In her study of women and photography in the ‘Middle East’ during the colonial era, Sarah Graham-Brown notes there was intense scrutiny of women’s lives in paintings and photography which were often carried out by foreigners. However in North Yemen, safe from European encroachment, photography was largely neglected. Even though some members of the elite possessed cameras and cherished photography, there was only a weak nexus between status display and image production. Many people had reservations about photographing women – and some still do – because they were supposed to be sensually inaccessible to male ‘strangers.’ The covering of women’s bodies has arguably been the most ubiquitous subject in the anthropology of ‘Middle East’, yet has hardly been explored in relation to photography. Women’s photos are considered to be intimate belongings that must only be shared with close members of the family or female friends. Women’s photographic images are problematic because they share physical attributes with the object represented (prototype), and because they may fall prey to unauthorised viewing. It is as shameful for an unauthorised (male) viewer to see the photo of a woman as to see her in the flesh. My paper explores women’s photos’ agency and their relationality, as well as photography’s significance as a vehicle for conveying statements about the self and for reifying social distinctions. Questions as to the ways in which photography has created new relations of objectification have become more pertinent since it has become common in North Yemen’s emerging consumer society from the 1970s onwards. Based on field research in San‘a in 2008, the paper analyses the production of videos, albums, and studio portraits among middle class San‘anis. Its prime concern, the relation between the artefact and the subject, is inseparable from a consideration of new consumption practices focusing on changing styles of self-presentation.