This document proposes a new method for content-based image retrieval that uses different wavelet bases to characterize each query image individually. This adaptive approach aims to more effectively and efficiently retrieve similar images compared to a query. It does so by using a regression function tuned on training data to estimate the best wavelet filter for each query image. This allows characterization to be computed instantly for any wavelet filter. The method was tested on medical, texture, face recognition and object image datasets, showing significant retrieval performance increases over existing approaches. It aims to address limitations like the semantic gap and subjectivity of human perception in traditional methods.