographer may mail the customer information to the order servicing equipment. If desired, the order servicing equipment may be configured to provide the photographer with an opportunity to upload the customer information to the order servicing equipment.
The customer may view images by viewing proofs or by viewing the images on-line. The customer may be notified when the images are available to be viewed. For example, the customer may be notified by e-mail when the images are available for viewing on-line. The customer may be provided with an opportunity to view images on-line by, for example, providing the customer with an opportunity to view the images on a web page. The web page may be password controlled. The customer may select the password when the images are taken or may be notified of the password in the e-mail notifying the customer that the images are available.
The customer and other suitable parties may be provided with an opportunity to place an order for image-related products or services. For example, the order servicing equipment may be used to provide a web page that may be used to place orders on-line.
The order servicing equipment may fulfill the order. For example, the order servicing equipment may be used to print images, package images, and mail images to the customer. The order servicing equipment may also be used to create image-based products and services, package the products or services, and mail the products and services to the customer. If desired, orders for images and other image-based products and services may be fulfilled using a fulfillment facility that is separate from the order servicing equipment.
When a customer places an order, some of the revenues from the order may be distributed to the photographer. For example, an account may be established for the photographer at the order servicing equipment. When a customer places an order, the photographer may automatically receive a credit in the account. If the photographer has an account at an independent financial institution, the photographer may be credited by using the order servicing equipment to electronically transfer the photographer's share of the revenues into that account. If desired, the system may credit the photographer by having a check issued.
The order servicing equipment may be used to provide the photographer with an on-line opportunity to create new assignments and to submit images and customer information for those assignments. The photographer may specify the type of assignment that is being created (e.g., wedding, school photos, commercial, etc.). The photographer may also specify a name for the assignment. Customer information and images for the assignment may be provided to the order servicing equipment on-line. The order servicing equipment may be used to provide the photographer with an opportunity to check assignment status information electronically. For example, the photographer may be allowed to access a web page containing status information. The photographer can also view account information using a web page or other suitable arrangement. The image-based products and services that are offered to the customer may by tied to the type of assignment involved. For example, a customer viewing sports team images may be presented with an opportunity to order sporting equipment and other sports-related products.
The photographer, customer or other party may manipulate images. For example, the customer may use an on-line editing application to crop images or to change image attributes such as color balance, contrast, etc. The photographer, customer, or other party may also manipulate images to remove red-eye, to change hair color, or to change the background of the images. For example, the customer may manipulate images by selecting desired backgrounds from backgrounds containing, for example, images of actors, cartoon characters, characters in costume, magazine cover templates, etc.
The photographer or other appropriate party may select which images are presented to the customer. For example, the photographer may submit film to the order servicing equipment for developing. The images may be digitized at the order servicing equipment. The photographer may review the images on-line and may select a subset of the images to make available for the customer to view on-line.
The photographer, customer, or other suitable party may select image presentation options. For example, if the images taken by the photographer are for a wedding, the order servicing equipment may provide the customer with an on-line opportunity to order a wedding album. The photographer, customer, or other party, may select the album cover type (leather, plastic, etc.), page weight, cover and page color, etc.
The photographer, customer, or other party may append content to the images. Videos may be created and content may be appended to the videos. The videos and images may be integrated into, for example, web pages or digital albums containing both still images and video.
The photographer, customer, and other parties may not have the same rights to manipulate images, select images for presentation to the customer, append content, purchase products or services, view images, etc. The system may accommodate different rights levels for different parties. For example, the photographer may be allowed to edit images on-line, whereas friends of the customer may not be allowed to edit images on-line.
The photographer or other party may be awarded loyalty reward points for frequent use of the system. A web page or other interface may be used to provide the photographer with an opportunity to check on current loyalty reward account status information, to redeem reward points, or to earn referral bonuses, etc.
Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.
A system 10 in accordance with the present invention is shown in
The arrangement of
Electronic products or services may be provided to the customer or other suitable recipients over communications network 18. Tangible items such as enlargements may be shipped to customers from order servicing equipment 16 or from order fulfillment facility 20.
In the school photo example, students are in effect the customers of both the photographer and the order servicing operator. System 10 may be used to automatically credit the proceeds of the students' orders to the photographer. System 10 may also be used to credit the order servicing equipment operator. Funds that are collected from the students by order servicing equipment 16 may be transferred to the account of the photographer at financial institution 22 via communications network 18. If desired, an account may be maintained for the photographer at order servicing equipment 16. The photographer may be credited by crediting this account. The photographer may also be credited using a check or other such financial instrument.
