Adjusting cell phone photo orientation with Go
Programming Snapshot – Rotating Photos with Go
© Photo by Girl with red hat on Unsplash
Cell phones often store photos upside down or sideways for efficiency reasons and record the fact in the Exif metadata. However, not all apps can handle this. Mike Schilli turns to Go to make the process foolproof.
Somehow, I seem to hold my cell phone wrong when taking pictures. It often happens that a picture that looks right in the phone's photo gallery is suddenly upside down or on its side when I want to send it to friends on WhatsApp. A quick look at the metadata of the photo in question reveals what's going wrong (Listing 1) [1].
It appears that my phone is saving images with the wrong orientation, but it is also storing the correction value, which shows up in the JPEG format's Exif header to tell you how the photo actually should be rotated. I don't know who came up with this idea, but assuming that any app looks in the Exif header first and then aligns the image correctly seems like a fundamental flaw to me. There's no doubt in my mind that the original camera app should perform the rotation when the picture is taken, rather than having the work done downstream time and time again by an unmanageable number of photo apps.
Upside Down World
Figure 1 illustrates that the cell phone still displays the image the right way round in its photo app, even though it was stored incorrectly. The desktop version of the Whatsapp client in the browser, however, obviously ignores the associated Exif header and sends the picture upside down (Figure 2). Imagine the recipient's reaction to receiving a message about my surf trip to Ocean Beach in San Francisco with a photo on its head!
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Framework Laptop 13 Pro Competes with the Best
Framework has released what might be considered the MacBook of Linux devices.
-
The Latest CachyOS Features Supercharged Kernel
The latest release of CachyOS brings with it an enhanced version of the latest Linux kernel.
-
Kernel 7.0 Is a Bit More Rusty
Linux kernel 7.0 has been released for general availability, with Rust finally getting its due.
-
France Says "Au Revoir" to Microsoft
In a move that should surprise no one, France announced plans to reduce its reliance on US technology, and Microsoft Windows is the first to get the boot.
-
CIQ Releases Compatibility Catalog for Rocky Linux
The company behind Rocky Linux is making an open catalog available to developers, hobbyists, and other contributors, so they can verify and publish compatibility with the CIQ lineup.
-
KDE Gets Some Resuscitation
KDE is bringing back two themes that vanished a few years ago, putting a bit more air under its wings.
-
Ubuntu 26.04 Beta Arrives with Some Surprises
Ubuntu 26.04 is almost here, but the beta version has been released, and it might surprise some people.
-
Ubuntu MATE Dev Leaving After 12 years
Martin Wimpress, the maintainer of Ubuntu MATE, is now searching for his successor. Are you the next in line?
-
Kali Linux Waxes Nostalgic with BackTrack Mode
For those who've used Kali Linux since its inception, the changes with the new release are sure to put a smile on your face.
-
Gnome 50 Smooths Out NVIDIA GPU Issues
Gamers rejoice, your favorite pastime just got better with Gnome 50 and NVIDIA GPUs.