How can you create a photography style guide that is consistent and on-brand?

1 Purpose and goals

Before you start designing your style guide, you need to clarify the purpose and goals of your photography. What do you want to achieve with your images? Who are you targeting? How do you want them to feel and react? These questions will help you define your brand's identity, values, and tone of voice, and guide your creative decisions.

3 Composition and framing

Composition and framing are the ways you arrange and crop your subjects and objects in your images. They affect the balance, harmony, and focus of your photos, and how they relate to your text and layout. You should establish some rules and guidelines for your composition and framing, such as the rule of thirds, the golden ratio, or the use of negative space. You should also decide on the orientation, aspect ratio, and resolution of your images, and how they will fit in different formats and platforms.

5 Filters and effects

Filters and effects are the adjustments and enhancements you apply to your images to create a certain look and feel. They can change the color, saturation, brightness, sharpness, blur, grain, or distortion of your photos, and make them more consistent and cohesive. You should choose filters and effects that match your brand's style and message, and that don't compromise the quality and authenticity of your images. You should also document the settings and steps you use to apply them, and use the same ones for all your images.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?