FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The Sign Up Process
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How does the Street View program help my Business?
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Why are businesses being photographed and how can I see the pictures?
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What will the Trusted Photographer do that I can't do myself?
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Where are Trusted Photographers currently active?
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Can a business anywhere in the world apply for a photo shoot?
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Are there any restrictions on what type of businesses can participate?
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What is the relationship between a Trusted Photographer and Google?
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What is the cost to get my business photographed?
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If I apply through this program, am I committed to participate?
The Photo Shoot
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How can I coordinate a photo shoot?
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What do I do if a Trusted Photographer is unavailable or unresponsive?
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How long will the photo shoot take?
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What do I need to do to prepare my business ahead of the photo shoot?
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Which areas of my businesses will be photographed?
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Will the photo shoot disrupt my business operations?
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Will people be included in the photo shoot?
Privacy and Legal
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What measures are in place to ensure privacy and legal compliance?
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Who from my business can give legal permission for the photo shoot?
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Will Google be using the imagery in other applications besides Place
pages?
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Do I own the photographs taken by a Trusted Photographer?
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Can I review the photos after they are taken and before they go live on my
Place page?
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Can I blur the images or take down all panoramas from by business
listing?
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Could my photos be removed for other reasons?
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If I’m not the business owner, can I request the removal of a photo?
Additional Questions
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Can I embed these images on my business website, Google+ Page or Facebook
Page?
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Can I have a repeat photo shoot?
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What is AdWords Express and how can I get a coupon?
The Sign Up Process
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How does the Street View program help my Business?
When potential customers search for your business by name on Google, they will see the
images displayed directly on the search results page. These panoramic images will also
be published on Google Place pages, Google Maps and other Google properties and give
customers a better sense of the layout, decor and beauty of your business interior.
Using easy-to-use html snippets or Maps APIs, you can also link to these images from
your own business website, attracting potential customers who visit your website too.
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Why are businesses being photographed and how can
I see the pictures?
Google Trusted Photographers are taking high-quality still photographs that will be
stitched into 360-degree views using panoramic camera technology. These Trusted
Photographers are independent contractors who have been trained and certified by Google
to produce high quality panoramic images. As a business owner, you can also upload your
own photographs to Google by signing into Google
Places. You'll be able to see the photos and 360-degree panoramic imagery directly
on Google search results and on your Place page.
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What will the Trusted Photographer do that I
can't do myself?
Trusted Photographers are trained to take high quality photos of building interiors,
accommodating for common challenges such as low lighting and tight spaces. The
photographers are also certified to take pictures using fisheye lenses and rotating
camera turrets (mounted on tripods) that, once uploaded to Google’s processing
pipelines by photographers, will be transformed into 360-degree panoramic imagery and a
walk through of your business. Once photographers upload the pictures from their
cameras, Google’s processing pipelines use sophisticated image stitching, HDR, image
matching and other technologies to produce these panoramic walkthroughs.
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Where are Trusted Photographers currently active?
Trusted Photographers are scheduling photo shoots with business owners in a limited
number of cities in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, France, and the UK. Even if we
aren’t currently active in your area, you can always upload your own photos via Google
Places.
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Can a business anywhere in the world apply for
a photo shoot?
Yes! It's great to see interest from around the world, and your requests will help us
decide where to expand this program next.
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Are there any restrictions on what type of businesses
can participate?
Currently, we are not photographing legal, medical, corporate, religious or large chain
establishments.
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What is the relationship between a Trusted Photographer
and Google?
Trusted Photographers are independent contractors/businesses that are not employed by
Google, agents of Google or affiliated with Google in any way. Google has certified
them because they meet Google’s standards of quality for taking the feature pictures
and panoramic pictures, uploading them, moderating them and eventually publishing them
on Google properties.
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What is the cost to get my business photographed?
Because Trusted Photographers are not employees or affiliated with
Google, they decide how much to charge for their services. We expect
the Trusted Photographers to offer their services at a fair market
value, and you may negotiate with them to come to an acceptable
price for the service. Prior to any photo shoot, the Trusted photographers
will present the Service Agreement, specifying their services, for
your acceptance. The agreement also spells out (among other things)
that, in return for your payment to the Trusted Photographer, you
will own the images that have been taken.
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If I apply through this program, am I committed
to participate?
No. Once you apply, if and when a Trusted Photographer becomes available in your city,
the Trusted Photographer will contact you to discuss details and receive confirmation
from you before photographing your business.
The Photo Shoot
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How can I coordinate a photo shoot?
First, review the list of Trusted Photographers on this website to see if there is one
in your city, and contact them directly to schedule a photo shoot. If you are unable to
schedule a photo shoot, or if there is no Trusted Photographer listed for your city,
please fill out the online application.
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What do I do if a Trusted Photographer is unavailable
or unresponsive?
If a Trusted Photographer is unavailable or unresponsive please give us your business
and contact details on the Apply Now button. However, do be aware that at this time
we’re offering Street View only in a limited number of cities and it may be a while
before we can assist you. Thanks for your understanding.
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How long will the photo shoot take?
In most cases, a photo shoot will take about an hour, but this varies depending on the
size of your business.
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What do I need to do to prepare my business ahead
of the photo shoot?
You are welcome to clean and tidy things up prior to the photography session, but
remember that the aim of the photographs is to show customers what they would expect to
see if they visited your business on a normal day.
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Which areas of my businesses will be photographed?
Photo shoots will include the main customer-facing areas of your business. You can work
with the photographer to determine what areas of your businesses you would like to
highlight, or even exclude from the shoot. Once again, the goal of the photographs is
to show customers what they would expect to see if they visited your business on a
normal day.
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Will the photo shoot disrupt my business operations?
