The image is one of the most widely used standard test images for image compression algorithms — her face and bare shoulder having become a de facto industry standard. It is so widely accepted that Söderberg was a guest at the 50th annual Conference of the Society for Imaging Science in Technology in 1997.

David C. Munson, editor-in-chief, January 1996 IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, cited two reasons for the popularity of the image in research:

Use of the image has produced some controversy, with some people concerned about its prurient content, and Playboy at one time threatening to prosecute over the unauthorized use of the image. The magazine has since abandoned the threats, instead embracing the use of "Lenna" for publicity reasons. Coincidentally, Playboy states the issue was its best-selling ever, having sold 7,161,561 copies.

History

The picture's history was described in the May 2001 newsletter of the IEEE Professional Communication Society, in an article by Jamie Hutchinson:

See also

• Cornell Box
• Utah teapot
• Stanford Bunny

External links

• An interesting page about the image
• Lenna (TIFF file)
• The full Lena image (This image contains nudity)
• The comp.compression FAQ
• A Note on Lena by David C. Munson
• A Sonnet dedicated to Lenna

Image processing | Playboy | Photographs | 1972 works

Lena (Testbild) | Lenna | Lenna | 레나 | Lenna (immagine) | レナ | Lenna (fotografia) | Lenna | ภาพลีนา | 萊娜圖