A system and method for automatically determining a set of default settings (with respect to a blank image) so that a uniform and high contrast image results when, for example, a finger is present on a sensor device. A background noise image and other diagnostic data, such as non-functional areas, are also automatically determined with respect to the blank image and stored for future reference. The above processing is performed each time the sensor device is initialized. Once the initialization process is complete, the individual places the required biometric feature, for example, a finger on the sensor device. The methodology adjusts the set of default settings to account for the condition of the biometric feature being imaged by increasing or decreasing the sensitivity level of the sensor device. The determination of optimum sets is achieved by analyzing specific regions of the image data rather than the entire image. The present invention then captures multiple images at different sensitivity levels since a specific region may be optimized with respect to one set of settings and another region may be optimized with respect to another set of settings. The diagnostic data is then used to correct the captured images by substituting any non-functional areas in the sensor device with average intensity values from neighboring regions. The multiple images are then combined to form a resultant image by using a weighted and intensity-transformed combination of regions from the different images.