Additional parties such as graphics designers, video production specialists, or other image manipulation or generation professionals (hereinafter sometimes referred to generically as “media consultants” may use video and graphics editing and production equipment 24 to facilitate the creation and delivery of services based on the photographer's images. For example, a web designer may use equipment 24 to create a custom web site for the customer. Order servicing equipment 16 may be used to distribute some of the proceeds of the customer's orders to the account of the web designer or to otherwise credit the web designer.
Illustrative steps involved in providing image-based products and services to customers with system 10 are shown in
Images may be taken in public locations such as in a shopping mall, amusement park, airport, or other public location as a novelty item (e.g., images of people taking a harbor cruise or an amusement park ride, images of people with Santa, a cartoon character, or a movie character, or images at any other suitable portrait opportunity). Images may be taken in a dedicated studio. For example, images may be taken at a studio where the customer is provided with costumes to dress up (e.g., as a wild west cowboy, etc.).
Images may be taken for a private or public institution such as a corporation, firm, governmental body, club, association, or the like. For example, images may be taken for a school, athletic team, cheerleading group, dance club, music club, religious group, military organization, etc.
Images may be taken for commercial clients. For example, images may be taken of products for a catalog or of architecture, landscapes, people, or other subjects. Assignments may involve taking images of a function such as an awards dinner, or of a sporting event, news event, or the like.
The information collected by the photographer depends on the type of project or event involved. For example, if the images are school photographs and customers are students, the information that is collected may include each student's name, class, telephone number, home address, and e-mail address, etc. If the images are wedding photographs, the photographer may collect information on the names of the bride and groom, telephone numbers, home and e-mail addresses, etc. If the images are product shots for a commercial assignment, the information that is collected may include the corporate name of the customer, information on the appropriate contact person at the customer's location, telephone, fax, corporate and e-mail address information, etc. If the images are novelty portraits, the information collected may include the information on the subject of the photograph and the names of friends or family who might want to purchase products and services based on that portrait. Information on friends, family and other people interested in the project in addition to the customer may be collected for any suitable project.
If desired, information on multiple customers may be collected during the same assignment. For example, when school photographs are taken, the photographer may collect information on multiple student customers. Because customer information may be collected centrally and images may be made available for viewing centrally, using system 10 provides an efficient way in which to reach many customers at once.
After the images have been taken and the information collected on the customer, the images and customer information may be provided to order servicing equipment 16 (
At step 30, order servicing equipment 16 may be used to provide the customer with an opportunity to place on-line orders for image-based products and services (e.g., images, tee shirts, wedding albums, web pages, trading cards with images of school athletes etc.). For example, order servicing equipment 16 may place school photographs on a web site and may notify the students whose photographs are available. Students may browse the web site to determine if the images are of interest. Students may then place orders for desired images and image-based products over the Internet.
If desired, additional parties such as video production specialists and web designers or other graphics artists may participate in the creation and modification of the image-based products and services using video and graphics editing and production equipment. System 10 may also allow customers and photographers to edit images and add content for the products and services on-line.
At step 32, order servicing equipment 16 and order fulfillment facility 20 may be used to fulfill the customer's order. For example, the customer's order may be for five 8.times.10 enlargements and a tee-shirt both based on a particular school photograph. After the customer selects the desired image at step 30, order servicing equipment 16 may print the five enlargements and mail them to the customer. Order servicing equipment 16 may also provide a digital copy of the photograph to order fulfillment facility 20, which may place the photograph on a tee-shirt or other item and may mail the tee-shirt to the customer.
Step 32 also involves crediting the appropriate parties with revenue derived from the sale of the image-based products and services. For example, the photographer's account (whether an account maintained at order servicing equipment 16 or an independent financial institution) may be credited to reflect the photographer's participation in the project. If work was contributed by a media consultant, the media consultant may be provided with a portion of the revenues. Order servicing equipment 16 may credit the revenues to the photographer and other parties. Part of the revenues may be retained by the operator of order servicing equipment 16 as reimbursement for services in connection with providing the image-based products and services. The crediting of the photographer and other parties involved in the order may involve electronic transfers between financial institutions such as financial institution 22 of
As shown in
Order servicing equipment 16 may include custom film-based printing equipment 40 that allows personnel at order servicing equipment 16 to print custom enlargements or create other image-based products using developed film from film development equipment 38. Order servicing equipment 16 may also include automated film-based printing equipment 42. Automated film-based printing equipment 42 may be any suitable print processing machine. Images on developed film may be digitized using image digitizing equipment 44. Digital images may be provided to order servicing computer 46 so that they may be accessed by customers via communications network 18. Digital images may also be provided to digital printing equipment 48 for printing. Printed images from custom film-based printing equipment 40, automated film-based printing equipment 34, and digital printing equipment 48 may be packaged and mailed to customers and other recipients using packaging and mailing equipment 50.
