Flipping and Rotating Images with Python Pillow

When processing images using the Python image processing library, there are cases where you need to flip an existing image to gain more insight, improve its visibility, or for other specific requirements.

The Pillow library’s image module allows us to flip images very easily. We will use the transpose() method in the image module to flip an image. Transpose() “Some of the most commonly used methods supported are

• Image.FLIP_LEFT_RIGHT – Flips an image horizontally.

• Image.FLIP_TOP_BOTTOM – Flips an image vertically.

• Image.ROTATE_90 – Rotates an image by a specified number of degrees.

Example 1: Horizontally Flipped Image

The following Python example reads an image, flips it horizontally, and displays both the original and flipped images using standard PNG display tools.

# import required image module
from PIL import Image

# Open an already existing image
imageObject = Image.open("images/spiderman.jpg")

# Do a left and right flip
hori_flippedImage = imageObject.transpose(Image.FLIP_LEFT_RIGHT)

# Show the original image
imageObject.show()

# Show the horizontally flipped image
hori_flippedImage.show()

Output

Original image

Flipped image

Example 2: Vertically Flipped Image

The following Python example reads an image, flips it vertically, and displays both the original and flipped images using standard PNG display utilities.

# Import the required image module
from PIL import Image

# Open an already existing image
imageObject = Image.open("images/spiderman.jpg")

# Do a left and right flip
hori_flippedImage = imageObject.transpose(Image.FLIP_LEFT_RIGHT)

# Show the original image
imageObject.show()

# Show the vertically flipped image
Vert_flippedImage = imageObject.transpose(Image.FLIP_TOP_BOTTOM)
Vert_flippedImage.show()

Output

Original Image

Flipped Image

# Import the required image module from PIL import Image # Open an already existing image imageObject = Image.open("images/spiderman.jpg") # Do a left and right flip hori_flippedImage = imageObject.transpose(Image.FLIP_LEFT_RIGHT) # Show the original image imageObject.show() # Show the 90-degree flipped image degree_flippedImage = imageObject.transpose(Image.ROTATE_90) degree_flippedImage.show()

Output

Original Image

Rotated Image