Stereo-based bokeh effects for photography

Bokeh, a sought-after photo rendering style of out-of-focus blur, typically aims at an esthetic quality which is not available to low-end consumer-grade cameras due to the lens design. We present a bokeh simulation method using stereo-vision techniques. We refine a depth map obtained by stereo matching, also using some minor user interaction. Overexposed regions are recovered according to depth information. A depth-aware bokeh effect is then applied with user-adjustable apertures sizes or shapes. We also simulate swirly bokeh, also known as cat-eye effect. Our method mainly aims at the visual quality of the bokeh effect rather than (so far) at time efficiency. Experiments show that our results are natural looking and that they can be comparable to bokeh effects achieved with expensive real-world bokeh-capable camera systems.