Say ‘cheese.’ Between forced smiles and fidgety kids and pets, snapping the perfect photo is tough. Multiple takes are typically necessary to capture one decent picture, taking away from the magic of the actual moment itself. That’s in part why two local entrepreneur-in-residences from Atlas Venture and General Catalyst – Noah Heller and Hugh Crean – created Vhoto, a machine-learning app that uses the power of video to find the best photos.
After two years in the making, Vhoto launched out of stealth on Thursday, announcing its drop in the App Store along with a $2.4 million seed round from Atlas Venture’s Jeff Fagnan, Polaris Partners’ Dave Barrett and Crean, who serves as the startup’s chairman. Ramesh Raskar of the MIT Media Lab is also an advisor.
While the company’s 13-person team is officially based in Seattle, Boston is Vhoto’s secondary home and birthplace.
Crean and Heller first met in 2012. After building popular video game Call of Duty in Southern California, Heller joined Atlas as an EIR and came to the Boston-area for a few months. “[Atlas] said, ‘Maybe Hugh can convince you to move to Boston.’ But I didn’t need much convincing,” Heller told BostInno. The local VC firm then hooked him up with Crean, who has been an EIR at General Catalyst since 2010 after selling his company Farecast to Microsoft for $115 million.
The pair of entrepreneurs met for coffee at the Thinking Cup near the Commons, where the idea for Vhoto was first brewed. Crean showed Heller a video of his nephew playing wiffle ball. “There was a still image in the middle where the kid really looked like a natural,” recalled Heller. “But how do we find that great shot hitting the ball every time? How do we find this magical little highlight using video, and share it to the world?”
Vhoto discovers said highlights for you. The app uses computer vision to evaluate over 20 dimensions like blur, contrast, faces, smiles and user intent to quickly extract the best still moments from the video. “We need to get rid of this anxiety of having to press the button at the right time to get the right shot,” added Heller.
… And the right shot for your personal preferences, too. Over time, the app adjusts to select what you define as the “best” photo of the bunch.
Heller even suggests that users snap a video-selfie, capturing all sides, angles and expressions, and see which looks Vhoto selects. In other words, the app can pick your “better side” for you. But you’ll also influence what frames Vhoto presents in the future. Users can then share the photos straight to social media and to the Vhoto community.
Added Heller, “Don’t pose. Don’t say ‘cheese.’ Just be yourself.”
