1. An automated, computerized method for processing an image, comprising the steps of: providing an image file depicting an image, in a computer memory; generating an illumination image and a material image from the image, both the illumination image and the material image being expressed as a separate, multi-band representation, independent of the other of the material or illumination image, wherein each band corresponds to a segment of the electro-magnetic spectrum; and factoring the illumination image to generate a diffuse illumination image and a harsh shadow illumination image.