What a 180 degree rotation does
A half turn moves the top of the picture to the bottom and the left to the right. Text that was upside down becomes readable, and the picture is not mirrored. The width and height stay the same, and no pixels are lost.
Rotate 180 degrees or flip vertically?
These are not the same. They are easy to mix up.
| Operation | Result | Text reads |
|---|---|---|
| Rotate 180 degrees | Upside down, same as turning the page around | Correctly, if it was upside down |
| Flip vertically | Top and bottom swapped, like a reflection in water | Backwards |
| Flip horizontally | Left and right swapped, like a mirror | Backwards |
| Flip both ways | The same as rotating 180 degrees | Correctly |
If a picture looks upside down and the text is backwards, flip it. If the text reads correctly after turning the page around, rotate it.
When to rotate 180 degrees
- A scan or a photo of a document that was placed upside down.
- A picture from a camera or phone that was mounted upside down.
- A video screenshot from an upside-down camera.
Related tools
See rotate 90 degrees, rotate 270 degrees, flip vertically and the main image rotator.