1. A method of recognizing faces in an image stream using a digital image acquisition device, comprising: receiving a first acquired image from an image stream; detecting a first face region within the first acquired image having a given size and a respective location within the first acquired image; extracting first faceprint data uniquely identifying the first face region along with first peripheral region data around the first face region; storing the first faceprint and peripheral region data, including associating the first peripheral region data with the first face region; tracking the first face region until face lock is lost; detecting a second face region within a second acquired image from the image stream; extracting second peripheral region data around the second face region; comparing the first and second peripheral region data; identifying the second face region as a same identity as the first face region when the first peripheral region data matches the second peripheral region data; and confirming the second face region as said same identity as the first face region when the first and second face regions match.