1. A method for applying lighting characteristics to a digital image of a surface, comprising: receiving the digital image of the surface; obtaining a reference lighting map for the surface, wherein the reference lighting map contains information specifying lighting characteristics of the surface when the digital image was captured; and using the reference lighting map to apply the lighting characteristics to the digital image of the surface, wherein to apply the lighting characteristics to the digital image of the surface involves compensating for uneven lighting in the digital image of the surface, and wherein said compensating involves: inverting the colors in the reference lighting map to produce an inverted reference lighting map; adjusting the brightness of the inverted reference lighting map; overlaying the adjusted inverted reference lighting map over the digital image of the surface; and adjusting colors in the digital image by using color information of the adjusted inverted reference lighting map to compensate for uneven lighting in the digital image.