1. A method for identifying the orientation of a radiographic image of a patient, the method comprising: generating a reduced-scale image having a smaller number of pixel elements than the original radiographic image; generating a reduced bit-depth image from the reduced-scale image; and determining whether the image has portrait or landscape orientation by: sectioning either the reduced-scale image or the reduced bit-depth image into at least two sections; and calculating at least one value related to relative symmetry for each of the at least two sections.