A method for matching images includes the step of providing a template image and an input image. A Laplacian-of-Gaussian filtered log (LOG-log) image function is computed with respect to the template image and the input image to obtain a Laplacian-of-Gaussian filtered template image and a Laplacian-of-Gaussian filtered input image, respectively. An energy function is minimized to determine estimated geometric transformation parameters and estimated photometric parameters for the input image with respect to the template image. The energy function is formed by weighting non-linear least squared differences of data constraints corresponding to locations of both the Laplacian-of-Gaussian filtered template image and the Laplacian-of-Gaussian filtered input image. The estimated geometric transformation parameters and the estimated photometric parameters are output for further processing. The method allows for image matching under non-uniform illumination variations.