The Sign Up Process

1. How can Street View | Trusted help my business?
2. Why are businesses being photographed and how can I see the pictures?
3. What will the Trusted Photographer do that I can’t do myself?
4. Where are Trusted Photographers currently active?
5. Can a business anywhere in the world apply for a photo shoot?
6. Are there any restrictions on what type of businesses can participate?
7. What is the relationship between a Trusted Photographer and Google?
8. What is the cost to get my business photographed?
9. If I apply through this program, am I committed to participate?

The Photo Shoot

1. How can I coordinate a photo shoot?
2. What do I do if a Trusted Photographer is unavailable or unresponsive?
3. How long will the photo shoot take?
4. What do I need to do to prepare my business ahead of the photo shoot?
5. Which areas of my businesses will be photographed?
6. Will the photo shoot disrupt my business operations?
7. Will people be included in the photo shoot?

Privacy and Legal

1. What measures are in place to ensure privacy and legal compliance?
2. Who from my business can give legal permission for the photo shoot?
3. Will Google be using the imagery in other applications besides Google+
   Local pages?
4. Do I own the photographs taken by a Trusted Photographer?
5. Can I review the photos after they are taken and before they go live on my
   Google+ Local page?
6. Can I blur the images or take down all panoramas from by business
   listing?
7. Could my photos be removed for other reasons?
8. If I’m not the business owner, can I request the removal of a photo?

Additional Questions

1. Can I embed these images on my business website?
2. Can I have a repeat photo shoot?

The Sign Up Process

1. How can Street View | Trusted 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+ Local 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.

2. 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+
   Local. You’ll be able to see the photos and 360-degree panoramic imagery directly
   on Google search results and on your Google+ Local page.

3. 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.

4. 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, Ireland, Netherlands,
   Canada, and the UK. Even if we aren’t currently active in your area, you can always
   upload your own photos via Google+ Local.

5. 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.

6. Are there any restrictions on what type of businesses can participate?

   Currently, we are not photographing legal, medical, corporate, religious or large chain
   establishments.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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

1. 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.

2. 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 Business Photos only to a a limited number of cities and it may be a
   while before we can assist you. Thanks for your understanding.

3. How long will the photo shoot take?

   In most cases, a photo shoot will take about two hours, but this varies depending on the
   size of your business.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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

1. 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 Google+ Local page.

2. 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.

3. Will Google be using the imagery in other applications besides Google+ Local 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.

4. 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.

5. Can I review the photos after they are taken and before they go live on my Google+
   Local 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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

1. Can I embed these images on my business website?

   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.

2. 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+ Local as well.