diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index 502bf63009..49d95b2b3b 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 Package: plotly
 Title: Create interactive web-based graphs via plotly's API
-Version: 1.0.7
+Version: 1.0.8
 Authors@R: c(person("Chris", "Parmer", role = c("aut", "cph"),
     email = "chris@plot.ly"),
     person("Scott", "Chamberlain", role = "aut",
@@ -30,7 +30,8 @@ Imports:
     jsonlite,
     magrittr,
     digest,
-    viridis
+    viridis,
+    base64enc
 Suggests:
     dplyr,
     maps,
diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 211f169946..cb9543f789 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ export(paramORdefault)
 export(plot_ly)
 export(plotly)
 export(plotlyOutput)
+export(plotly_IMAGE)
 export(plotly_POST)
 export(plotly_build)
 export(plotly_empty)
@@ -31,5 +32,6 @@ export(toRGB)
 import(ggplot2)
 import(httr)
 import(jsonlite)
+importFrom(base64enc,base64encode)
 importFrom(magrittr,"%>%")
 importFrom(viridis,viridis)
diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 7935e95029..6f9483b983 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+1.0.8 -- 14 Sep 2015
+
+Added the plotly_IMAGES() function which interfaces to the images endpoint https://api.plot.ly/v2/#images
+
+Details -> https://github.com/ropensci/plotly/pull/279
+
 1.0.7 -- 26 Aug 2015
 
 See https://github.com/ropensci/plotly/pull/275
diff --git a/R/plotly.R b/R/plotly.R
index de89f3cb1f..382ecd9e0f 100644
--- a/R/plotly.R
+++ b/R/plotly.R
@@ -316,8 +316,26 @@ plotly_build <- function(l = last_plot()) {
   }
   # search for keyword args in traces and place them at the top level
   kwargs <- lapply(x$data, function(z) z[get_kwargs()])
-  if (length(kwargs) == 1) kwargs <- c(kwargs, kwargs)
-  x <- c(x, Reduce(modifyList, kwargs))
+  # later keywords args take precedence
+  kwargs <- Reduce(modifyList, kwargs)
+  # empty keyword arguments can cause problems
+  kwargs <- kwargs[sapply(kwargs, length) > 0]
+  # filename & fileopt are keyword arguments required by the API
+  if (!is.null(x$url) || !is.null(kwargs$filename)) 
+    kwargs$fileopt <- "overwrite"
+  kwargs$fileopt <- kwargs$fileopt %||% "new"
+  # try our damndest to assign a sensible filename
+  if (is.null(kwargs$filename)) {
+    kwargs$filename <- 
+      as.character(kwargs$layout$title) %||% 
+      paste(
+        c(kwargs$layout$xaxis$title, 
+          kwargs$layout$yaxis$title, 
+          kwargs$layout$zaxis$title), 
+        collapse = " vs. "
+      ) %||%
+      "plot from api" 
+  }
   # traces shouldn't have any names
   x$data <- setNames(x$data, NULL)
   # add plotly class mainly for printing method
diff --git a/R/plotly_IMAGE.R b/R/plotly_IMAGE.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..80d3011b93
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/plotly_IMAGE.R
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+#' Create/Modify plotly images
+#'
+#' The images endpoint turn a plot (which may be given in multiple forms) 
+#' into an image of the desired format.
+#'
+#' @param x either a plotly object or a list.
+#' @param width Image width in pixels
+#' @param height Image height in pixels
+#' @param format The desired image format 'png', 'jpeg', 'svg', 'pdf', 'eps', or 'webp'
+#' @param scale Both png and jpeg formats will be scaled beyond the specified width and height by this number.
+#' @param out_file A filename for writing the image to a file.
+#' @param ... arguments passed onto \code{httr::POST}
+#' @export
+#' @examples
+#' 
+#' p <- plot_ly(x = 1:10)
+#' 
+#' Png <- plotly_IMAGE(p, out_file = "plotly-test-image.png")
+#' Jpeg <- plotly_IMAGE(p, format = "jpeg", out_file = "plotly-test-image.jpeg")
+#' Svg <- plotly_IMAGE(p, format = "svg",  out_file = "plotly-test-image.svg")
+#' Pdf <- plotly_IMAGE(p, format = "pdf",  out_file = "plotly-test-image.pdf")
+#' 
+
+plotly_IMAGE <- function(x, width = 1000, height = 500, format = "png", 
+                         scale = 4, out_file, ...) {
+  x <- plotly_build(x)
+  
+  bod <- list(
+    figure = x[c("data", "layout")],
+    width = width,
+    height = height,
+    format = format,
+    scale = scale,
+    encoded = FALSE
+  )
+  base_url <- paste0(get_domain("v2"), "images")
+  resp <- httr::POST(base_url, plotly_headers("v2"), body = to_JSON(bod), 
+                     if (!missing(out_file)) write_disk(out_file, overwrite = TRUE), 
+                     ...)
+  con <- process(struct(resp, "image"))
+  invisible(con)
+}
diff --git a/R/plotly_POST.R b/R/plotly_POST.R
index 3f49149905..c3da4b0a5e 100644
--- a/R/plotly_POST.R
+++ b/R/plotly_POST.R
@@ -28,25 +28,6 @@
 
