Learning from the Star Photos Leaderboards

[MortenCopenhagen]

This is part 11 of 19 in the Storefront Photography Series. Click/tap here to see the Series Index.

Every month you can find updated Star Photo leaderboards here with the most viewed photos from Top-100 Local Guides.

For this post, I reached out to the Top-20 of the list as of February 2022. 14 were kind and quick to let me share their most viewed photo with you. Above you can see them with the number of views in millions in the lower-left corner.

From this set of 14 highly viewed photos, I believe the following tips for getting more views can be extracted:

1. Storefronts are liked by the AI (8 of 14)

2. Entire buildings are also preferred (4 of 14)

3. No detailed shots of food, drinks, flowers, animals or signs, etc. - Go for the overview shot!

4. 11 of 14 are in landscape format

5. 7 have amazing color saturation

6. All are sharp

7. 9 are outdoor daytime photos and none at night time

8. Only 1 of 14 has recognizable faces

9. Only 2 of 14 have distractions blocking the view

10. Only 6 have plumb vertical lines

11. Only one is kind of backlit

12. Only one is low in contrast (an indoor shot)

13. Department stores (3), Gourmet restaurants (2), Amusement parks, universities, art galleries, kids’ clothing, convenience stores, cinemas, airlines, delis, cultural centers, and pubs are possible hotspots.

Please study the 14 images also found in this Google Photos album to see if you agree or not. Comments are most welcome below.

I also made specific comments on each of the 14 Star Photos and suggested individual improvements. They are presented in the first replies below. I hope you find it really relevant and informative if you want to improve your Google Maps Photography.

Keep in mind, that the leaderboards only include Local Guides who signed up to be on the leaderboards, so it is very likely that photos from other Local Guides have even more views.

For each Star Photo, I share facts, links, and comments and suggest possible improvements. This is all done with the purpose to encourage, animate, and inspire you to make better Google Maps photos.

The praise, flatter, and criticism shared in this below are based solely on my opinions and experience. I could very well be wrong, so please keep in mind this is to spark debate and inspire your own analysis and photography.

Enjoy reading and studying these 14 images and the feedback below.

Cheers
Morten

PS My gratitude goes out to the brave Local Guides, who gave me permission to comment and manipulate their Star Photos for this post. Thanks a billion.

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @FlyingTimo **ranked #1

This is the most viewed photo by @FlyingTimo who is a Fellow Local Guide level 7 from The Netherlands. His Star Photo is from an amusement park called Hersheypark in Pennsylvania, USA. It had 42.7 million views by February 2022.

Timo has “only” uploaded a total of 1200 photos to Google Maps giving a total of 235 million views. So each of his photos has an average of a whopping 194 thousand views. So you should really check out Timo’s Profile on Google Maps.

Comments

• Super colorful
• Saturated colors and great light
• Beautiful day
• Faces are so far in the distance that they can not be recognized

Potential improvements

• The name is mirrored

Suggested Google Photo edits shown flickering above

30% extra brightness and 10% extra contrast (learn more here)

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @MortenCopenhagen **ranked #2

This is the most viewed photo by @MortenCopenhagen who is a Fellow Local Guide level 10 from Denmark. His Star Photo is from a fine dining restaurant called Kokkeriet in Copenhagen, Denmark. It had 26.2 million views by February 2022.

Morten has uploaded a total of 14.5 thousand photos to Google Maps giving him a total of 627 million views. So each of his photos has on average 43.4 thousand views. So you should check out Morten’s Profile on Google Maps.

Comments

• Saturated colors
• Well lit despite the canopy
• Prominent name

Potential improvements

• Strong reflections in the window
• The golden hour would have been better (learn more here)

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @jayasimha78 **ranked #5

This is the most viewed photo by @jayasimha78 who is a Fellow Local Guide level 10 and a Connect Moderator from the US. His Star Photo is from the university called University of California, Riverside in California, USA. It had 17.7 million views by February 2022.

Jay has uploaded a total of stunning 44.6 thousand photos to Google Maps giving him a total of 910 million views. So each of his photos has on average 17.7 thousand views. So you should really check out Jay’s Profile on Google Maps.

