Three methods to convert an image path to a NumPy array:

1. Use OpenCV

   # OpenCV
   import cv2
   img = cv2.imread(image_path)   # reads an image in the BGR format
   img = cv2.cvtColor(img, cv2.COLOR_BGR2RGB)   # BGR -> RGB
   

2. Use Matplotlib

   # Use Matplotlib
   from matplotlib.image import imread
   img = imread(image_path)
   

3. Use PIL

   from PIL import Image
   img = Image.open(image_path)
   img = np.array(img)
   

The result below: