Optimization of Feature Loss for Image Enhancement

Abstract

Image-transformation problem is a problem in which an input image is transformed to an output image. In most of the recent methods, a feed-forward neural network is defined which utilizes per-pixel loss between the output image and the ground-truth image. In this paper we have showcased that high-quality images can be generated by defining a feature-loss function which is based on high-level perceptual features extracted from pre-trained convolutional networks. We have combined both the approaches that have been formerly mentioned and have proposed a feature-loss function for training a feed-forward neural network capable of image transformation tasks. We have compared out method with that of an optimization based approach, similar to the one utilized in Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and our method produced visually appealing results whilst fully capturing the intricate details of the object in the image.