Pillow is a fork of the Python Imaging Library (PIL) that adds support for opening, manipulating, and saving many different image file formats. It is the go-to library for image processing in Python, providing a wide range of features for image editing, filtering, and drawing operations.

Pros

• Extensive support for various image formats
• Easy-to-use API for image manipulation
• Active development and community support
• Seamless integration with other Python libraries

Cons

• Performance can be slower compared to specialized libraries
• Limited support for advanced image processing techniques
• Some operations can be memory-intensive for large images
• Documentation can be overwhelming for beginners

Code Examples

1. Resizing an image:

from PIL import Image

# Open an image
img = Image.open("input.jpg")

# Resize the image
resized_img = img.resize((300, 200))

# Save the resized image
resized_img.save("output.jpg")

2. Applying a filter:

from PIL import Image, ImageFilter

# Open an image
img = Image.open("input.jpg")

# Apply a Gaussian blur filter
blurred_img = img.filter(ImageFilter.GaussianBlur(radius=5))

# Save the blurred image
blurred_img.save("blurred.jpg")

3. Drawing on an image:

from PIL import Image, ImageDraw

# Create a new image
img = Image.new("RGB", (300, 200), color="white")

# Create a drawing object
draw = ImageDraw.Draw(img)

# Draw a rectangle
draw.rectangle([50, 50, 250, 150], fill="red", outline="black")

# Save the image
img.save("drawing.png")

Getting Started

To get started with Pillow, follow these steps:

1. Install Pillow using pip:

   pip install Pillow
   

2. Import the necessary modules in your Python script:

   from PIL import Image, ImageFilter, ImageDraw
   

3. Open an image file:

   img = Image.open("path/to/your/image.jpg")
   

4. Perform operations on the image (e.g., resize, apply filters, draw):

   resized_img = img.resize((300, 200))
   filtered_img = img.filter(ImageFilter.SHARPEN)
   

5. Save the modified image:

   resized_img.save("resized_image.jpg")
   filtered_img.save("filtered_image.jpg")