Python Guide - Scrubbing Image Exif Data

This python program takes an existing image and creates a new image without the EXIF data, effectively stripping all the information off. Works on all image types tested and doesn't significantly reduce image quality as far as I can tell.

A step by step guide is commented throughout the code below.

The example image was taken with a DJI drone as noted by the file name.

#######Step 1: Imports
#pip install pillow https://pypi.org/project/Pillow/2.2.1/  
#And use the tkinter module that comes standard with your python install



#use PIL as a pointer to the pillow module because it is a fork of the now dead PIL module)
from PIL import Image, ExifTags



#use filedialog to select the image file using the OS directory instead of manually typing in the location
from tkinter import filedialog



#######Step 2: the main function
def main():
    # open the file dialog and choose the image to get the location string
    img = filedialog.askopenfilename()
    
    #grab the image name by stripping everything else
    a = str(img.rsplit('/',1)[1])
    a = a.rsplit('.',1)[0]
    print(a)
    
    #we open the image with PIL
    img = Image.open(img)



    #use a try-except block to error handle in case there is no exif data
    try:
    
        #with the _getexif().items() we first try to obtain a dictionary of all the exif data on the image
        exifData = { ExifTags.TAGS[k]: v for k, v in img._getexif().items() if k in ExifTags.TAGS }
        #if there is none we exit this block and move to the exception
        
        #we grab the image data and set it to an object
        imgData = list(img.getdata())
        
        #create a new image using the same mode and size of the original image
        image_without_exifData = Image.new(img.mode, img.size)
        
        #place back the pixel data into the new image
        image_without_exifData.putdata(imgData)
        
        #initiate the orientation object 
        for orientation in ExifTags.TAGS.keys():
            if ExifTags.TAGS[orientation]=='Orientation':
                break
                
        #PIL does not copy metadata when saving a new image
        #So first read the metadata, grab the orientation, and set up the new image with
        #the correct orientation
        #this means we are adding our own metadata to the new image
        rotate=dict(img._getexif().items())
        if rotate[orientation] == 3:
            img=img.rotate(180, expand=True)
        elif rotate[orientation] == 6:
            img=img.rotate(270, expand=True)
        elif rotate[orientation] == 8:
            img=img.rotate(90, expand=True)
        else:
            pass



        
        #clean up name and final save
        #this will always save in the directory your python program is in
        img.save(u"scrubbed_{}".format(a+'.jpg'))
        
    except Exception as e:
        #print the error
        print(e)



    return



#######Step 3: making main() automatically run on 'python program.py' in command window
if __name__=="__main__":
    main()