Illustrative steps involved in using a system such that of
At step 54, the photographer delivers the film and the customer information to the order servicing equipment 16. Film may be hand delivered or mailed. If the customer information has been provided to photographer computer 36, the customer information may be provided to order servicing computer 46 electronically using communications network 18. If the customer information is on printed forms, the customer information may be mailed to order servicing equipment 16 and entered into order servicing computer 46 or other suitable computer at order servicing equipment 16.
At step 56, the order servicing equipment operator may process the film and provide the customer with an opportunity to order images and related products and services on-line. The opportunity to order image-based products and services may be provided, for example, by digitizing the images and placing them on a web page at which the customer may select various products or services, provide information on the intended recipients of the purchased products and services, provide credit card information, arrange for shipping, etc.
At step 58, the system fulfills the order by shipping the requested image-based products to the customer and by providing the customer with access to the image-based services. The system also credits the photographer (e.g., by transferring funds into the photographers account).
If desired, the photographer may provide digital images to order servicing equipment 16. As shown in
If desired, the photographer may have the film developed by a lab such as lab 64. Lab 64 may have film processing equipment 66 for developing film and image digitizing equipment 68 for digitizing images from the film after it has been developed. Digital images from lab 64 may be provided to photographer computer 36 by transmitting them over communications network 18 or by delivering a digital storage media such as a photo compact disc (photo CD), diskette or other suitable storage media to the photographer who may transmit the images to order servicing equipment 16 over communications network 18 using photographer computer 36 or who may deliver the digital storage media to order servicing equipment 16. If desired, digital images from lab 64 may be provided directly to order servicing equipment 16.
Another way in which the photographer may provide digital images to order servicing equipment 16 is by using digital camera 70 to take digital images. The photographer may transfer digital images from digital camera 70 to photographer computer 36 over communications link 72, which may be a suitable wireless link such as an infrared or radio-frequency link or a suitable wired link such as an IEEE-1394 communications link or other link formed from wire, cable, fiber optics, etc. A removable digital storage media such as a memory card, floppy diskette or the like may be used to transfer digital images from digital camera 70 to a digital media reader 74 that is attached to photographer computer 36 or is a part of photographer computer 36.
Order servicing equipment 16 may receive the digital images over communications network 18 and may store them in order servicing computer 46. All of the digital images or a selected group of the digital images may be made available for viewing and ordering by the customer. The images may be printed by digital printing equipment 48, which may be, for example, a color inkjet printer, dye sublimation printer, laser printer, or other suitable printer. Printed images and image-related products may be mailed to customers using packaging and mailing equipment 50. Packaging and mailing equipment may be automated to reduce labor costs or may involve manual labor to reduce equipment costs. The operator of order servicing equipment 16 may control the operation of the order servicing equipment 16. For example, in the system of
Illustrative steps involved in using the system of
At step 80, order servicing equipment 16 is used to provide the customer with an opportunity to order images and related products and services over communications network 18 (e.g., the Internet). If the photographer is a first time user of the system, order servicing equipment 16 may be used to open an account for the photographer. If the photographer has an existing account, order servicing equipment 16 may be used to allow the photographer to access the account on-line. If the photographer has an existing account, order servicing equipment 16 may be used to accept the digital images from the photographer and to make them available for the customer to view and to use in ordering image-based products and services. The photographer, the operator at order servicing equipment 16, the media consultant at video and graphics editing and production equipment 124 or other suitable parties, may be involved in determining which image-based products and services are made available to the customer. After the customer places an order, order servicing equipment 16 is used to fulfill the customer's order and to credit the photographer a portion of the revenue from the customer at step 82.
Illustrative steps involved in using the systems of
At step 96, the images are provided to order servicing equipment 16. For example, images may be provided by mailing film (step 98) hand carrying film (step 100), e-mailing digital images (step 102), uploading images using the World Wide Web (step 104), transmitting images using a modem link (step 106), or mailing or hand carrying images on digital media (step 108).
