Photograph guidelines
Pictorial narrative based on Helsinki’s brand concept
The starting point for the imagery are people and emotion: what can be experienced and felt in Helsinki. We show the true everyday Helsinki and the good everyday life of the Helsinki resident: people, working together, rejoice and funny details.
Helsinki is not just the core centre of the City. The neighbourhoods depicting people of different ages and backgrounds are an important part of the cityscape. In the images, we are also bravely showing an incomplete City under construction.
The City of Helsinki’s pictorial narrative is based on Hel of an impacts brand triangle, which stands on four pillars. The themes of the City of Helsinki’s pictorial narrative have been derived from these pillars.
Themes and image motifs:
- Changing Helsinki
- Functional Helsinki
- Helsinki of contrasts
- Original Helsinki

Processing method and realisation of images
The style of the City of Helsinki’s photographs is authentic. The images need to be a candid view of Helsinki and not staged, portraying a true Helsinki atmosphere to the viewer just the way it appears in reality.
The images show the City of Helsinki as a diverse and vital city.
The people and the living environment are at the core of the images.

Changing Helsinki
Change and the possibilities brought on by it are one of the pillars of the Helsinki brand.
Change can be seen not only in the vast area development projects, but also in, for example, the economic structure and in the increasingly international streetscape.
The changes are quite often initiated by the city’s residents, who want to develop their home town themselves.
Examples of image motifs:
- Internationalisation
- Economic structure
- Area development projects
- Influence on the living environment
Internationalisation
Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Jussi Hellsten
Economic structure
Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Nimi Etunimi Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Eetu Ahanen
Area development projects
Photographer: Tero Pajukallio Photographer: Riku Pihlanto Photographer: Joel Pallaskorpi Photographer: Kuvatoimisto Kuvio
Influence on the living environment
Photographer: Tommi Kortesniemi Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Lauri Rotko Photographer: Kuvatoimisto Kuvio
Functional Helsinki
Helsinki is a smart, safe and compact city, where we are jointly designing a modern city life.
Without first-rate basic things, Helsinki would not have the world’s most attractive competence clusters, captivating business activities or the world’s most progressive everyday life.
The know-how and education level in Helsinki is top notch. Our other strengths are, for example a low hierarchy, dense networks and flexible co-operation between businesses and universities.
Examples of image motifs:
- City’s framework
- Basic services
- Know-how and education
- Low hierarchy
City’s framework
Photographer: Kim Öhman Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Veikko Somerpuro Photographer: Jussi Hellsten
Basic services
Photographer: Kuvatoimisto Kuvio Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Eetu Ahanen Photographer: Jussi Hellsten
Know-how and education
Photographer: Lina Jelanski / Duotone Photographer: Riku Pihlanto Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Jussi Hellsten
Low hierarchy
Photographer: Eetu Ahanen Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Carl Bergman Photographer: Julius Konttinen
Helsinki of contrasts
Helsinki has its own distinctive style and atmosphere, which we as citizens can be proud of. We do not want to be slick glossy cosmopolites, but there is an edge to us.
Helsinki is a City of refreshing opposites. In which other capital city can the thrum of everyday life and the tranquillity of the forest be just a few steps away?
Helsinki has a lot of interesting contrasts, thing like summer and winter, nature and city, science and art.
Examples of image motifs:
- Roughness
- Beat and Tranquillity
- Contrasting weather
- Nature and city
- Science and art
Roughness
Photographer: Julius Konttinen Photographer: Carl Bergman / Duotone Photographer: Juhana Hurtig Photographer: Carl Bergman / Duotone
Beat and Tranquillity
Photographer: Eetu Ahanen Photographer: Riku Pihlanto Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Kuvatoimisto Kuvio
Contrasting weather
Photographer: Dorit Salutskij Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Riku Pihlanto Photographer: Carl Bergman / Duotone
Nature and city
Photographer: Riku Pihlanto Photographer: Juhana Hurtig Photographer: Riku Pihlanto Photographer: Jussi Hellsten
Science and art
Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Korppi Filma Photographer: Kirsi Tuura
Original Helsinki
Helsinki is a city where dissimilarity is appreciated. Here, everyone can be themselves, no matter how eccentric or regular you are.
Originality is a thing that our City is known for. Helsinki is known as a City with a creative atmosphere and a strong, engaging experiment culture.
New and unexpected things are constantly born in Helsinki: phenomena, innovations and a truly distinctive urban culture. The best thoughts from here are circulated all over the world.
Examples of image motifs:
- People and the environment
- Close-ups of people
- Urban culture
- Phenomena
- Innovations
People and the environment
Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Laura Oja Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Robert Lindström
Close-ups of people
Photographer: Robert Lindström Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Eetu Ahanen Photographer: Jussi Hellsten
Urban culture
Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Julius Konttinen Photographer: Eetu Ahanen Photographer: Jussi Hellsten
Phenomena
Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Eetu Ahanen Photographer: Carl Bergman / Duotone
Innovations
Photographer: Riku Pihlanto Photographer: Jussi Hellsten Photographer: Eetu Ahanen Photographer: Jussi Hellsten
Historical Helsinki
A wide historical imagery can be used as part of Helsinki’s pictorial narrative.
Photographer: Signe Brander / HKM Photographer: Signe Brander / HKM Photographer: Juha Jernvall Photographer: Foto Roos / HKM
Use of images
Images may be used either separately or as pairs of images.


Dividing the image surface
The following kinds of combinations in terms of images, shapes and colours can be made when dividing the image surface:
- A combination of the image and the colour surface using different images and colours.
- Combining two images to achieve size contrasts and colour contrasts.
- Combining two images to achieve weather contrasts.
- Combining a historical and contemporary image.




Principal’s checklist
- Helsinki story
- Helsinki’s brand concept
- Material bank guidelines for photographers
- Model release form for being portrayed in images
Material bank
Provide the photographer with the material bank guidelines, which include naming practices and how the images are delivered to the client.
Brand concept
Also provides the photographer with a link to Helsinki’s brand concept. Everything that is being done should eventually relate back to the brand triangle, which after having read the brand concept is opened to the photographer and which is excellent background material for creative work.
Helsinki’s brand concept and background material can be found here:
The Helsinki Story
In addition to the photography brief, provide the photographer with Anna Moilanen’s and Marjaana Toiminen’s One HEL of an Impact brand concept lyric “My Helsinki” as background material.
The story is a valuable summary of what is to be captured and communicated visually through photographs.