A method enhances images of a naturally illuminated scene. First, a set of images Ii(x, y) is acquired of a scene. Each image is acquired under a different uncontrolled illumination. For each image Ii(x, y), intensity gradients ∇Ii(x, y) are determined, and each image is weighted with weights according to the intensity gradients. The weighted images are then combined to construct an enhanced image I′.