At step 110, customer information is provided to order servicing equipment 16. For example, customer information may be provided by mailing (step 112), hand carrying (step 116), e-mailing a customer information file or the like (step 114), uploading information using the web (step 118), or transmitting information using a modem link (step 120).
At step 122, the customer (or customers) may be provided with an opportunity to view the images. For example, the customer may be provided with an opportunity to view images by providing the customer with an opportunity to view images over the web (step 124), by mailing or hand carrying proofs or digital media containing the images to the customer (step 126), by e-mailing images to the customer (step 128), by transmitting images to the customer using a modem link (step 130), or by mailing or hand carrying proofs or digital media to the photographer who delivers the proofs or digital media to the customer (step 132).
As shown in
At step 146, the customer's order may be fulfilled. For example, order servicing equipment 16 may fulfill the customer's order by printing images, packaging the printed images, and mailing the packaged images to the customer and other recipients (steps 148, 150, and 152). The system may be used to fulfill the customer's order by creating an image-based product (step 154), packaging the product (step 156), and mailing the product to the customer and other recipients (step 158). If desired, the system may be used to fulfill the customer's order by creating an image-based digital product (step 160) and distributing the digital product to the customer and other recipients (step 162). An image-based service may be provided at step 164.
At step 166, the system may credit the photographer and other suitable parties. For example, the system may electronically credit the account of the photographer (step 168), may issue a check or direct a financial institution to issue a check for the photographer (step 170), or may credit the photographer's financial institution (step 172).
The steps shown in
As shown in
Image acquisition equipment 176 may be a film-based camera, an instant photography camera, a digital camera, a digital camera built into a computer or other suitable platform, a video camera that uses a still images capture card in a personal computer, or any other suitable equipment suitable for capturing images. If desired, image acquisition equipment 176 may have the capability to capture short video clips or full-length videos. Such video-capable image acquisition equipment may use digital or analog (film, magnetic tape, etc.) recording techniques.
Customer information collection equipment 178 may be a notepad for the photographer to write down information, a printed form for a customer to write down information, a computer, a personal digital assistant or other handheld or portable computing device for the customer or photographer to enter customer information, a handheld tape recorder or a video camera that may be used to record the customer information, or any other suitable equipment for collecting information on the customer. In some situations the customer information collection equipment 178 may be based on the same platform (or be the same as) the image acquisition equipment 176. Moreover, in some situations, such as when the project involves a commercial client, customer information may be collected from a representative of the customer rather than the subject of the images. The subject of the images may be a product, building, landscape, model, etc.
As shown in
As shown in
Computer 188 may be used to collect customer information. When subject 190 is the customer, computer 188 may be used to collect customer information directly from subject 190. For example, when the photographer is taking images of students, each student may enter personal information into computer 188 (with assistance from the photographer if desired). As used herein, the term “photographer” may apply to a single photographer or to a photographer and various assistants and other such personnel. Computer 188 may be a notebook computer, a handheld computing device such as a personal digital assistant, or any other suitable computer. Computer 188 of
Computers such as computer 188 and photographer computer 36 may support various applications for image acquisition, customer information collection, image uploading, image editing, image management, and other functions. Applications of this type and other applications implemented at photographer equipment 12 (
An illustrative screen provided by a photographer application on a computer such as computer 188 of
Screen 204 may also contain a media identifier entry region 208. The photographer may use region 208 to enter a label for a new floppy diskette, digital memory card, or other removable digital media. Computer 188 (10) may use the media identification information provided in region 208 to label the removable media 202 (
Customer information may be entered into customer information entry region 210. Customer information may be entered by the customer (using, for example, computer 188 or a keyboard and monitor linked to computer 188) or by the photographer. Customer information may include the customer's name, address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address, or any other suitable information on the customer's location, how the customer may be reached, the desired method of payment (credit card type and number), the identify of friends or family who might desire to be notified when the images are ready, or any other such information. Not all of this information is required. For example, it may be sufficient for the customer to provide an e-mail address. The system may then send an e-mail to the customer when images and related products and services are available to be viewed and ordered. If the customer provides only a mailing address, the order servicing equipment operator may mail a letter to the customer to notify the customer that images and related products and services may be viewed and ordered. Notifications may also be provided through a school or other institution that is involved in the project. Such notifications may be routed to the customers through the school or other institution based solely on the customer's name, without requiring mailing address or e-mail address information. These examples are illustrative. Any suitable customer information may be collected for the customer if desired.