Comments

• Great weather/day
• A majestic and iconic building

Potential improvements

• Landscape orientation is better for Google Maps
• Zoom out/walk back a bit so we can see the bottom and top better
• This will also make the vertical lines less leaning (See next week’s post).

Suggested Google Photo edits shown flickering above

• The clock is an important element. The top and the clock are relatively in the dark, so I added a spotlight using the selective tool in Snapseed.

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @PennyChristie **ranked #6

This is the most viewed photo by @PennyChristie who is a Fellow Local Guide level 10 and a Connect Moderator from Australia. Her Star Photo is from a department store called Myer in Sydney, Australia. It had 17.7 million views by February 2022.

Penny has uploaded a total of 14.3 thousand photos to Google Maps giving her a total of 246 million views. So each of her photos has on average 17.2 thousand views. So you should really check out Penny’s Profile on Google Maps.

Comments

• Currently the cover photo
• Looks busy and lively

Potential improvements

• Recognizable faces
• Vertical lines not plumb
• Low contrast and brightness
• Is Westfield different from Myer?

Suggested Google Photo edits shown flickering above

• Leaning vertical lines fixed with the transform tool (see next week’s post)
• Crop to remove the Westfield name and rotated (cropping is explained here)
• More brightness, contrast, and warmth (as explained here)
• I forgot to blur the faces (as explained here)
• I’m not very happy with this aggressive transformation

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @ThatJimRyan **ranked #7

This is the most viewed photo by @ThatJimRyan who is a Fellow Local Guide level 10 from the US. His Star Photo is from a children’s clothing store called Babesta in New York, USA. It had 15.7 million views by February 2022.

Jim has uploaded a total of 21.2 thousand photos to Google Maps giving him a total of 422 million views. So each of his photos has on average 19.9 thousand views. So you should really check out Jim’s Profile on Google Maps.

Comments

• Nice light
• Plumb vertical lines

Potential improvements

• Not centered horizontally
• Distractions (girl, big cardboard box, and trash)

Suggested Google Photo edits shown flickering above

• Crop to minimize distractions and center the storefront (cropping is explained here)
• More brightness, contrast, and warmth (as explained here)
• I forgot to blur the face (as explained here)

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @AdrianLunsong **ranked #9

This is the most viewed photo by @AdrianLunsong who is a Fellow Local Guide level 9 and a Connect Moderator from Malaysia. His Star Photo is from an art gallery called Manchester Art Gallery in Manchester, United Kingdom. It had 13.9 million views by February 2022.

Adrian has uploaded a total of 5.9 thousand photos to Google Maps giving him a total of 254 million views. So each of his photos has on average 43.1 thousand views. So you should really check out Adrian’s Profile on Google Maps.

Comments

• Blooming trees
• Majestic

Potential improvements

• Sun sideways
• Vertical lines not plumb
• Wire for the tram
• Zoom out more if possible and avoid tilting the camera upwards

Suggested Google Photo edits shown flickering above

• Leaning vertical lines are fixed with the transform tool (see next week’s post).

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @Herve_Andrieu **ranked #10

This is the most viewed photo by @Herve_Andrieu who is a Fellow Local Guide level 10 from the US. His Star Photo is from a fine dining restaurant called The Capital Grille in Florida, USA. It had 13.4 million views by February 2022.

Herve has uploaded a total of 182.5 thousand photos to Google Maps giving him a total of 7 billion views. This is astonishing! So each of his photos has on average 38.5 thousand views. So you should really check out Herve’s Profile on Google Maps.

Comments

• Saturated colors
• Great contrast and brightness despite hard shadows

Potential improvements

• Palms and a light pole block the view of the name. Could be fixed by moving and zooming so the distractions do not block the view of the restaurant name (or at least only block the spaces between the words in the name). Learn more about avoiding distractions here.

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @JordanSB **ranked #11

This is the most viewed photo by @JordanSB who is a Fellow Local Guide level 10 and a Connect Moderator from the US. His Star Photo is from a convenience store called Century Food Mart in Las Vegas, USA. It had 13.4 million views by February 2022.

