There are always a number of ways to do anything in Photoshop. Something as simple as mirroring an image can be done through the Contextual Task Bar, the Properties panel, right-click context menus, and more. It can be helpful to know your choices because, depending on where you are in your workflow, one method might be easier to get to than another.

Adobe Photoshop is arguably one of the best photo and image editors, although it does have a high learning curve. There are plenty of alternatives to Photoshop, but it's maintained its place as the industry standard for decades. Here we’ll cover all the ways you can flip and mirror an image or selection in Photoshop.

👁 feature photo of desktop computer using Photoshop
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Mirror the entire image in Photoshop

Flip the canvas

There are two ways to flip an entire image horizontally or vertically in Photoshop. Adobe refers to the first way as flipping the canvas. This method takes the entire canvas, with all its layers, and mirrors it. In the main menu, go to Image > Image Rotation > Flip Canvas Horizontal or Flip Canvas Vertical.

Flip the image

The second way to flip an image in Photoshop is to flip only the layer you’re working on. There are many ways to flip a layer or selection in Photoshop, but they are all essentially different ways of reaching the same option in the main menu. Click a layer you want to mirror, then go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical.

We’ll cover all the other ways to do this below.

Mirror a layer, object, or other selection

You might not want to be searching through the main menu to perform a task when you’re in the middle of a project. There are no keyboard shortcuts for the Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical commands, but there are several ways to access them.

Keep in mind that you can enter the Free Transform mode mentioned below at any time by using keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + T on Windows and CMD + T on Mac, or click Edit > Free Transform in the main menu.

You can immediately flip a selection using the same method we covered to flip an image. Go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical in the main menu. Flip icons in the Properties panel are also immediately available for all selections.

Flipping a selection can be confusing because it doesn’t work exactly like flipping a layer. The flip icons can be found in the Contextual Task Bar, or you can find flip options in the right-click context menu. They're not always accessible immediately like the previously mentioned methods, and depend on the selection methods that we'll cover next.

Layer selections made in the Layers panel need Free Transform mode activated first. This can be done with the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl + T), clicking the Free Transform icon in the Contextual Task Bar, or choosing Free Transform in the right-click context menu. This will change the Contextual Task Bar to show the flip icons and will show the Flip Horizontal and Flip Vertical options in the right-click context menu. If the layer is locked, it will need to be unlocked first.

Layer selections that have been made with the Move tool are the same, except for the right-click context menu options, which aren't available. You can access them again by clicking one of the transform handles on the selection. The transform handles are the small white boxes along each corner and edge of the selection.

Selections made with the Marquee or Lasso tools have a right-click context menu option to activate Free Transform mode but do not have a Contextual Task Bar option. Entering Free Transform mode will change the Contextual Task bar to show the flip icons and will show the Flip Horizontal and Flip Vertical options in the right-click context menu.

Selections made with the Selection Brush tool do not have a right-click context menu or Contextual Task bar icon to activate Free Transform mode. You need to use the keyboard shortcut or main menu option.

If your layer is locked, double-click it in the Layers panel and click OK to unlock it.

Obscure ways to flip an image

There are a few options to flip an image that don't often get mentioned because they aren't commonly used.

Enter Free Transform mode, and you’ll notice options near the top of the screen. You can flip an image by changing either the Width or Height to -100%. 👁 Change the width or height of a selection to -100% to flip it horizontal or vertical
You can also flip an image by grabbing one of the transform handles along one edge of a selection and dragging it across the selection to the other side. It’s easy to distort the image using this method, but there may be some applications for it. 👁 Flip a selection by grabbing a transform handle and dragging it across the selection to the other side
You can control how you flip the image by moving the reference point to a specific transform handle. First, you need to click the box in the top menu bar of the free transform tool. Next to it, you’ll see a grid with 9 boxes. The box you select will change where the mirrored image is located after you’ve flipped it. For example, instead of flipping the art from earlier and then dragging it to the empty space on the canvas, you can click the box corresponding to the right edge transform handle. The selection will be flipped along that edge. 👁 Flip a selection along an edge using a reference point

Create a symmetrical mirrored reflection effect

You’ll need to expand your canvas if you want to create an image that symmetrically mirrors itself along an edge.

  1. Make note of the current size of your image. It can be found in the Properties panel or at the bottom left of the screen near the zoom percentage.
    Art Source: Benjamin Zeman
  2. Go to Image > Canvas Size in the main menu.
    Art Source: Benjamin Zeman
  3. Click to choose an Anchor point. When you add to the canvas size, this determines in what direction the space is added. I want to mirror my art across a horizontal line at the bottom of the image, so I’m anchoring the top of the image.
    Art Source: Benjamin Zeman
  4. Multiply the Width or Height by a factor of 2, depending on which direction you are extending the canvas. In this example, the height of the image would be increased from 2048 to 4096. Click OK to extend the canvas.
    Art Source: Benjamin Zeman
  5. Drag the layer to the + sign at the bottom of the Layers panel to duplicate the original image.
    Art Source: Benjamin Zeman
  6. Click the Move tool to select the image in the new layer.
    Art Source: Benjamin Zeman
  7. Flip the selection with Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical or another method in this guide.
    Art Source: Benjamin Zeman
  8. Click anywhere on the image and drag it to the empty canvas space.
    Art Source: Benjamin Zeman

If you want a canvas extension to be transparent, you need to unlock the background in the Layers panel first. Double-click the layer, give it a name, choose none as the color, then click OK.

Photoshop can be powerful but complicated

There are usually many ways to do the same thing in Photoshop, and mirroring an image is no exception. It can be useful to learn different methods to improve your workflow. Adobe is regularly adding new AI features, like its generative tool powered by Firefly, but the basics usually stay the same with each new update. There’s always something new to learn with software this powerful, and there are plenty of hidden features to discover.