Python Pillow – Flip Image Vertical & Horizontal

Python Pillow – Flip Image

To flip an Image vertically or horizontally with Python pillow, use transpose() method on the PIL Image object.

In this tutorial, we shall learn how to transpose or flip an image, with the help of example programs.

Syntax – Image.transpose()

The syntax of transpose() method is:

Image.transpose(method)

where

  • method – Possible values of method are
    • PIL.Image.FLIP_LEFT_RIGHT
    • PIL.Image.FLIP_TOP_BOTTOM
    • PIL.Image.ROTATE_90
    • PIL.Image.ROTATE_180
    • PIL.Image.ROTATE_270
    • PIL.Image.TRANSPOSE or PIL.Image.TRANSVERSE.

In this tutorial, we will only deal with

  • PIL.Image.FLIP_LEFT_RIGHT which flips the image with respect to vertical axis.
  • PIL.Image.FLIP_TOP_BOTTOM which flips the image with respect to horizontal axis.

Example 1: Flip Image w.r.t. Vertical Axis

In the following example, we pass PIL.Image.FLIP_LEFT_RIGHT as argument to the transpose method to flip the image vertically or flip left to right and right to left.

Python Program

import PIL
from PIL import Image

#read the image
im = Image.open("sample-image.png")

#flip image
out = im.transpose(PIL.Image.FLIP_LEFT_RIGHT)
out.save('transpose-output.png')

Input Image

Python Pillow - Flip Image - Transpose Image

Output Image

Python Pillow - Transpose Image - Flip Image w.r.t. Vertical Axis

Example 2: Flip Image w.r.t. Horizontal Axiz

In the following example, we pass PIL.Image.FLIP_TOP_BOTTOM as argument to the transpose method to flip the image w.r.t. horizontal axis or flip top to bottom and bottom to top.

Python Program

import PIL
from PIL import Image

#read the image
im = Image.open("sample-image.png")

#flip image
out = im.transpose(PIL.Image.FLIP_TOP_BOTTOM)
out.save('transpose-output.png')

Output Image

Python Pillow - Transpose Image - Flip Image w.r.t. Horizontal Axis

Summary

In this tutorial of Python Examples, we learned how to transpose an image, and thus get the flipping effect along vertical and horizontal axes.