Place Photos (New) requires that you
pass the resource name of the photo, which includes the place ID in the
request URL, instead of just the photo reference. For more information, see
Change to photo references.
Place Photos (New) supports both
API keys
and OAuth
tokens as the authentication mechanism.
The following table lists parameters in
Place Photos (Legacy) that have been renamed or
modified for Place Photos (New), or parameters
that are no longer supported.
Current parameter
New parameter
Notes
maxheight
maxHeightPx
You must specify either maxHeightPx,
maxWidthPx, or both.
maxwidth
maxWidthPx
You must specify either maxHeightPx,
maxWidthPx, or both.
Increased photo size
Place Photos (Legacy) supported a maximum photo
size of 1600 by 1600 pixels. Place Photos (New)
supports sizes up to 4800 by 4800 pixels.
Change to photo references
Place Photos (New)
API requires that you pass the resource name of the requested photo, which
includes a place ID and the photo reference, in the form:
Nearby Search (New),
Text Search (New), and
Place Details (New)
all return a photos[] array in the response that supports this format. Each
element of photos[] in the new response contains the following fields:
name — A string containing the resource name of the
photo. This string is in the form:
places/PLACE_ID/photos/PHOTO_REFERENCE
heightPx — The maximum height of the image, in pixels.
widthPx — The maximum width of the image, in pixels.
authorAttributions[] — Any required attributions. This
field is always present, but might be empty.
With the legacy API, you only have to pass the photo reference, in the
form:
Find Place (Legacy),
Nearby Search (Legacy),
Text Search (Legacy), and
Place Details (Legacy) all return a photos[] array in
the response that supports this format. Each photo element in the legacy
response contains the following fields:
photo_reference — A string used to identify the photo when you
perform a Photo request.
height — The maximum height of the image.
width — The maximum width of the image.
html_attributions[] — Any required attributions. This
field is always present, but might be empty.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-21 UTC."],[],[],null,["**European Economic Area (EEA) developers** If your billing address is in the European Economic Area, effective on 8 July 2025, the [Google Maps Platform EEA Terms of Service](https://cloud.google.com/terms/maps-platform/eea) will apply to your use of the Services. Functionality varies by region. [Learn more](/maps/comms/eea/faq).\n\nIntroduction\n\nThe Places API supports\n[Place Photos (Legacy)](/maps/documentation/places/web-service/photos).\nIf you are familiar with Place Photos (Legacy),\n[Place Photos (New)](/maps/documentation/places/web-service/place-photos)\nmakes the following changes:\n\n- Place Photos (New) requires that you pass the resource name of the photo, which includes the place ID in the request URL, instead of just the photo reference. For more information, see [Change to photo references](#photo-ref).\n- Place Photos (New) supports both [API keys](/maps/documentation/places/web-service/get-api-key) and [OAuth](/maps/documentation/places/web-service/oauth-token) tokens as the authentication mechanism.\n\nThe following table lists parameters in\nPlace Photos (Legacy) that have been renamed or\nmodified for Place Photos (New), or parameters\nthat are no longer supported.\n\n| Current parameter | New parameter | Notes |\n|-------------------|---------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|\n| `maxheight` | `maxHeightPx` | You must specify either `maxHeightPx`, `maxWidthPx`, or both. |\n| `maxwidth` | `maxWidthPx` | You must specify either `maxHeightPx`, `maxWidthPx`, or both. |\n\nIncreased photo size\n\nPlace Photos (Legacy) supported a maximum photo\nsize of 1600 by 1600 pixels. Place Photos (New)\nsupports sizes up to 4800 by 4800 pixels.\n\nChange to photo references\n\n[Place Photos (New)](/maps/documentation/places/web-service/place-photos)\nAPI requires that you pass the *resource name* of the requested photo, which\nincludes a **place ID** and the **photo reference**, in the form: \n\n```json\nhttps://places.googleapis.com/v1/places/\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003ePLACE_ID\u003c/var\u003e/photos/\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003ePHOTO_REFERENCE\u003c/var\u003e/media?maxWidthPx=400&key=\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eAPI_KEY\u003c/var\u003e\n```\n\nNearby Search (New),\nText Search (New), and\nPlace Details (New)\nall return a `photos[]` array in the response that supports this format. Each\nelement of `photos[]` in the new response contains the following fields:\n\n- `name` --- A string containing the resource name of the\n photo. This string is in the form:\n\n ```\n places/PLACE_ID/photos/PHOTO_REFERENCE\n ```\n- `heightPx` --- The maximum height of the image, in pixels.\n- `widthPx` --- The maximum width of the image, in pixels.\n- `authorAttributions[]` --- Any required attributions. This field is always present, but might be empty.\n\nWith the legacy API, you only have to pass the **photo reference**, in the\nform: \n\n```json\nhttps://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/photo?photo_reference=\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003ePHOTO_REFERENCE\u003c/var\u003emaxwidth=400&key=\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eAPI_KEY\u003c/var\u003e\n```\n\nFind Place (Legacy),\nNearby Search (Legacy),\nText Search (Legacy), and\nPlace Details (Legacy) all return a `photos[]` array in\nthe response that supports this format. Each `photo` element in the legacy\nresponse contains the following fields:\n\n- `photo_reference` --- A string used to identify the photo when you perform a Photo request.\n- `height` --- The maximum height of the image.\n- `width` --- The maximum width of the image.\n- `html_attributions[]` --- Any required attributions. This field is always present, but might be empty.\n\n| **Note:** The `photo_reference` field does not include the place ID. If you want to use Place Photos (New) with these legacy APIs, you must add the place ID to construct the full resource name."]]
