Taylor Swift's Wacky Paparazzi Avoidance Moves (and How Other Celebs Have Played It)

Wait, is that Taylor Swift? It’s OK if you don’t recognize her. She is trying to hide her face, after all.

Swift, 26, showed off one of her super skills — keeping her face averted so the paparazzi can’t get a clear shot of her — as she left Body by Simone through the back entrance after a training session last week. She kept her back turned away from photographers as she sidestepped into her black SUV.

This was the Grammy winner shaking up things, after having first raised eyebrows with her avoidance tactics in March 2015, when she was spotted mysteriously walking backward on a hike in Los Angeles. Fans immediately questioned her odd behavior on social media, and Swift was quick to provide an explanation.

“I saw the guy with the camera and wasn’t in the mood so I hiked the whole trail backwards and my security told me when to make turns,” she told fans in a Tumblr post.

Evidently, walking backward has become Swift’s method for avoiding intrusive camera people. Even in uncomfortable wedge booties, the “Shake It Off” singer will risk slipping in a parking garage if it means successfully avoiding the flashing lights of the paparazzi, as she did earlier this year.

The “backward walk” may work for Swift, but other celebrities have resorted to other tactics to avoid the cameras.

Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield chose to cover their faces with small signs that promote charities instead of letting photographers get a clear shot of them. Justin Bieber once walked around in a Guy Fawkes mask, and Ashley Tisdale was caught using her pup as a barrier between her and the paps.

Katy Perry has even used a large doughnut to shield her face from the flashes.

Meanwhile, Shia LaBeouf typically opts for the classic brown-paper-bag trick.

But if there’s an award to be given for creative attempts at avoiding photographers, Dustin Hoffman deserves recognition. In an effort to steer clear of the cameras (or at least toy with the paparazzi), the actor has done everything from ducking under a magazine to hiding behind tree branches. It’s so fascinating that we had to write a poem about the Rain Man star.

Backward or forward, it’s safe to say Swift is still recognizable. However, try to figure out who’s hiding under this plush elephant head:

Maybe next time Swift should take notes from her ex Harry Styles, the true master of disguise.