Google Trusted Photography

Google Trusted Photography

Becoming a Google Trusted Photographer in the Business View program allows you to independently run a business of your own, engaging with and taking photos of the small and medium business community in the area you wish to serve. Being a Trusted Photographer means that you meet the quality and professionalism standards that Google expects when you engage with businesses, take pictures of businesses and upload them to Google. Google will publish the pictures you take for each business in the best possible way, to showcase the “Street View experience” for the business and being a Trusted Photographer will help Google succeed in this.

Once you have been qualified by Google and attain the status of a Google Trusted Photographer, your role is relatively straightforward and will involve the following steps:

1. Google and You will come to an understanding about the area(s) you cover. You can engage with businesses listed on Google Places (in Google Maps) in the area(s).
2. You would sell and promote your photography services, and the opportunities for getting the Street View experience to businesses.
3. You would get a commitment from the business owner to pay you for a photo shoot of the interiors of the business.
4. You schedule a photo shoot, take standard (feature) photos and 360-degree panoramic photos, and get paid by the business owner.
5. Back at your home-office, you tag the photos, categorize them, and upload them to Picasa Web Albums.
6. From your home-office you use tools provided by Google to mark faces and license plates for blurring, geo-locate the panoramas, perform a quality check, and publish the panoramas and feature photos on Google+ Local.
7. You then inform the business owner that you’ve published 360-degree, Street View-style images for their business, thereby discharging your responsibilities.

You would agree to a set of Terms and Conditions between Google and You (as an independent contractor) that specifies (among other things) the quality standards to become a Trusted Photographer for Business View and the criteria for retaining membership as a Trusted Photographer. Here is a template of the Terms and Conditions (USA and CAN) for you to preview.

For each photo shoot, you will need to enter into a short agreement (on any web-enabled device) between yourself and the business owner that sets out the terms of the photography service including (but not limited to) the transfer of ownership of the photos to the business owner in exchange for payment by the business to you. Here is a template of the agreement (USA and CAN). Prior to any photo shoot, please ensure that you provide a paper copy of this template to all business owners who accept the agreement. Finally, for each business you upload, we will need your agreement, of the Google Terms of Service on behalf of yourself and the business. Here is a template of the Terms of Service.