Error image rotates when cropping

Subject: Solution for Rotated/Flat Avatar Images

Hi WPMake Support Team,

Thank you for your response. I’ve been investigating this issue thoroughly and found the root cause along with a complete solution.

The Problem:

The “flat” or rotated avatars occur because the plugin doesn’t read EXIF orientation metadata from images captured with mobile devices. When users take photos with their phones in portrait/landscape mode, the camera stores the orientation in EXIF data rather than physically rotating the pixels. Your plugin uploads the image as-is without correcting this orientation, causing avatars to appear sideways or upside down.

Why it’s device-specific:

• Mobile photos: Often have EXIF orientation metadata (problematic)
• Desktop/edited photos: Usually don’t have EXIF data (work fine)
• Some phones: Strip EXIF automatically (appear normal)

The Solution:

I’ve implemented a fix by adding EXIF orientation correction to the Ajax.php file. Here’s the code that resolves the issue:

php

/**
 * Fix image orientation based on EXIF data
 *
 * @param string $file_path Path to the image file
 * @return bool True if orientation was fixed, false otherwise
 */
private static function fix_image_orientation( $file_path ) {
    // Check if exif_read_data function exists
    if ( ! function_exists( 'exif_read_data' ) ) {
        return false;
    }

    // Read EXIF data
    $exif = @exif_read_data( $file_path );

    if ( ! $exif || ! isset( $exif['Orientation'] ) ) {
        return false;
    }

    // Load the image
    $image = wp_get_image_editor( $file_path );

    if ( is_wp_error( $image ) ) {
        return false;
    }

    $rotated = false;

    // Rotate based on EXIF orientation
    switch ( $exif['Orientation'] ) {
        case 3:
            $image->rotate( 180 );
            $rotated = true;
            break;
        case 6:
            $image->rotate( -90 );
            $rotated = true;
            break;
        case 8:
            $image->rotate( 90 );
            $rotated = true;
            break;
    }

    if ( $rotated ) {
        // Save the corrected image
        $image->save( $file_path );
    }

    return $rotated;
}

Then call this function in method_upload() immediately after the image is uploaded:

php

$uploaded = wp_handle_upload( $upload, $overrides );
remove_filter( 'upload_dir', '__return_true' );

if ( $uploaded && ! isset( $uploaded['error'] ) ) {
    $file_url  = $uploaded['url'];
    $file_path = $uploaded['file'];
    $file_type = $uploaded['type'];

    // Fix image orientation based on EXIF data
    self::fix_image_orientation( $file_path );

    $attachment_id = wp_insert_attachment(
        // ... rest of code

Recommendation:

I strongly suggest adding this EXIF orientation correction to the next version of your plugin. This is a common issue affecting many WordPress avatar/image upload plugins, and it would greatly improve user experience for mobile uploads.

I’ve tested this extensively with images from multiple devices and orientations, and it resolves the issue completely.

Would you consider implementing this in a future update? I’d be happy to provide more details or test any implementation you develop.

Best regards

Polaris Nexus International