Python Tkinter supports various image formats such as PNG, JPEG, GIF, and BMP. Images are handled in Tkinter using the PhotoImage and BitmapImage classes and the Pillow Library. The PhotoImage class is more commonly used due to its support for color images, whereas BitmapImage is limited to monochrome bitmaps.

Adding images in Tkinter can be done by using various Tkinter Widgets, such as Label, Buttons, and Canvas.

Steps to add Image in Tkinter

Let us see step by step how we can add images in a Tkinter application window using Tkinter widgets.

Import Modules and Classes

The first step is to import the Tkinter module and various other classes as per your requirements such as PhotoImage or BitmapImage.

import tkinter
from tkinter import PhotoImage

Create Tkinter Window

Next step is to create a basic Tkinter window where all the widgets as well as the image will be displayed.

parent = tk.Tk()
parent.title("Application Title")

Load the Image

Now, load the image to be displayed in the Tkinter window. We can load the image using PhotoImage or Python Pillow Library. Each have a quite similar method to load the image. We can see it in detail in below examples.

image = PhotoImage(file="gfg.png")

Adding Image to Label

To display the image in Tkinter window, we will add the image to the Label widget. It takes two parameter, one is the root window on which we want the widget to display and the other is the image object in which we loaded the image in the previous step.

image_label = tkinter.Label(root, image)
image_label.pack()

Run the Application

The last step to to execute our code and see the image displayed in the Tkinter window.

parent.mainloop()

Adding Image in Tkinter

Let us see each method, one by one in detail to add the image in Tkinter window using Tkinter Label widget.

Using PhotoImage

The PhotoImage class of Tkinter is commonly used to create and manipulate images. We can load the image in Tkinter by passing the path of the image file to the file parameter of the PhotoImage() class.

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import PhotoImage

# Create the main window
parent = tk.Tk()
parent.title("Image in Tkinter")

# Load the image 
image = PhotoImage(file="gfg.png")

# Create a label to display the image
image_label = tk.Label(parent, image=image)
image_label.pack()

# Start the Tkinter event loop
parent.mainloop()

Output:

Adding Image in Tkinter using PhotoImage

Using PIL (Python Imaging Library)

The PIL (Python Imaging Library) provides extensive functionality for opening, manipulating, and saving many different image file formats such as PNG and JPEG. We can load the image using the PIL module’s Image.open() function and the ImageTk.PhotoImage() dunction which will take the image path as the parameter.

import tkinter as tk
from PIL import Image, ImageTk

# Create the main window
parent = tk.Tk()
parent.title("Image in Tkinter")

# Load and display an image 
image = Image.open('gfg.png')
image = ImageTk.PhotoImage(image)

# Create a label to display the image
image_label = tk.Label(parent, image=image)
image_label.pack()

# Start the Tkinter event loop
parent.mainloop()

Output:

Adding Image in Tkinter using PIL module

Adding Image to Button

We can also add Images in Tkinter using the Button Widget. Like previous method, instead of adding image to the label, here we will add image to the button widget. We can do this by using the Button() class of the Tkinter module, which will take the root window and the image obeject as the parameter.

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import PhotoImage

# Initialize the main application window
parent = tk.Tk()
parent.title("Image in Button Example")

# Load the image
image = PhotoImage(file="gfg.png")

# Create the Button widget and set the image
button = tk.Button(parent, image=image)
button.pack(pady=20)

# Keep a reference to the image 
# to prevent garbage collection
button.image = image

# Run the application
parent.mainloop()

Output:

Adding Image to a Button in Tkinter

Conclusion

Integrating images into Tkinter applications enhances their visual appeal and user experience. Whether using the PhotoImage class, PIL library, or Canvas widget, you have multiple options to incorporate images seamlessly into your Tkinter projects. Experiment with different methods and explore additional functionalities to create dynamic and engaging graphical interfaces.