diff --git a/include/libcamera/camera.h b/include/libcamera/camera.h
index 004bc89455f5..8132ef2506a4 100644
--- a/include/libcamera/camera.h
+++ b/include/libcamera/camera.h
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 #pragma once
 
 #include <initializer_list>
+#include <iostream>
 #include <memory>
 #include <set>
 #include <stdint.h>
@@ -39,6 +40,18 @@ public:
 		Invalid,
 	};
 
+	enum Orientation {
+		/* EXIF tag 274 starts from '1' */
+		rotate0 = 1,
+		rotate0Flip,
+		rotate180,
+		rotate180Flip,
+		rotate90Flip,
+		rotate270,
+		rotate270Flip,
+		rotate90,
+	};
+
 	using iterator = std::vector<StreamConfiguration>::iterator;
 	using const_iterator = std::vector<StreamConfiguration>::const_iterator;
 
@@ -67,6 +80,7 @@ public:
 	std::size_t size() const;
 
 	Transform transform;
+	Orientation orientation;
 
 protected:
 	CameraConfiguration();
@@ -83,6 +97,9 @@ protected:
 	std::vector<StreamConfiguration> config_;
 };
 
+std::ostream &operator<<(std::ostream &out,
+			 const CameraConfiguration::Orientation &orientation);
+
 class Camera final : public Object, public std::enable_shared_from_this<Camera>,
 		     public Extensible
 {
diff --git a/src/libcamera/camera.cpp b/src/libcamera/camera.cpp
index 0eecee766f00..78aa11e72dd4 100644
--- a/src/libcamera/camera.cpp
+++ b/src/libcamera/camera.cpp
@@ -145,6 +145,44 @@ LOG_DECLARE_CATEGORY(Camera)
  * The configuration is invalid and can't be adjusted automatically
  */
 
+/**
+ * \enum CameraConfiguration::Orientation
+ * \brief The image orientation in a memory buffer
+ *
+ * The Orientation enumeration describes the orientation of the images
+ * produced by the camera pipeline as they get received by the application
+ * inside memory buffers.
+ *
+ * All the possible 2D planes transformation of an image are expressed as the
+ * combination of two basic operations:
+ *
+ *   'a': rotate the image 90 degrees clockwise
+ *   'b': flip the image horizontally (mirroring)
+ *
+ * plus an identity operator 'e'.
+ *
+ * The composition of operations 'a' and 'b' according to the canonical function
+ * composition notion 'b * a' (where 'a' is applied first, then 'b' is applied
+ * next) gives origin to a symmetric group of order 8, or dihedral group.
+ *
+ * See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihedral_group#/media/File:Dih4_cycle_graph.svg
+ * as an example of the 2D plane transformation and how they originate from
+ * the composition of the 'a' and 'b' operations.
+ *
+ * The image orientation expressed using the Orientation enumeration can be
+ * then inferred by applying a multiple of a 90 degrees rotation from the origin
+ * and the applying any horizontal mirroring to a base image assume to be
+ * naturally oriented (no rotation and no mirroring applied).
+ *
+ * The enumeration numerical values follow the ones defined by the EXIF
+ * Specification version 2.32, Tag 274 "Orientation", while the names of the
+ * enumerated values report the rotation and mirroring operations performed.
+ *
+ * In example Orientation::rotate90Flip describes the image transformation
+ * obtained by rotating 90 degrees clockwise first and the applying an
+ * horizontal mirroring.
+ */
+
 /**
  * \typedef CameraConfiguration::iterator
  * \brief Iterator for the stream configurations in the camera configuration
@@ -160,7 +198,7 @@ LOG_DECLARE_CATEGORY(Camera)
  * \brief Create an empty camera configuration
  */
 CameraConfiguration::CameraConfiguration()
-	: transform(Transform::Identity), config_({})
+	: transform(Transform::Identity), orientation(rotate0), config_({})
 {
 }
 
@@ -317,6 +355,27 @@ std::size_t CameraConfiguration::size() const
 	return config_.size();
 }
 
+/**
+ * \brief Prints human-friendly names for Orientation items
+ * \param[in] out The output stream
+ * \param[in] orientation The Orientation item
+ * \return The output stream \a out
+ */
+std::ostream &operator<<(std::ostream &out,
+			 const CameraConfiguration::Orientation &orientation)
+{
+	constexpr std::array<const char *, 9> orientationNames = {
+		"", /* Orientation starts counting from 1. */
+		"rotate0", "rotate0Flip",
+		"rotate180", "rotate180Flip",
+		"rotate90Flip", "rotate270",
+		"rotate270Flip", "rotate90",
+	};
+
+	out << orientationNames[orientation];
+	return out;
+}
+
 /**
  * \enum CameraConfiguration::ColorSpaceFlag
  * \brief Specify the behaviour of validateColorSpaces
@@ -404,6 +463,21 @@ CameraConfiguration::Status CameraConfiguration::validateColorSpaces(ColorSpaceF
  * may adjust this field at its discretion if the selection is not supported.
  */
 
+/**
+ * \var CameraConfiguration::orientation
+ * \brief The desired orientation of the images produced by the camera
+ *
+ * The orientation field is a user-specified 2D plane transformation that
+ * specifies how the application wants the camera images to be rotated in
+ * the memory buffers.
+ *
+ * If the application requested orientation cannot be obtained the validate()
+ * function will Adjust this field to the actual orientation of the images
+ * as produced by the camera pipeline.
+ *
+ * By default the orientation filed is set to Orientation::rotate0.
+ */
+
 /**
  * \var CameraConfiguration::config_
  * \brief The vector of stream configurations