There are several ways to avoid having your own reflection visible in the shots. I will discuss many of these in the avoid distractions post coming up on Saturday Christmas December 24th.
I aim for the perpendicular shot most of the time, and always try to remember to check if my reflection is visible somewhere. Waiting for the entrance door to open is always a great solution. Or you can try to hide behind something.
If from a slight angle I prefer from the left since the first letter on the business name will be bigger = easier to read when text is read from left to right.
Slight angle can look a bit more interesting and can be better when the name sign is sticking out from the facade (not the case here). Notice this tea shop facade is not symmetrical. The door is to the left. Showing the entrance is always important. By shooting from the left the door looks bigger in your shot.
Not every one cares about avoiding your own reflection (or shadow), but I appreciate your attention to such details. And yes bright light inside and taking the shot from a slight angle certainly helps preventing this.
All the best
Morten
PS from a recent photo walk I found one reflection blunder I made. https://maps.app.goo.gl/rqNyc1ozWT9JXRJi7 my storefront shot is from a slight angle but still I failed . Feel free to catch other examples of mine [here](http://Se,%20hvilke indlæg jeg har indsendt til Google Maps Local Guides på niveau 10 https://maps.app.goo.gl/YgaH6nqUXdVTgmdj9). It is almost like a game .
I love your creative ideas and your replies. That is great to hear that it isn’t as busy with crowds. Great point too for doing one side of the road first and then the other on the way back. I like your idea too for just remembering to get the shop on your way back if something is blocking it. Smart smart!
You could be a celebrity paparazzi photographer with all of your talented skills and strategies.
Thank you for contributing to these and also tagging me. Yes I have had a few bad experiences that I don’t plan to have anymore if possible. I am here in West Africa and if you have ever been following the news you’ll have an idea of what am trying to explain. People get easily suspicious of you taking a photo of their shop or establishment because there are lots of insecurity issues around. Either outside or in the establishment it’s not too straightforward or easy to get good photographs without been noticed. There are other public place that you are free to,but private ones are difficult.
Night time photos are quite rare for me except in a supermarket or a hotel or guest house which I use alot on my travels. Will be happy to try some of these tip @MortenCopenhagen is giving and follow some of his advice and see how it goes. Mind you it’s when the opportunity presents itself and when I have spare time at work. Good discussion thread so far on this. Thank you.
Sorry for late reply. Yes its a job here to explain to some buisness owner what a local guide means and how our activities are for their own good. I am not saying that they are not friendly,only that they will be worried or suspicious of you taking photos of their establishment. Otherwise they are nice and lovely people out here
They are some few that sees reasons and will allow you alright. Thank you for your nice comments and compliments. It’s just like a nice hobby for me contributing to the Maps. I enjoy making edits above all other activities and then taking frontview photos of places for easy recognition and direction of POIs . That’s why I got interested in @MortenCopenhagen topic on photos
I can understand how the older people or certain cultures may be more traditional. I have dealt with it myself growing up. For example, in my culture, a lady dancing at a club is considered not ladylike, but in American culture it is normal to go out and party. So, it took a long time to help those I lived with understand the American way and new way of thinking.
Great job on sharing the knowledge my friend of Google Maps to those in your town.
As you know, in this part of the world, we have huge differences between summer and winter. And the transition time between day and night is so much longer than what is the case nearer to the equator. I encourage you to also take advantage of this when shooting in Germany to make more magical Harry Potter-style photos. It is not that difficult. In a later article called Brighter and better (expected on November 12th) I will share tips on how to improve our photos using Google Photos prior to uploading them to Google Maps. I promise it is not very difficult. Stay tuned.
Cheers
Morten
PS: The AI selecting the cover photos really likes Harry Potter-style photos. This means you will get A LOT of photo views.
@MortenCopenhagen I am stoked for this series. Thank you for all of the work you’re putting into helping us make better contributions.
I have to say that the advances in Auto-HDR (high dynamic range) on our phones have been tremendous for getting better shots in challenging light. I’m usually out at dawn to avoid crowds or cars blocking the storefront, but even mid-day with harsh shadows, these phones can get some great details.
If I could plug Google’s hardware, the Pixel phones can produce fantastic shots at night, even with brightly lit stores. It just adds to the available times to take pictures when avoiding crowds. Plus, they added the “Magic Eraser” tool that replicates some Photoshop features to remove distractions from images. It’s not perfect, but I’ve used it quite a bit to remove portable toilets, trash, my shadow, and even my own reflection from pictures.
That said, your Beauty Parlour “blunder” was hardly noticeable. I thought you were just one of the models!
I remember trying the edit photos from within Google Maps a few times. All it was was a way to open Google Photos from Google Maps right before hitting send.
I still use Google Photos to improve all of my photos, so this is very much still possible. It is a lot of work to make them shine and still not be overprocessed. But it is totally worth it. And the efforts are rewarded with a lot more images getting featured and hence a ton more photo views compared to not doing it.
Please try again. I will be happy to assist you further if you explain in more detail what is hindering you.
Cheers
Morten
PS If your experience is that improved photos get hidden, then it is because you are “overdoing” your editing. Feel free to review my contributions and tell me where you think I over did it. This is a very important aspect.
@MortenCopenhagen yeah i know over doing it make the details vague but i would still adjust the light and contrast and crop if needed while uploading photos and the edit option within gmaps was super handy. Now it says editing is not supported for this image every time doesn’t matter what photo I select so if you want to edit, rotate or crop the image you have to do it before hand.
@MortenCopenhagen when I saw differences in uploaded and publicy visible photos and reviews. I went through content policies thoroughly and learned that moderation have become more stiff now and the violation bar has increased quite a bit. If I say about reviews as per policy very few reviews to pass the test however in photos they still get ok ticks. This thing will check the spamming to some extent.
I have a Huawei P30 Pro. And it’s set to vivid colors. I’ve noticed that my photos POP a lot more than those by others of the same store fronts… And I believe it’s the AI, as you said @MortenCopenhagen .
I also used the Vivid color scheme for a long time but now I find it a bit too much, so instead I use Leica Standard color scheme and then use primarily the suggestion called Dynamic + more brightness and often also a bit of warmth in Google Photos. Note that Dynamic is only available to paying Google One customers. This way I can make sure not to over do it. But it is very much a question of taste and personal preference.
I really couldn’t believe that the picture was taken mid day @MortenCopenhagen and really Golden minutes.
I have heard you telling in a virtual meet-up regarding taking pictures of store front and I have tried pictures straight. Now this is another information to take pictures with indoor light is good. Next time I will try.
This is a new experience for me regarding the sun rising and setting time, day light savings and change of time @MortenCopenhagen
Now I could understand that the sun sets earlier and it becomes dark soon. The twilight happens soon. In India there’s no much difference. I know but this is first time I am seeing the clock going back by an hour.
. Feel free to catch other examples of mine [here](http://Se,%20hvilke indlæg jeg har indsendt til Google Maps Local Guides på niveau 10 https://maps.app.goo.gl/YgaH6nqUXdVTgmdj9). 
It is almost like a game 
.
