The drive towards sustainable energy has led to the development of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) containing photoactive elements, either as guests or as elements of the framework itself. A large number of highly stable Zr-O-based MOFs that contain either transition metal polyimine guests or free-base and metalloporphyrin ligands have now been reported with unique photophysical properties. Here, a review of Zr-O MOFs containing Ru(II) polyimines is presented with an emphasis on the relationship between the photoactive element photophysics and MOF structure. An understanding of such relationships is essential for the future design of materials with applications in light harvesting and solar photochemistry.