 plotly_POST <- function(x) {
   x <- plotly_build(x)
-  # empty keyword arguments can cause problems
-  kwargs <- x[get_kwargs()]
-  kwargs <- kwargs[sapply(kwargs, length) > 0]
-
-  # filename & fileopt are keyword arguments required by the API
-  # (note they can also be specified by the user)
-  if (!is.null(x$url) || !is.null(kwargs$filename)) kwargs$fileopt <- "overwrite"
-  if (is.null(kwargs$filename)) {
-    kwargs$filename <- 
-      as.character(kwargs$layout$title) %||% 
-      paste(
-        c(kwargs$layout$xaxis$title, 
-          kwargs$layout$yaxis$title, 
-          kwargs$layout$zaxis$title), 
-        collapse = " vs. "
-      ) %||%
-      "plot from api" 
-  }
-  if (is.null(kwargs$fileopt)) kwargs$fileopt <- "new"
   # construct body of message to plotly server
   bod <- list(
     un = verify("username"),
@@ -55,12 +36,12 @@ plotly_POST <- function(x) {
     platform = "R",
     version = as.character(packageVersion("plotly")),
     args = to_JSON(x$data),
-    kwargs = to_JSON(kwargs)
+    kwargs = to_JSON(x[get_kwargs()])
   )
   base_url <- file.path(get_domain(), "clientresp")
   resp <- httr::POST(base_url, body = bod)
   con <- process(struct(resp, "clientresp"))
-  msg <- switch(kwargs$fileopt,
+  msg <- switch(x$fileopt %||% "new",
                 new = "Success! Created a new plotly here -> ",
                 overwrite = "Success! Modified your plotly here -> ")
   message(msg, con$url)
diff --git a/R/process.R b/R/process.R
index d0fe9abf58..36fd72cf4b 100644
--- a/R/process.R
+++ b/R/process.R
@@ -15,6 +15,13 @@ process.clientresp <- function(resp) {
   con
 }
 
+process.image <- function(resp) {
+  httr::stop_for_status(resp)
+  # httr (should) know to call png::readPNG() which returns raster array
+  tryCatch(httr::content(resp, as = "parsed"), 
+           error = function(e) httr::content(resp, as = "raw"))
+}
+
 process.figure <- function(resp) {
   httr::stop_for_status(resp)
   con <- from_JSON(content(resp, as = "text"))
diff --git a/R/utils.R b/R/utils.R
index c8702de3d4..74af1c26c4 100644
--- a/R/utils.R
+++ b/R/utils.R
@@ -141,10 +141,11 @@ struct <- function(x, y, ...) {
 get_domain <- function(type = "main") {
   if (type == "stream") {
     Sys.getenv("plotly_streaming_domain", "http://stream.plot.ly")
+  } else if (type == "v2") {
+    Sys.getenv("plotly_domain", "https://api.plot.ly/v2/")
   } else {
     Sys.getenv("plotly_domain", "https://plot.ly")
   }
-  
 }
 
 # plotly's special keyword arguments in POST body
@@ -153,12 +154,28 @@ get_kwargs <- function() {
 }
 
 # POST header fields
-plotly_headers <- function() {
-  httr::add_headers(.headers = c(
-    "plotly-username" = verify("username"),
-    "plotly-apikey" = verify("api_key"),
-    "plotly-version" = as.character(packageVersion("plotly")),
-    "plotly-platform" = "R"))
+#' @importFrom base64enc base64encode
+plotly_headers <- function(type = "main") {
+  usr <- verify("username")
+  key <- verify("api_key")
+  v <- as.character(packageVersion("plotly"))
+  h <- if (type == "v2") {
+    auth <- base64enc::base64encode(charToRaw(paste(usr, key, sep = ":")))
+    c(
+      "authorization" = paste("Basic", auth),
+      "plotly-client-platform" = paste("R", v),
+      "plotly_version" = v,
+      "content-type" = "application/json"
+    )
+  } else {
+    c(
+      "plotly-username" = usr,
+      "plotly-apikey" = key,
+      "plotly-version" = v,
+      "plotly-platform" = "R"
+    )
+  }
+  httr::add_headers(.headers = h)
 }
 
 # try to write environment variables to an .Rprofile
diff --git a/man/plotly_IMAGE.Rd b/man/plotly_IMAGE.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c14053bd81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/plotly_IMAGE.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2 (4.1.1): do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/plotly_IMAGE.R
+\name{plotly_IMAGE}
+\alias{plotly_IMAGE}
+\title{Create/Modify plotly images}
+\usage{
+plotly_IMAGE(x, width = 1000, height = 500, format = "png", scale = 4,
+  out_file, ...)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{x}{either a plotly object or a list.}
+
+\item{width}{Image width in pixels}
+
+\item{height}{Image height in pixels}
+
+\item{format}{The desired image format 'png', 'jpeg', 'svg', 'pdf', 'eps', or 'webp'}
+
+\item{scale}{Both png and jpeg formats will be scaled beyond the specified width and height by this number.}
+
+\item{out_file}{A filename for writing the image to a file.}
+
+\item{...}{arguments passed onto \code{httr::POST}}
+}
+\description{
+The images endpoint turn a plot (which may be given in multiple forms)
+into an image of the desired format.
+}
+\examples{
+p <- plot_ly(x = 1:10)
+
+# returns raster array representing the image
+img <- plotly_IMAGE(p, out_file = "plotly-test-image.png", overwrite = TRUE)
+
+img <- plotly_IMAGE(p, format = "pdf",
+  out_file = "plotly-test-image.pdf")
+}
+
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-plotly-filename.R b/tests/testthat/test-plotly-filename.R
index c573ad6c72..a58f4e17c0 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-plotly-filename.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-plotly-filename.R
@@ -2,6 +2,5 @@ context("Filename")
 
 test_that("filepath with directories is returned as passed", {
   p <- print(plot_ly(mtcars, x = wt, y = vs, filename = "directory/awesome"))
-  # why is the directory name replicated in the response?
-  expect_identical(p$filename, "directorydirectory/awesome")
+  expect_match(p$filename, "directory/awesome")
 })