Jordan has uploaded a total of 15.6 thousand photos to Google Maps giving him a total of 1 billion views. So each of his photos has on average 66.8 thousand views. So you should really check out Jordan’s Profile on Google Maps.

Comments

• Nice balance between in- and outdoor light, and illuminated signs
• Great colors and currently the cover photo

Potential improvements

• Vertical lines are not perfectly plumb
• Zoomed out a bit more would have been better as explained here

Suggested Google Photo edits shown flickering above

• Leaning vertical lines are fixed with the transform tool (see next week’s post).
• Dynamic enhancement, more brightness, and warmth (as explained here)

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @JonBekkevoll **ranked #12

This is the most viewed photo by @JonBekkevoll who is a Fellow Local Guide level 10 from Norway. His Star Photo is from the department store called Macy’s in Denver, USA. It had 12.6 million views by February 2022.

Jon has uploaded a total of 34.2 thousand photos to Google Maps giving him a total of striking 1.15 billion views. So each of his photos has on average 33.6 thousand views. So you should really check out Jon’s Profile on Google Maps.

Comments

• Nice sunny day and no distractions
• Store name centered
• Currently the cover photo

Potential improvements

• Not landscape orientation
• Some of the blue skies could be cropped
• Is the horizon level?

Suggested Google Photo edits shown flickering above

• Cropped and rotated to become a landscape photo with the storefront centered vertically.

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @Rezgar **ranked #15

This is the most viewed photo by @Rezgar who is a Fellow Local Guide level 10 from Iran. His Star Photo is from a Cinema called Kourosh Cineplex in Teheran, Iran. It had 11.5 million views by February 2022.

Rezgar has uploaded a total of 7.6 thousand photos to Google Maps giving him a total of 110 million views. So each of his photos has on average 14.5 thousand views. So you should really check out Rezgar’s Profile on Google Maps.

Comments

• Busy and full of depth
• Should this image have been uploaded to Kourosh Mall?

Potential improvements

• Landscape orientation is always better on Google Maps
• Too dark top and bottom floors

Suggested Google Photo edits shown flickering above

• In Google Photos the enhanced or dynamic filter was applied
• More general brightness and extra brightness in the shadows
• The image was also rotated to level the top balcony

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @Chuan_Chee **ranked #16

This is the most viewed photo by @Chuan_Chee who is a Fellow Local Guide level 10 from Canada. His Star Photo is from an airline called Porter Airlines in Newark, USA. It had 9.4 million views by February 2022.

Chuan has uploaded a total of 15 thousand photos to Google Maps giving him a total of 340 million views. So each of his photos has on average 22.7 thousand views. So you should really check out Chuan’s Profile on Google Maps.

Storefronts are not always the number 1 photo. This is an example of an interior photo. Several of Chuan’s cover photos are of the interior.

Comments

• Symmetric leading lines
• Great contrast

Potential improvements

• Not landscape orientation (learn more)
• A few faces could have been blurred

Suggested Google Photo edits shown flickering above

• Cropped to centered image horizontally
• Dynamic enhancement, and a bit more brightness (as explained here)
• I forgot to blur the faces

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @TorM **ranked #17

This is the most viewed photo by @TorM who is a Fellow Local Guide level 10 and a Connect Moderator from Germany. His Star Photo is from a deli called Feinkost Lupper in München, Germany. It had 8.9 million views by February 2022.

Torben has uploaded a total of 69.7 thousand photos to Google Maps giving him a total of 2.8 billion views. An extraordinary achievement! So each of his photos has on average 40.9 thousand views. So you should really check out Torben’s Profile on Google Maps.

Comments

• Great light and color saturation

Potential improvements

• Business name not visible
• Should have been zoomed out a bit more as explained here.

Suggested Google Photo edits shown flickering above

• Dynamic enhancement as explained here

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @ValeriaA **ranked #18

This is the most viewed photo by @ValeriaA_ who is a Fellow Local Guide level 9 from Argentina. Her Star Photo is from a cultural center called Centro Cultural Kirchner in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It had 8.9 million views by February 2022.