We know you’re running a business, and that’s why we designed photo shoots to be as
non-disruptive as possible. Trusted Photographers will work around your schedule to
ensure that photos are taken at a convenient time for you and your business. Photo
shoots do not require any sort of special equipment, lighting, or setup, so you are
free to stay open. Although photo shoots are non-disruptive and should not interfere
with your normal business operations, it’s a good idea to let your customers know
photography is in process and to avoid being in view of the camera, whenever possible.
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Will people be included in the photo shoot?
Because we want to keep the focus of the photos on the inside of your business, we aim
to have as few people in the shots as possible. During the shoot, photographers may put
up a sign and alert customers and employees about to be photographed. As the business
owner it would be your responsibility to notify your employees and customers that the
photo shoot is taking place.
Privacy and Legal
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What measures are in place to ensure privacy
and legal compliance?
Photo shoots will exclude any areas of your businesses which you would not like to
feature. In addition, our photographers will always alert customers and employees
before a photo is taken, to uphold their privacy. All panoramic imagery will be
processed by our state-of-the-art blurring technology to blur out faces of any
employees or customers who appear in the imagery. At any time you may request
additional blurring or takedown of entire images through our Report a Problem link at
either the bottom of the pano image, or within your Place page.
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Who from my business can give legal permission
for the photo shoot?
You must have the proper authority to allow a Trusted Photographer
access to the business premises to collect photographs and to subsequently
allow Google to use those photographs in its products and services.
People with this authority include the owner of the business or
a director or manager with the designation to make those commitments
on behalf of the business. Please note that by agreeing to the terms
and conditions and the Google Terms of Service, before your photo
shoot, you are confirming that you have the authority to make that
commitment.
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Will Google be using the imagery in other applications
besides Place pages?
Google may use these images in other products and services in new ways that will make
your business information more useful and accessible to users. For example, further
integration with Google Maps will allow customers to find these images easily from the
360-degree Street View imagery of nearby roads for many locations.
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Do I own the photographs taken by a Trusted Photographer?
Yes, you will own the photos taken by Trusted Photographers once you have paid for this
service and the shoot is completed. Keep in mind that by signing the agreement,
provided by the Trusted Photographer, you will also license the use of the photos to
Google who will publish the imagery.
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Can I review the photos after they are taken and
before they go live on my Place page?
Because of the technology takes individual unstitched and unreviewed images that need
considerable processing after they are uploaded by the photographer, to produce the
attractive ‘walk- through’ experience, you will not be able to review the images before
they are uploaded to Google.
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Can I blur the images or take down all panoramas
from by business listing?
Yes, if you see a major issue you can ask us to blur some areas in each of the
panoramic images. You may also ask us to take down all panoramas. At this time we are
unable to take down individual panoramas. To request blurring or takedown click on the
"Report a Problem" link on the specific images where you see issues and provide the
requested information. Please note that the blurring/removal process may take several
days.
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Could my photos be removed for other reasons?
Yes, your photos might be removed if they are found to violate the Google photo policy.
Although all business images undergo quality review before being uploaded, some photos
may still be reported as inappropriate and later removed. The complete photo policy can
be found here.
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If I’m not the business owner, can I request the
removal of a photo?
Similar to our policy for Street View imagery, our “Report a Problem” tool enables
users to request further blurring of images that feature the user in the 360-degree
imagery. Users can also request the removal of images that display inappropriate
content, and business owners can ask us to remove 360-degree images taken by Trusted
Photographers through the “Report a problem” link or the “Report inappropriate photo”
link for feature photos..
Additional Questions
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Can I embed these images on my business website,
Google+ Page or Facebook Page?
Yes, we encourage you to share the walk-through experience of your business with your
customers. To embed the 360-degree panoramas on your website, simply find the HTML
snippet from a good point of view of the panoramic imagery on Google Maps, click on the
“Link” button , click “customize and preview embedded map,” and then copy and paste the
HTML to embed in your website. If you’re looking for even more customizability with
your images, check out the Google
Maps API.
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Can I have a repeat photo shoot?
Yes, you are welcome to engage with a Trusted Photographer and coordinate a repeat
shoot as often as you’d like, but it is up to the individual Trusted Photographer to
decide the cost. Many businesses who have recently renovated their interiors or that
have seasonal decor will request a reshoot. Remember that you can always upload your
own up-to-date photographs through Google Places as well.
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What is AdWords Express and how can I get a coupon?
AdWords Express is Google’s easy to use online advertising solution, ideal for local
businesses who want to advertise on Google and partner websites (including mobile
devices) and attract more visitors to their website, Place page or Google+ Page. Visit
the AdWords Express website to
learn more.
Eligibility requirements: In order to participate in this program and receive the
AdWords Express coupon, you must be a business owner or an authorized representative of
a business owner. Additionally, your business must be licensed to operate in your
region. Your business, photo content and ad materials must also meet all AdWords policy
requirements (see the
AdWords Policy Center for more information).
If eligible, an AdWords Express Coupon will be distributed to you in an email from your
Trusted Photographer once your photo shoot is complete and your images are uploaded to
Google. To redeem your coupon, sign-up through the AdWords Express website where you will be
able to enter a coupon code at the end of the sign-up process. For help with AdWords
Express coupons, accounts, or general inquiries, please contact the AdWords Express helpline.
Terms and
conditions apply to the use of the coupons. The offer is not available for existing
AdWords Express or AdWords accounts. Limit 1 coupon per business; no additional coupons
will be given for repeat shoots. Coupons are redeemable in the following Street View countries: United States, United Kingdom, France, New Zealand, Australia, and
Canada. This is a limited time offer; coupons expire March 31st 2012. Google reserves
the right not to issue coupons to select businesses. For the most up to date and
detailed information please check the AdWords Express website and the AdWords Express terms and
conditions.
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