Python Pillow – Working with Images

In this article, we will see how to work with images using Pillow in Python. We will discuss basic operations like creating, saving, rotating images. So let’s get started discussing in detail but first, let’s see how to install pillow.

Installation

To install this package type the below command in the terminal.

pip install pillow

Creating new image

You can create a new image using PIL.Image.new() method. This method creates a new image with the given mode and size. Size is given as a (width, height)-tuple, in pixels

Syntax: PIL.Image.new(mode, size, color)

Code:

Python3

import PIL
image = PIL.Image.new(mode = "RGB",
                      size = (200, 200),
                      color = (255, 153, 255))
image.show()

Output:

Opening image

You can open any image using PIL.Image.open() method.

Syntax: PIL.Image.open(fp, mode=’r’)

Code:

Python3

from PIL import Image

image = Image.open('nature.jpg')
image.show()

Output:

Getting Information about the image

• Getting the format of the image: obj.format method returns the format of the image file.

Python3

from PIL import Image

img = Image.open("test.png")

print(img.format)

Output:

PNG

• Getting the size of the image: obj.size attribute provides the size of the image. It returns a tuple that contains width and height.

Python3

from PIL import Image

img = Image.open("test.png")

print(img.size)

Output:

(180, 263)

Renaming and Saving Image

We can change the name, format of the image, and can also rename it using the image.save() method.

Syntax: Image.save(fp, format=None, **params)

Code:

Python3

from PIL import Image
image = Image.open('nature.jpg')
image.show()

image.save('nature1.bmp')
image1 = Image.open('nature1.bmp')
image1.show()

Output:

Before change

After change

Cropping the image

PIL is the Python Imaging Library which provides the python interpreter with image editing capabilities. PIL.Image.crop() method is used to crop a rectangular portion of any image.

Syntax: PIL.Image.crop(box = None)

Code:

Python3

from PIL import Image

# Open image
im = Image.open("nature.jpg")

# Show actual Image
im.show()

# Show cropped Image
im = im.crop((0,0,50,50)
im.show()

Output:

Before rotation

Cropped Image

Rotating the image

PIL.Image.Image.rotate() method is used to rotate a given image to the given number of degrees counterclockwise around its center.

Syntax: new_object = PIL.Image.Image.rotate(image_object, angle, resample=0, expand=0) OR new_object = image_object.rotate(angle, resample=0, expand=0)

Code:

Python3

from PIL import Image

# Open image
im = Image.open("nature.jpg")

# Show actual Image
im.show()

# Show rotated Image
im = im.rotate(45)
im.show()

Output:

Before rotation

After rotation

Filtering the image

The current version of the Pillow library provides the below-mentioned set of predefined image enhancement filters.

• BLUR
• CONTOUR
• DETAIL
• EDGE_ENHANCE
• EDGE_ENHANCE_MORE
• EMBOSS
• FIND_EDGES
• SHARPEN
• SMOOTH
• SMOOTH_MORE

The ImageFilter module contains definitions for a pre-defined set of filters, which can be used with the Image.filter() method.

Syntax: Filter(Kernel)

Takes in a kernel (predefined or custom) and each pixel of the image through it (Kernel Convolution). 

Code:

Python3

# Import required image modules
from PIL import Image, ImageFilter

# Import all the enhancement filter from pillow
from PIL.ImageFilter import (
   BLUR, CONTOUR, DETAIL, EDGE_ENHANCE, EDGE_ENHANCE_MORE,
   EMBOSS, FIND_EDGES, SMOOTH, SMOOTH_MORE, SHARPEN
)

# Create image object
img = Image.open('nature.jpg')

# Applying the sharpen filter
# You can change the value in filter function
# to see the deifferences
img1 = img.filter(SHARPEN)
img1.show()

Output:

Before filter

After SHARPEN filter

Creating a Watermark on the image

Here, you can create a watermark by using ImageDraw.Draw.text() This method draws the string at the given position.

Syntax: ImageDraw.Draw.text(xy, text, fill=None, font=None, anchor=None, spacing=0, align=”left”)

Code:

Python3

# Import required Image library
from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont

# Create an Image Object from an Image
im = Image.open('nature.jpg')
width, height = im.size

draw = ImageDraw.Draw(im)
text = "lovely nature"

font = ImageFont.truetype('arial.ttf', 36)
textwidth, textheight = draw.textsize(text, font)

# calculate the x,y coordinates of
# the text
x = 100
y = 50

# draw watermark in the bottom right
# corner
draw.text((x, y), text, font=font)
im.show()

# Save watermarked image
im.save('watermark.jpg')

Output:

Before Watermark/text

After Watermark/text