In a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an automated, computerized method is provided for processing an image. According to a feature of the present invention, the method comprises the steps of providing an image file depicting an image, in a computer memory, organizing information relevant to the image according to a smooth-illumination constraint enforcing a Laplacian filter response such that ∇2ƒ(x, y)=0 and utilizing the smooth-illumination constraint to generate an intrinsic image from the image.