Street photography tip: How to take photos without being noticed
Friday 2 January 2026, 20:10 by Michiel Heijmans | 2,642 views | 3 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
In my book, I write about ethics and rules, but street photography is often a little bit secretive. We call this candid photography. You take photos without other people realising that you are photographing them. And it is easier than you think.
For example, you can pretend to be photographing something else, quickly take a photo of your subject, and then pretend to be photographing that other thing again.
You can stand in a street, bring your camera up to your eye, stay where you are, wait for your subject to walk into your composition, press the shutter, and still stay where you are. Nobody notices. Give it a try.
You can also shoot from the hip, even if you are not looking through your viewfinder, but let your camera hang against your stomach and 'guess' that you are photographing your subject correctly. More on this later.
I often press the shutter button with my thumb, because your index finger naturally attracts more attention.
About the author
Michiel is professioneel straatfotograaf en geeft workshops en lezingen over straatfotografie. Hij schrijft columns voor Focus Magazine en is erg actief op Instagram. Daar vind je dagelijks inspiratie en tips voor je eigen straatfotografie!
You might also like
-
Street photography tip: Always keep ethics in mindby Michiel Heijmans
-
Street Photography Tip: Blurry Isn't Always Bad!by Michiel Heijmans
-
I am not a street photographerby Michiel Heijmans
-
Street photography tip: Use the smallest possible camera
by Michiel Heijmans
-
Street photography tip: Photograph people as part of their surroundingsby Michiel Heijmans
-
Street Photography with a Planby Michiel Heijmans
3 comments
-
Fred wrote on Tuesday 6 January 2026 at 12:57 | replyI often use hyperfocal focusing when I really want to take photos unnoticed. Using it of course also has its disadvantages, but for me the great advantage is that people really don't notice that you're taking photos, especially if you don't look through the viewfinder but shoot from the hip. And still have the whole world in focus.
Translated from Dutch. -
willem wrote on Tuesday 6 January 2026 at 13:53 | replyi do street photography with usually a 14-24 on my camera. i have no problem at all photographing people from just a few meters away. sometimes people speak to me, sometimes i speak to them after taking the photo, but usually not. i don't often end up in an unpleasant situation. try photographing someone up close, tip 72 from the photography bible. you will see that it's really not so bad.
Translated from Dutch. -
Ton Veldman wrote on Tuesday 6 January 2026 at 18:18 | replyIn a film about Ed van der Elsken I saw that he surprised people by addressing them. He would then have his camera at waist height and when people reacted, he had already pressed the shutter.
Translated from Dutch.
"Secretly" can of course also be done by pointing the camera unnoticed and using a remote control.
I myself have a Nikon Z6 iii and I can also control it with a phone (even sneakier).
Have your say
Please note: Articles older than a week can only be commented on by signed-in visitors.Would you still like to comment? sign in or create a free account.
Elja Trum
Photofacts; everything to do with photography!
Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about PhotofactsPhotofacts is made possible in part by
