Why does my image look sideways in thumbnail view but correct when I open it?

Question

This is important because I will be submitting it for my visa application (rotated images disqualify you).

The image looks rotated sideways in thumbnail view on my computer, but when I double-click to open it (e.g. in paint or any other basic image viewer/editor), it looks alright! Why might it look rotated in thumbnail view? Note that when the photographer took my photo, it initially showed up sideways on his computer, too. Then, he rotated it to the correct upright profile view, burnt it onto a disc, and gave me the disc.

How can I fix the thumbnail so that it matches the image?

Answer 1

When the photo was taken (sideways) the thumbnail version was embedded into the image file.

The photographer then rotated the image, but didn't update the embedded thumbnail.

There are many thumbnail generator programs for Windows you can use to generate a new thumbnail and embed it overtop of what's there.