Photography
Well-chosen photos can add warmth, clarity, and context, making services feel more human and approachable.
General guidelines
- Photos in use on constituent-facing digital experiences should reflect the diversity and vibrancy of Massachusetts while supporting clarity and accessibility
- Use photos that feel authentic and inclusive, featuring real people, places, and services rather than overly staged stock images
- Only use full-color photos (no black-and-white or sepia tones)
- Choose images with strong contrast and sufficient resolution to maintain quality across responsive layouts
- Avoid decorative images that do not convey meaningful content. Select visuals that reinforce the purpose of the page, helping residents understand services and navigate government resources with confidence.
Image rights
- If you didn't take the photo, make sure you have permission or the license to use it. Attribution alone may not be enough to avoid copyright infringement.
- If there is a recognizable person or private property in the image, you should obtain written permission to use their likeness or property
- When an image isn't owned or created by your organization, be sure to include an image credit giving proper acknowledgement to the photographer, source, or agency that provided it
Accessibility requirements
- Provide meaningful alternative text that describes the image’s purpose or content. Keep it concise and relevant.
- Use empty alt attributes (alt="") for purely decorative images so they’re skipped by screen readers
- Ensure images have sufficient color contrast if they convey important information
- Avoid embedding text in images. If text is essential, include the same content in alt text or accompanying text.
- Make sure informational photos are described in nearby body text or with long descriptions if needed.
Implementation best practices
- Optimize images to load quickly without noticeable quality loss. Aim for the smallest file size that still looks good.
- Use modern file formats when possible (e.g., WebP, AVIF) for smaller, more efficient files
- Compress images using tools or automated build processes to reduce file size
- Serve responsive image sizes (srcset, sizes) so users don’t download more data than necessary on smaller screens
- Consider lazy loading non-critical or below-the-fold images to improve performance
Image library resources for Mass.gov
The Mass Digital team maintains an image library that is available for use by state employees who are authoring content on Mass.gov.
For more information about how to access and request licensed images for Mass.gov, please review the information provided on the internal SharePoint site (state login credential is required).