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How to flip or mirror an image on a Mac
By Himanshu Ranjan · Updated 8 November 2026
To flip an image on a Mac, open it in Preview and choose Tools > Flip Horizontal or Tools > Flip Vertical. For many files, select them in Finder and run Adjust › Flip horizontal or Adjust › Flip vertical in FileDial, which saves a new copy of each beside the original.
Horizontal or vertical
Flip Horizontal mirrors the picture left to right, like a reflection in a mirror: text reads backwards and a face's parting changes sides. Flip Vertical turns it upside down in reflection, top to bottom. Neither is the same as rotating, which keeps the picture's handedness.
People flip images for a few real reasons: fixing a selfie that a front camera saved mirrored, making a subject face into a layout, preparing artwork for iron-on transfers, or matching a left-facing product shot to a right-facing set.
Flip in Preview
Apple's Preview guide gives the steps. Open the image, then choose Tools > Flip Horizontal or Tools > Flip Vertical. If you want to do it from the Markup toolbar and it is not showing, click the Show Markup Toolbar button first. Preview works on one image at a time, and you save the change over the file or export a copy.
Flip a batch with FileDial
When you have a whole folder, say a set of product pictures all facing the wrong way, select them all. FileDial writes a new copy of each beside the original and leaves the original alone, with Undo on the result.
- Select the images in Finder.
- Hold the right Option key to open the dial, or right-click and choose Open in FileDial.
- Choose Adjust, then release on Adjust › Flip horizontal or Adjust › Flip vertical.
- Open the new copies and compare them against the originals.
When not to mirror
Do not mirror anything with text, logos, numbers, maps or recognisable landmarks unless you mean to. Mirrored text looks wrong immediately, and a mirrored street scene can mislead. Also be careful with product photos that show handedness, such as a watch worn on a particular wrist or a left-hand drive car, because a flip changes what you are selling.
Mirroring a portrait changes how a face looks to people who know it. Some people prefer their mirrored selfie, since it matches what they see every morning, but the mirrored version is not what others see.
- Flip text-bearing images only when the text is part of a mirror effect.
- Check product handedness before a batch flip.
- Keep the unflipped original for reference.
Flipping for design and print
Flipping is a common design trick. Placing a subject so they face into the page, toward the text or the fold, guides the eye. Flipping a portrait from the left side of a layout to the right is quick and nobody notices, as long as nothing in the frame gives it away.
For print, mirrored images are sometimes required: iron-on transfers and some sublimation printing are applied face down, so the artwork must be reversed first. Check your printer's instructions, because getting the direction wrong wastes the item. If your design includes text, flip the finished artwork instead of flipping the photo and adding text afterwards.
Finally, remember flipping twice returns the original orientation. If you are unsure which way a result looks right, flip a copy, compare, and delete the one you do not need.
- Flip the finished artwork for transfers.
- Check logos and text before and after.
- Flip twice to restore.
When FileDial is not the right tool
For one image, Preview is quicker: Tools > Flip Horizontal takes a second. A design app is better when you are flipping part of a composition, or when the mirror effect must be combined with careful layout. FileDial fits when you are mirroring a whole folder, such as product shots that all face the wrong way.
The mistakes are mostly about content. Flipped text, flipped logos and flipped landmarks look wrong, and a flipped product that has a left or right side can mislead a buyer. A good habit is to flip one image first, look at it carefully, and only then run the batch, keeping the originals untouched beside the copies.
A quick decision guide: if the picture is merely sideways, rotate it. If a selfie is reversed, flip it horizontally. If artwork must face a different way in a layout, flip a copy and keep the original. If text matters, do not flip at all unless you are deliberately making a mirror effect. When in doubt, save the flipped version under a clearly different folder name so nobody mistakes it for the real photo later, particularly for product pictures that others will reuse.
Orientation is not mirroring
If a photo is sideways, you want rotation, not a flip, see the batch rotate article. And if an image is upside down because it was taken with the phone inverted, a 180-degree turn is the fix. Two rotations in FileDial give you that, because Rotate left twice equals half a turn.
Everything here runs on the Mac with no upload.
Questions
What is the difference between flip and rotate?
Rotating turns the picture while keeping its left-right orientation, as if you turned the print on a table. Flipping mirrors it, so text reads backwards. Flip Horizontal swaps left and right, and Flip Vertical swaps top and bottom. Flip Horizontal swaps left and right, so any text, signs or logos in the frame will read backwards afterward.
Where is Flip in Preview?
Apple's Preview guide places it in the Tools menu: choose Tools > Flip Horizontal or Tools > Flip Vertical with the image open. You can also use the Markup toolbar if you show it with the Show Markup Toolbar button.
Can I flip many images at once?
Yes, with FileDial. Select them in Finder and run Adjust › Flip horizontal or Adjust › Flip vertical. It saves a new copy beside each original, leaves the originals unchanged and gives you Undo on the result. Flipping twice in the same direction restores the original orientation, so a mistaken flip is easy to reverse.
Why does my selfie look reversed?
Many front cameras show and sometimes save a mirrored preview. If the saved file is mirrored, flipping it horizontally gives you the version others see. Check any text in the frame afterward, since it should read normally once corrected. A mirrored selfie needs just one horizontal flip, but check any lettering on clothing or signs afterward.