Valeria has uploaded a total of 11.7 thousand photos to Google Maps giving her a total of 74 million views. So each of her photos has on average 6.4 thousand views. So you should really check out Valeria’s Profile on Google Maps.

Comments

• Relatively good contrast despite the backlight

Potential improvements

• Vertical lines are not plumb (leaning inwards)
• Sunlight draws more attention to the monument in the foreground

Suggested Google Photo edits shown flickering above

• Leaning vertical lines are fixed with the transform tool (see next week’s post).
• Cropped to centered image horizontally (cropping is explained here)
• Dynamic enhancement, more brightness, and a bit more warmth (as explained here)

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

Star Photo by** @GYours **ranked #20

This is the most viewed photo by @GYours who is a Fellow Local Guide level 9 from the UK. His Star Photo is from a pub called The Trooper in Lichfield, UK. It had 8.3 million views by February 2022.

Brian has uploaded a total of 8.2 thousand photos to Google Maps giving him a total of 306 million views. So each of his photos has on average 37.1 thousand views. So you should really check out Brian’s Profile on Google Maps.

Comments

• Well lit and a nice view
• Pandemic times?

Suggested Google Photo edits shown flickering above

• The image was cropped to remove some of the less interesting concrete tiles
• Also, the colors were improved a tiny bit.

Cheers

Morten

[FlyingTimo]

Thank you @MortenCopenhagen for sharing the actual photos from the star photo list.

Despite the logo seen from the back, sometimes there is nothing we can do about it. From the other side of the waterslides you can read the sign, but the backdrop would be buidings instead of this beautiful blue sky.

Looking through my personal star photos (my #2 is closing in with 40m views) I can see that I usually go for a clear backdrop. It can be a clear sky, a mountain or a cityscape.

What I try to say is, try to make your subject stand out!

Want to photograph a monument, a building, a view, a rollercoaster… try to capture it on its own, as in a magazine instead of a tourist shot with many people arround it. It works really well for Google maps.

[JustJake]

This is a great post and series, @MortenCopenhagen , and really should be the beginning of a new push for quality images from LGs.

@AdamGT 's work to give us easy access to all of this photo data is extremely enlightening. I think going through the updated 2023 Star Photos Album to see comment by comment some of the unexpected shots that became stars should push Guides to be taking every shot like it could be the next Star. The Star Photo questionnaire even asks if we think our Star is our best photo (what are the stats on the Yes answers, Adam?)!

With the reasonable and impactful steps you’re teaching in this series, along with our monthly view into what the Maps AI Ghouls are picking as favorites, I can only expect that those of us who put this information into practice will be rewarded with more eyeballs on our contributions. I really appreciate all the work both of you guys are doing.

One bone to pick on the edits, though; You can’t suggest @jayasimha78 's picture should be in landscape! That tower was built for portrait and the shot is epic.

[MortenCopenhagen]

Thanks for all your kind words, @JustJake .

Let’s pick on that bone

The issue is that often Google Maps will auto-crop our images to fit the square format. And when Jay’s image is auto-cropped you end up with an image missing both the top and the bottom of the clock tower.

I know I’m a nerd,

Cheers

Morten

[MortenCopenhagen]

By the way, @JustJake

This post is the one that took the longest to prepare and write. But I also think it is one that best extracts and combines the many aspects of better Maps photos so far in this series. I hope more Local Guides will enjoy and comment.

Cheers

Morten

[JustJake]

@MortenCopenhagen I went through the pictures at the clocktower and was very tempted to post some examples of the, you know, “best” examples of landscape photos there. But then it felt mean, like an LG elitist or something . So, I’ll spare you the selfies and graduation photos posted to the Tower’s pin, but I’ll die on this hill; that’s a portrait tower. The auto-cropped middle section simply entices viewers to click in to view Jay’s glorious shot. Top and Bottom are the prize for curiosity! 17.7 million people agree with me .

As I said, this post proves that we all have opportunities to improve and rise above the noise and photo-dumps to create better and more useful contributions. You show here how quickly the lessons can be applied to make for some more appealing outcomes.