Tuesday, August 19th, 2025 is World Photography Day — a global celebration of the art, craft, science, and history of photography. It’s the perfect day to pause, reflect, and appreciate the power of images to connect people, tell stories, and preserve memories.
But here’s the fun part: for over 10 years now, Google Maps Local Guides have been doing exactly that — sharing their photos with the world! From hidden cafés to famous landmarks, from mountain trails to city streets, Local Guides capture it all and make it available to millions (sometimes billions!) of people who rely on Maps to explore, discover and make informed decisions about the places to visit and the meals to have. Every photo makes someone’s journey or decision a little easier, a little more inspiring.
That’s right… photography + Maps = impact!
Every photo you add doesn’t just tell a story — it makes someone’s journey a little easier, a little more inspiring. It helps someone find their way, choose their next adventure, or even remember a place they loved.
So let’s celebrate World Photography Day 2025 together. The theme for this year’s World Photography Day is “MY FAVORITE PHOTO” so let’s all dovetail into this theme. In the following order and format shown in the image below:
- Of all the photos you have added to Maps so far in 2025, in the comments below share the photo you love most.
- Tell us the story behind your photo
- Share the Maps link to your photo, and
- Add the hashtags #WorldPhotographyDay and #WorldPhotographyDay2025
Let’s together turn this thread into a gallery of local heroes making a global impact 
📈 Local Guides: The 1B+ Views Club
And speaking of impact…the impact of Local Guides’ photography on Google Maps is staggering. The table below shows the Local Guides who’ve each surpassed 1 billion photo views as of July 30th, 2025. Think about that for a moment — a billion times someone has looked at their photo to make a decision, learn something new, or simply be inspired. That’s next-level community contribution and deserves a massive 
.
(as at 30 July, 2025)
No |
Local Guide |
LG Level |
Photo Views |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @Herve_Andrieu | 10 | 16,124,846,261 |
| 2 | @TorM * | 10 | 6,463,462,589 |
| 3 | @Briggs | 10 | 2,818,272,181 |
| 4 | @abermans | 10 | 2,555,313,462 |
| 5 | @jayasimha78 | 10 | 2,402,752,436 |
| 6 | @StevenBerlin | 10 | 2,368,631,529 |
| 7 | @JonBekkevoll | 10 | 2,060,379,199 |
| 8 | @MattGatlin | 10 | 1,717,085,404 |
| 9 | @TerryPG | 10 | 1,711,759,445 |
| 10 | @MortenCopenhagen * | 10 | 1,711,050,574 |
| 11 | @Vladas731 | 10 | 1,513,633,136 |
| 12 | @DshottDennis | 10 | 1,462,598,300 |
| 13 | @photoslinger | 8 | 1,292,299,277 |
| 14 | @Mikeinthefalls | 8 | 1,167,732,029 |
| 15 | @DougSTL | 9 | 1,126,626,282 |
| 16 | @shunsader | 9 | 1,015,940,306 |
Source: Top 100 Google Maps Local Guides Photos (July, 2025)
But here’s the exciting part: looking at the above table and comparing it with that as at 30 July 2024 (see Google Maps Local Guides and World Photography Day (2024)), we see that in just one year, the numbers have skyrocketed.
- @Herve_Andrieu added nearly +947M views (now over 16.1B!)
- @TorM grew by +585M views
- @abermans gained +404M views
- @MortenCopenhagen jumped +196M views
- @StevenBerlin added +186M views and to top that off,
- @photoslinger, @DougSTL, @shunsader, and @Mikeinthefalls have all joined the 1B+ Views Club since then:
These numbers remind us: every photo we contribute — no matter how small — helps shape how millions of people explore the world.
🙌 Hats Off to Local Guides Everywhere
To all Local Guides: whether your photos have 1,000 views or 1 billion, you’re making an impact. You’re helping travelers, neighbors, and communities connect with the world around them so on this forthcoming World Photography Day 2025, take a moment to reflect on your work and be proud of the role you play in making Maps such a vibrant, useful, and inspiring space.
Congratulations to all our amazing Local Guides — you are the true local heroes!
✨ Happy World Photography Day 2025! ✨
So now it’s over to you. Of all the photos you have added to Maps so far in 2025, in the comments below share the photo you love most and describe why you love it. Oh and don’t forget to tag it with #WorldPhotographyDay2025 and #WorldPhotographyDay. You can see how I’ve done it here.
Try to keep it simple, less is more! Just add your photo (making sure it’s a photo you added to Maps in 2025), your description, and the #WorldPhotographyDay and #WorldPhotographyDay2025 tags. There’s a reason why I’m asking you to follow this simple approach.
We all can’t wait to see your photo and read the story behind it 
