A system for counting objects, such as people, is provided having a camera (22) for capturing video images along an image plane (25) in which two-dimensional shapes or design (28) are spaced along the image plane (25), and a computer system (14, 22) for receiving the images and detecting objects associated with change occurring in the images, and counting one of the detected objects when of the detected objects approximates a shape (31) associated with the object being counted (e.g., ellipse shape, to count a person) that fully or substantially blocks a portion said two-dimensional shapes or design (28) in the image associated with the detected object, and the detected object meeting other criteria for the object, such as size or compactness of detected change within the object. The system is especially useful for counting people near external windowed doors (19) of a building entranceway doors by discriminating between spurious light crossing the image plane and people.