How to Flip an Image in Photoshop

Flipping an image in Photoshop is simply mirroring it. You might want to do this for many reasons like shifting the focus, creating patterns and more. It can also be useful for projects that use HTV.

There are many ways to do this depending on your image and project needs. You may want to flip an image or layers while leaving the rest as it is.

Remember that there are significant differences between Flipping and Rotating.

Rotating is similar to the action of tilting your head. Flipping would be as if you were looking at it in a mirror.

For this tutorial, we will use a school board flat lay and photo of pens and crayons from the Plus Hub.

Flipping the Whole Image

If what you need to do is flip your image, first open it. Since it’s likely that the background layer will be locked, you must unlock it first. Do this by clicking on the small padlock icon to the right of the layer.

You can also double-click on the layer thumbnail to unlock the layer.

You will be able to transform it into a New Layer and edit it. You can rename the layer through this method as well.

In the top menu, go to Image > Image Rotation > Flip Canvas Horizontal.

The image will now be flipped.

You can also choose Flip Canvas Vertical instead if needed.

The result of vertically flipping the image.

Remember that when you flip an image certain parts of it like logos, watermarks, or text will flip too. In this case, if possible, you will need to flip just a layer instead of the whole canvas. Alternatively you may create a duplicate of the original layer and add the correct portions to the flipped image later.

Flipping a Layer

When you need to flip a particular layer, there are a couple of ways to do this. Use the one that works best for you.

Step 1 - Using the Transform Menu 

Select the image layer you want to flip and go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal/Flip Vertical.

Step 2 - Using Free Transform

Next we will use the Free Transform action. Go to Edit > Free Transform (Command/Control + T).

Then right-click inside the transform box that appears around the image. This will open a small drop-down menu. Select the option that better suits your needs.

Hit Enter or click on the small checkmark on the top menu to commit the changes.

Rotating the Whole Image

You can rotate the image by 90 or 180 degrees if you don’t want to flip it. Go to Image > Image Rotation and select the option that suits you the best.

Image result after rotating.

Remember to pay attention to the clockwise options (CW).

Image rotated using Clockwise.

Also pay attention to the counterclockwise (CCW) options.

The result when Counter Clockwise is used.

Rotating the Canvas

If your image has multiple layers, this option will rotate only the selected layer. If you want to rotate all layers at once, you’ll need to use Rotate canvas. This will allow you to rotate your artwork as a whole. In the Tools panel select the Rotate View tool (R).

Place the cursor on the image window and click down on the mouse. It will turn into a compass rose.

Drag the cursor clockwise or counterclockwise to rotate the canvas.

When you reach your desired rotation, release the mouse. In case you want to undo your rotation, click the Reset View button in the top menu. The Options bar (in the top menu) shows the angle of rotation and you can also check the Rotate All Windows box to rotate all open documents simultaneously.

We hope you found this tutorial fun and informative.

Check out our other tutorials on using the healing brush in Photoshop, content aware cropping, and straightening, and how to change the colors of objects in Photoshop.