If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a digital photo is worth even more. All digital cameras embed extra information in each photo --- things like camera make and model, date and time the photo was taken, focal length of the lens, shutter speed, etc.

We're happy to announce two new features on WordPress.com for digital photos that will take advantage of your digital photo's EXIF information!

Automatic Rotation

From now on JPEG images will be rotated automatically after uploading according to the camera's original orientation. No more manually rotating all those portrait photos! What's more, the rotation is "lossless" and preserves all embedded information in the image file (the JPEG image format is "lossy", meaning that each time the image is edited, some of the fine color nuances may be lost). In short: your photos' orientation/rotation is automatic and their image quality is preserved 100%!

Gallery Sorting

There are two new sorting options for galleries: Image Date/Time and Upload Order. These additional sort options are also available for previously-published galleries, offering you more fine control on how you display your images on your WordPress.com site. Have you ever inserted a Gallery in a post or page? Get started with Galleries.

The Gallery Settings dialog

Both of these new features depend on the EXIF data saved in the JPEG image files, so if you edit your photos before uploading, make sure the software you use preserves that data.

So, upload few photos, create a gallery or edit an existing gallery and let us know what you think in the comments. Need photography inspiration? Check out the Photography topic in the WordPress.com Reader!