Brand photography guidelines: what to write and how.

Seven rules decide if your photos look like one brand. Write them once, then every photo has a clear yes or no.

Brand photography guidelines are a short set of rules for how photos look: subject, light, colour, framing, people, editing and what you never show. They let anyone pick or make a photo that fits.

Keep them to one or two pages with real example photos. Below are the seven rules, a template to copy, do and do not examples, and a check to grade any photo.

By Vedran Obradović · Updated 5 November 2026

The seven rules every photo guide needs.

If you only write these seven, you are already ahead of most brands.

Subject

What the photos show: people at work, the product in use, places, details.

Light

Soft daylight, dark and moody, or bright studio. Pick one.

Colour

Warm or cool, rich or muted, and how close to your brand colours.

Framing

Close-ups or wide shots, centred or off to one side, room for text.

People

Real or posed, looking at the camera or not, who you show.

Editing

Contrast, grain, sharpness. One recipe for every photo.

Never

The photos you never use, like handshakes or glowing brains.

Your photos should match your brand colours and your brand voice. Calm words and loud photos feel like two brands.

A brand photography guidelines template.

Fill in the brackets. Add two good and two bad example photos to each rule.

Brand photography guidelines template

PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDELINES - [Brand name]

Our photos feel: [3 words, e.g. calm, precise, human]

1. Subject: we show [people at work / the product in use / places / details].
2. Light: [soft daylight from the side / dark with one strong light].
3. Colour: [cool and muted / warm and rich], with [brand colour] where it fits.
4. Framing: [close-ups / wide], with room for a headline on the [left / top].
5. People: [real teams, not models], [not looking at the camera].
6. Editing: [slight contrast, light grain, no heavy filters]. Same for every photo.
7. Never: [stock handshakes, people pointing at screens, glowing brains, blue neon, text in the photo].

Sizes we use: [1:1, 4:5, 16:9]
Where to find approved photos: [one link]
Who to ask: [name]

This chapter sits next to the other parts of your rules. See what brand guidelines include and the brand style guide template.

Free tool

Is the rest of your brand as clear?

Photo rules sit on top of the brand. Answer a few short questions and get your brand score and the first thing to fix.

Open the full tool: Brand Check

Do and do not examples for B2B tech.

Tech brands fall into the same photo traps. Here is what to do instead.

Instead of	Show	Why
A handshake in an office	Two people solving a real problem at a desk	Shows the work, not a cliche
A glowing brain or robot for AI	A person using the product on a real screen	People buy the result, not the idea of AI
A padlock for security	The team that watches the system, or a calm control room	Real people build trust
A city skyline at night	Your real office, team or product	Anyone can buy the skyline
Models smiling at the camera	Real staff, mid-task, natural light	It looks honest

Image Grader in a Brand OS Portal: one colour recipe for every photo.

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How the rules work for AI images too.

The same seven rules make AI images look like you.

Turn your rules into a short prompt block: subject, light, colour, framing, mood and the "never" list. Then use the same reference photos every time. I show how in Midjourney prompts that stay on brand and Gemini image tools for brand assets.