Computer 188 (
Option 220 may be provided on screen 204 to provide the photographer with an opportunity to add another image for the current customer. When the photographer selects option 220, the photographer application may display an image acquisition screen such as image acquisition screen 222 of
As shown in
A toolbar such as toolbar 246 may be provided for screen 222 and other screens provided by the photographer application. Toolbar 246 may provide the photographer with access to features of the photographer application that are not displayed as part of the current screen. For example, file option 248 may provide access to a drop-down menu of options relating to saving the images, changing file names, exiting screen 222 and returning to screen 204 of
The order servicing equipment operator may use order servicing equipment 16 (
If the photographer desires to set up a new account with the order servicing equipment operator, the photographer may select set up new account option 254 by clicking on box 256 and go button 258. If the photographer desires to access an existing account, the photographer may click on box 260, enter the photographer's account name or number in region 262, enter the password for the account in region 264, and click on go button 258.
If the photographer selects new account option 254, order servicing equipment 16 (
If the photographer chooses to access an existing account from page 252 of
As shown in
Selecting more option 310 of
As shown in
If the photographer selects submit new assignment option 294 of
Once the photographer has provided information to the order servicing equipment that identifies the assignment to be submitted, order servicing equipment 16 (
Additional pages and options may be provided to the photographer to facilitate the steps involved in transferring customer information from a school computer or other such location. For example, pages may be provided that include options for entering passwords and other security information. When the desired filename and location information has been entered or determined by browsing or using other options, the photographer may select upload customer mailing list to service center option 332. Selecting option 332 may direct the system to transmit the customer information contained in the list or file to order servicing equipment 16. If desired, a school or other institution may provide the customer list directly to order servicing equipment 16. For example, the customer list may be posted to a web page provided by order servicing equipment 16.
If a customer list has not been created, the photographer may enter the list manually. Page 324 may include enter customer information manually option 334. Selecting option 334 may direct the system to display a page such as page 336 of
Commercially-oriented customer information entry pages such as page 336 may contain a client region 340 for entering a client name and a separate contact region 342 for entering a contact name at the client. The contact's title may be entered in region 344. Address and account information for the client may be entered in region 346. Telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address information may be entered in region 348. When the photographer has finished entering customer information into the information regions of page 336, the photographer may select submit button 350 to transmit the information to order servicing equipment 16 (
Page 336 is merely illustrative. Any suitable page or series of pages or other suitable information entry scheme may be used to allow the photographer to enter customer information.
Another example of a customer information entry page is shown in
When the customer information has been submitted, the system may present the photographer with an opportunity to specify how images are to be provided to order servicing equipment 16 (
If the photographer selects mail option 366, the photographer may be presented with a page such as page 368 of
As shown in
Images may be stored remotely. For example, the photographer may use film to take images. The photographer may provide the film to lab 64 of
Once order servicing equipment 16 receives the customer information and images for an assignment, the images may be made available to the customer on-line. If the photographer provides the images on undeveloped film, the film may first be developed and the images digitized from the developed film. One way in which images may be provided to the customer is by placing them on a web page or by otherwise making them available electronically such as via e-mail, dial-up connection, or any other suitable technique. If desired, the operator of order servicing equipment 16 may use the customer's e-mail address that has been provided with the customer information to e-mail a notification to the customer that the images are available on-line for the customer's review. Such notifications may be sent automatically by order servicing equipment 16 if desired. A typical notification message 388 is shown in
Notification message 388 of
The operator of order servicing equipment 16 (
After a customer receives a notification such as notification message 388 of
Web page 396 may include a welcome message 398, a region 400 in which the customer may enter the customer's password, and a continue option 402 that the customer may select to submit the password after it has been entered into region 400.
