1. A method for constructing a linear texture model of a class of objects, comprising a first subset of model components that exhibit a dependency on directional lighting variations and a second subset of model components that are independent of directional lighting variations, comprising: providing a training set including a plurality of object images wherein various instances of each object cover a range of directional lighting conditions; applying to the images a linear texture model constructed from object images each captured under uniform lighting conditions and forming a uniform lighting subspace (ULS); determining a set of residual texture components between object images captured under directional lighting conditions and said linear texture model constructed from object images each captured under uniform lighting conditions; constructing an orthogonal texture subspace from said residual texture components to form a directional lighting subspace (DLS); and combining said uniform lighting subspace (ULS) with said directional lighting subspace (DLS) to form a new linear texture model.