HrvatskiLook
1. Colour
Does the photo sit well next to your brand colours? Warm photos on a cool brand clash.
Brand OS Portal
A brand photo checklist for websites: 12 checks before a photo goes live.
Twelve quick checks tell you if a photo belongs on your website. Tick them off before you publish.
Free: your brand in 3 real designs, in 48 hours.
A brand photo for a website must match your colours and mood, look like your real company, load fast, work at every screen size, and be yours to use. If a photo fails one of these checks, swap it.
Use the 12 checks below. Run them on every photo on your home page. Start there, because that page is where most visitors decide if you look like a real, steady company.
By Vedran Obradović · Updated 7 November 2026
Photos are what a visitor feels before reading.
People read a photo before they read a word. One off-brand photo can make a good page feel cheap.
A CEO or marketing director often has no designer on call. So photos get picked in a hurry, from whatever folder is open. After a year the site looks like five different companies.
A short checklist fixes that. It takes about 10 minutes per page, and anyone on the team can run it. No design degree needed.
The 12 checks, in three groups.
Look, truth and tech. Fail one and the photo needs a fix or a swap.
Look
2. Mood
Is the feel calm, bold or friendly in the same way as your words?
Look
3. Light and grade
Do all photos on the page share the same light and tone?
Look
4. Space for text
Is there a quiet area where a headline can sit?
Truth
5. Real people
Do the people look like your customers and your team, not a model shoot?
Truth
6. Real place
Is it your product, office or work, or at least something close to it?
Truth
7. Message fit
Does it support the line next to it, or just fill the gap?
Truth
8. Rights
Do you have written rights to use it on a website?
Tech
9. Sharp
Is it sharp at the biggest size it will show?
Tech
10. Light file
Is it small enough to load fast on a phone?
Tech
11. Whole image visible
Does it still work when the box changes shape on a phone? Nothing important should be cut.
Tech
12. Alt text
Does it have a short, plain description for screen readers and search?
Want the rules in writing so the team stops guessing? Read how to write brand photography guidelines.
Free tool
Do your photos match a clear brand?
Photos can match a brand that is written down. Answer a few short questions and get your brand score and the next thing to fix. It is free.
Run the checklist on your own site.
Open your home page. Pick the three biggest photos. Tick what is true. Your ticks stay on this device.
0 of 12 done
Ten or more ticks is a good page. Fewer than eight, and I would swap the photo, not fix it.
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Copy this alt text pattern.
Alt text is one short sentence. Say what is in the photo, in plain words. Do not stuff it with keywords.
Alt text pattern
[Who or what] + [doing what] + [where, if it helps] Good: Two engineers review a network map on a wall screen. Good: Founder presenting the product roadmap to the team. Weak: team business office photo stock company. Weak: image1.jpg
Keep the same voice as the rest of your site. See brand voice guidelines.
What to do when a photo fails.
Three fixes, in this order.
Step 1
Re-crop or re-grade
A small colour or crop change often saves a good photo. Keep the whole subject visible.
Step 2
Swap it
Pick a photo from the same set as the others. Read how to choose stock photos that match your brand.
Step 3
Write the rule down
Add the lesson to your guidelines so the next person does not repeat it. See what to include.
Every fix costs time when a designer does it by hand. In a Brand OS Portal, the Image Grader grades a photo against your brand and Social Studio puts it inside a design that already looks right. A designer is still the right call for a new identity or a photo shoot. The portal handles the daily work after.
How teams keep photos on brand.
The checklist works for one person. A team needs one shared home for approved photos.
MTG
Brand OS Pro Portal. The team makes its own posts. No waiting.
Deepsea Networks
Brand OS Core Portal. The CEO writes and designs an on-brand LinkedIn post in about 3 minutes.
MTG has 121 graded photos inside its portal, and the team makes its own posts. More on sharing brand files in brand templates for teams and what brand assets are.
Social Studio
Try one Brand OS Portal tool
See photos sit inside a locked design.
This is a real tool from a real Brand OS Portal, on the MTG brand. Change the photo and the words. The design stays on brand.
Watch
Watch me show every tool.
I made short videos of the tools. Hear me explain them, then scroll through every one at work. Real tools, on a real brand.
Hear me explain
Every tool at work
Straight answers.
What makes a photo on brand?
It matches your colours and mood, looks like your real company, and shares light and tone with your other photos.
How many photos should a website home page have?
As many as help the message, no more. Three strong photos beat ten random ones.
Do I need alt text on every photo?
Yes for photos that carry meaning. A short, plain sentence is enough.
Can I use the same photos as my competitors?
You can, but it makes you look the same. Use your own photos where you can. Read why AI startups look the same.
How do I stop the team picking off-brand photos?
Give them a short rule list and a tool that grades photos for them. A Brand OS Portal does this. See Brand OS Portal.
One more thing.
Death List Five. Five headaches, one portal. Sound on.
Does AI get your brand right? Check it free.
See what ChatGPT says about your company, and how to fix it.
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