When order servicing equipment 16 receives a valid password from the customer, the customer may be presented with a page such as page 404 of
If the customer selects one of add to album options 412, the customer may be provided with an opportunity to create and edit their own album. The customer may be provided with templates to simplify the album creation process. If desired, the photographer or other party can edit and finalize the album design. If the customer selects other option 414 for any of images 406 in
In the example of
As shown in
The thank-you-note arrangement of
If the customer selects add to wedding web site option 448 of
If desired, the customer may be provided with access to tools that allow the customer to edit the images, position the images where desired, append video, audio, text, and graphic content to the images, establish passwords for the site, etc. For example, when the customer has finished selecting the images for page 452 and has entered any desired text, the customer may select continue option 468. When the customer selects continue option 468 of
Other illustrative options that may be provided on a page such as page 422 of
In some situations it may be desired to provide the customer with little or no control over the digital on-line images. For example, if a photographer is working on an assignment for a commercial customer, the photographer may wish to ensure that the client is not provided with high-quality digital images until such images have been paid for. Similarly, for artistic or business reasons, the photographer may not wish to allow the customer to manipulate on-line images for a wedding web site or other type of web site. In other situations, however, it may be desirable for a customer to manipulate images. It may also be desirable for photographers to be able to manipulate images before (or after) they are made available to the customer. For example, the photographer may wish to digitally correct mistakes in framing, exposure, color balance, etc. before the images are presented to the customer. Another party who may wish to manipulate images is a media consultant, who may use video and graphics editing and production equipment 24 (
The photographer's interest in manipulating images may be related to a desire to increase revenues from sales of image-based products and services. If the photographer improves the marketability of the images by image manipulation, the photographer may enhance sales. The photographer may wish to enlist the efforts of a media consultant. The media consultant may work for a fixed fee paid, for example, by the photographer. If desired, the media consultant may be retained by the photographer or the operator of order servicing equipment 16 to work for a percentage of the revenues derived from the sales of image-based products and services. If the media consultant works for a percentage of the revenues, order servicing equipment 16 may be used to credit the account of the media consultant, to transfer funds into the financial institution of the media consultant, or to direct the appropriate equipment or institution to issue a check for the media consultant or otherwise pay the media consultant. If desired, the photographer may reimburse the media consultant using order servicing equipment 16 or photographer equipment 12.
If the customer is provided with an opportunity to manipulate the images, the customer may be more satisfied with the end result and may order more image-based products and services. The customer may edit images locally by downloading the images to customer computer 14 from order servicing equipment 16, manipulating the images, and returning the manipulated images to order servicing equipment 16. A variety of techniques may be used to prevent the customer from retaining high-quality digital images without payment. For example, during the image manipulation phase, order servicing equipment 16 may only provide customer computer 14 with low resolution images. The customer may manipulate the low resolution images (e.g., by cropping, changing the color balance, adjusting the background, etc.) Information on which manipulations have been made may be transferred back to order servicing equipment 16. The image manipulation information may be used by the order serving equipment when fulfilling subsequent orders from the customer. If desired, digital images may be provided with a visible or invisible digital watermark. The images may be contained in files that lock themselves after a predetermined period of time (e.g., after a few days). The images may be password protected and the password may change after a predetermined period of time. These are merely examples of ways in which the images may be protected if it is desired to allow the customer to make image manipulations prior to some or all of the orders placed to order servicing equipment 16. Any other suitable technique for protecting the images during local editing by the customer may be used if desired.
Another way that images may be manipulated by the customer is during the image ordering process. For example, if the customer selects an option such as option 414 of
The photographer, a media consultant, or other party may edit images locally on their computers. The photographer may edit images on photographer computer 36 (
Local image manipulation capabilities may be provided for the photographer, customer, media consultant, or other party using a custom editor or an off-the-shelf editor such as Adobe Photoshop. Local image manipulation may involve adding text, graphics, and video to the images. Tools for performing these functions include desktop publishing tools, video editing tools, word processing applications, and other suitable content-manipulation tools.
If desired, the photographer, user of equipment 24, customer, or other party may manipulate images on-line. An illustrative web page that may be provided to a customer, photographer, or other party desiring to edit images is shown in
Predetermined cropping options such as options 510, 512, and 514 may be provided. If option 510 is checked, a square window may be provided that converts the rectangular image 502 into a square having the maximum possible dimensions allowed by the size of image 502 by overlaying a square window similar to window 506. The square window may be resized and repositioned if desired. A standard horizontal crop option 512 (with an 8.times.10 aspect ratio) may be provided by overlaying a resizable and repositionable horizontal window having a fixed 8.times.10 aspect ratio. Option 514 is similar to option 512 except that it uses a vertical orientation. Cropping using custom cropping window 506 may be invoked by checking custom cropping box 516. After cropping and image manipulation have been performed, continue option 518 may be selected.
The photographer may wish to edit images on-line, to select which images are presented to the customer, and to select presentation options for the images. Illustrative steps involved in providing a photographer or other party with these functions are shown in
Step 524 may involve various techniques for manipulation images. If desired, one, some, or all of the techniques illustrated as substeps of step 524 of
As shown in
The photographer may wish to showcase a certain group of images because they are group shots, because the images are candids, because the photographer feels that the images were particularly successful or will sell well if showcased, etc. The photographer may select which images are to be showcased during presentation to the customer by selecting appropriate showcase options 564.
The choice of which images are to be showcased is an example of a digital image presentation option. Another image presentation option that may be selected by the photographer relates to whether the selected images are to be included in a wedding album or other suitable album. The photographer may be provided with an opportunity to make this type of selection using options such as include-in-album options 566.
After the photographer has selected which images to present to the user, the order servicing equipment may only present those images to the customer for viewing or ordering. Images that the photographer selects for showcasing may be presented to the customer on a special web page and may involve a special pricing structure. Images selected for inclusion in an album may be viewed by the customer in the form of a digital mock-up of the album. By preparing the album for the customer in this way, the photographer may be able to enhance album sales and overall revenues.
The photographer may be provided with an opportunity to select image presentation options such as album characteristics using a web page such as web page 568 of
The album characteristics that may be selected using a web page such as web page 568 of
If desired, the customer may be provided with an opportunity to select image presentation options. For example, a wedding customer may be provided with an opportunity to select which type of album is used. If desired, the decision as to how much control to provide the customer may be made by the photographer. Some photographers may wish to provide their customers with a large number of options. Other photographers may wish to retain control over the assignment and may base their reputation on making decisions for their customers so that the customers do not need to make such decisions.
Steps involved in image editing, selecting which images are presented to the customer, and selecting image presentation options are shown in
At step 588, parties are provided with an opportunity to select image presentation options. For example, an opportunity may be provide to select an album type, print surface, type of materials used in an album, framed photograph, or other image-based product (step 590). An opportunity may also be provided to arrange a layout of an album, a digital album, or a web site, or make other such changes to the way that the images are presented (step 592).
At step 594, the system may be used to provide an opportunity to append content to images or image-based products or services. For example, an opportunity may be provided for a party to add text and captioning to an album or other product (step 596) and to append video and audio clips to web-based products and other electronic and video products (step 598). If the assignment is a wedding, for example, the photographer may provide images to order servicing equipment 16. The customer may select which images to include in a web site to commemorate the wedding. A media consultant who has access to videos of the wedding may edit the videos and may append selected video and audio clips to the web site. For example, the media consultant may insert still video images into the web site that turn into full motion video clips when a viewer of the web site clicks on them.
Steps involved in using video content are shown in
After the video has been provided to order servicing equipment 16, the media consultant or other party may be provided with an opportunity to edit video attributes and content on-line at step 608. Step 608 (and step 606) may involve determining which portions of the videos are to be presented to the customer as part of a video-based product or service. Video attributes that may be edited include, color balance, sharpness, hue, saturation, color vs. black and white, volume of accompanying audio track, etc. At step 610, an opportunity may be provided to select video presentation options and to append content to the video on-line. For example, the media consultant may be provided with an opportunity to select options such as the amount of compression used in displaying the videos, what type of compression scheme is used in displaying the videos, whether the audio track is in stereo or mono, etc. The media consultant may also be provided with a tool that allows the media consultant to append content to the videos, such as titles, captions, text, graphics, images, etc.
At step 612, the customer may be provided with an opportunity to view and order video-based products and services on-line. For example, the customer may be provided with an opportunity to purchase a videocassette, digital video disc (DVD), or other suitable media onto which the videos and any appended content have been placed. The customer may also be provided with an opportunity to order a web site or digital album containing interactive videos and appended content.
At step 614, the system fulfills the customer's order. For example, if the customer has ordered a videocassette, order servicing equipment 16 or order fulfillment facility 20 may be used to ship the videocassette to the customer. If the customer has ordered a digital album, the album may be made available for the customer for downloading from order servicing equipment 16. If the customer has ordered a web site, the web site may, at least initially, be hosted by order servicing equipment 16. If the customer desires, the web site may be hosted by order servicing equipment 16 for a monthly fee or may be downloaded to the customer or transferred to a separate web site host.
Various parties may use the system, such as the photographer, the customer, the media consultant, visitors, the order servicing equipment operator, the operators of separate fulfillment facilities, labs, and financial institutions, and other parties. Each of these parties may have a different role. For example, some parties, such as the photographer, may be involved in content creation. Other parties, such as the operator of the order servicing equipment, may be involved in content distribution. The customer and other parties may be involved in the purchasing of content. The system may accommodate these different roles by allowing different rights to be assigned to each of the parties. This allows the system to simultaneously support different types of usage. Moreover, if the needs of the parties change, or if a different arrangement is required, rights may be reallocated.
A table 616 that illustrates how different rights may be assigned to different parties is shown in
The other scenarios of
The examples of
Rights levels may be set during a custom setup procedure in which the photographer, order servicing equipment operator, or other party establishes the rights levels for each party. If desired, rights levels may be selected automatically by the system when the photographer initially identifies the type of assignment involved. For example, the system may set rights levels when the photographer submits images and customer information for a new assignment using a web page such as web page 316 of
As shown in
If desired, order servicing equipment 16 may use processing lab equipment that is separate from and potentially remote from the computer used to place images on-line and used to handle other tasks associated with providing image-based products and services. As shown in
The amount of money spent by the customer, the photographer, both the customer and photographer, or any other suitable party or group of parties may be used to earn loyalty rewards. For example, the amount of money spent by the customer, the photographer, or both may be used to earn the photographer loyalty rewards from the operator of order servicing equipment 16. When the photographer has accumulated a sufficient amount of loyalty reward credit, the photographer may become entitled to free products or services, discounts on products or services, or cash rewards. Suitable reward products include film and other photographic supplies and non-photographic items such as household appliances, luggage, clothing, furnishings, etc. The reward services may be photographic services such as film developing or non-photographic services such as travel or financial services. The loyalty rewards credited to the photographer are preferably provided in addition to the financial rewards credited to the photographer in connection with each normal transaction. Loyalty rewards may be used to encourage photographer loyalty to a particular order processing operator or brand of operator.
If desired, loyalty rewards may be redeemed on-line through a web site or other suitable interface. An illustrative loyalty rewards redemption web page that may be provided by the system is shown in
Loyalty rewards redemption page 626 may be used to provide the photographer with an opportunity to earn loyalty rewards or other credit such as a monetary referral fee for each additional photographer that they refer to the system. For example, loyalty rewards redemption page 626 may be used to provide a selectable option such as option 632 that when selected allows the photographer to enter information to identify a party that the photographer wishes to refer to, e.g., the operator of the order servicing equipment.
Loyalty rewards redemption page 626 is only an illustrative example of a suitable way in which to provide loyalty reward features. Any other suitable approach for providing these features may be used if desired. For example, these features may be provided without using web pages. The photographer or other loyalty rewards party may be provided with information on the loyalty rewards program, redemption options, referral options, and the like over the telephone or through the mail.
In some of the foregoing examples, the photographer, customer, and other parties are provided with on-line access to certain system features through the Internet using web pages. The photographer, customer, or other party may use a web browser to access such web pages. This type of arrangement is only illustrative. Any suitable arrangement may be used to provide the photographer, customer, or other party with access to the system features of interest. For example, interactive screens may be provided to various parties that do not rely on web page protocols. Rather than using a web browser to access information at a remote location over the communications network, a party may use another suitable application that supports network communications. Applications may generate screens locally that present information and on-screen options to various parties. Moreover, features that have been described as being suitable to provide using non-web-browser applications may, if desired, be provided by using a web browser to present web pages. Features that have been described as being provided on a single page or screen may generally be provided using multiple pages or screens. Features that have been described as being provided on multiple screens or pages may generally be provided on a single screen or page or on a different group of screens or pages.
The computers used for the customer computer, photographer computer, order servicing equipment computer, customer information collection computer, and other computers may be any suitable processing device including mainframe computers, workstations, networked computers, personal computers, notebook or laptop computers, handheld computing devices, personal digital assistants, set-top boxes, or any other suitable computing device. Certain devices are favored in certain situations due to considerations such as size, cost, and complexity. For example, mainframe computers may be used at order servicing equipment, but may be less desirable in the field for use in collecting customer information.
The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/964,272, filed on Dec. 9, 2015, (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,672,547, issued Jun. 6, 2017), which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/236,483, filed on Sep. 19, 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,240,022, issued Jan. 19, 2016), which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/827,748, filed on Jul. 13, 2007 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,041,612, issued Oct. 18, 2011), which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/365,651, filed on Aug. 2, 1999 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,320, issued Mar. 11, 2008), all of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference into the present application.
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| 20170237867 A1 | Aug 2017 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Parent | 14964272 | Dec 2015 | US |
| Child | 15585011 | US | |
| Parent | 13236483 | Sep 2011 | US |
| Child | 14964272 | US | |
| Parent | 11827748 | Jul 2007 | US |
| Child | 13236483 | US | |
| Parent | 09365651 | Aug 1999 | US |
| Child | 11827748 | US |
