What potential pitfalls should be avoided when working with image files in PHP, especially when using imagecreatefromjpeg() and imagejpeg() functions?

When working with image files in PHP, especially when using functions like imagecreatefromjpeg() and imagejpeg(), it is important to avoid potential pitfalls such as not properly handling errors or checking if the file exists before processing it. Additionally, it is crucial to validate user input to prevent security vulnerabilities like path traversal attacks.

// Example of validating and processing an image file in PHP

// Validate if the file exists
if (file_exists('image.jpg')) {
    // Create image resource from JPEG file
    $image = imagecreatefromjpeg('image.jpg');
    
    // Check if image resource was created successfully
    if ($image) {
        // Process the image (e.g. resize, crop, etc.)
        
        // Save the processed image as a new JPEG file
        imagejpeg($image, 'processed_image.jpg');
        
        // Free up memory by destroying the image resource
        imagedestroy($image);
    } else {
        echo 'Error creating image resource.';
    }
} else {
    echo 'Image file not found.';
}