1. A method comprising: under control of a processor configured with computer-executable instructions, receiving a collection of images each containing an object; constructing a three-dimensional (3-D) model of the object, the 3-D model including a plurality of points; selecting at least a subset of the plurality of points; generating one or more 3-D visual phrases based on the subset of the plurality of points; and using the one or more 3-D visual phrases to detect the object in an unclassified image.