Street photography is photography conducted for art or inquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. It usually has the aim of capturing images at a decisive or poignant moment by careful framing and timing. Street photography overlaps widely with candid photography, although the latter can also be used in other settings, such as portrait photography and event photography.

Street photography does not necessitate the presence of a street or even the urban environment. Though people usually feature directly, street photography might be absent of people and can be of an object or environment where the image projects a decidedly human character in facsimile or aesthetic.