A device and method for direct optical recording of security-related objects without optically imaging elements is disclosed. Direct optical recording of skin prints and documents, wherein interference through ambient light is excluded, is met by a sensor layer with TFT technology arranged on a substrate layer transparent at least in the visible wavelength range. Light-sensitive elements of the sensor layer have a distance from the object of less than the mean pixel spacing defined by the pixel grid and have in each instance a control of the exposure time. A primary light-emitting layer is constructed to illuminate the object by at least light portions from direction of the sensor layer through the placement surface. All layers of the layer body located between primary light-emitting layer and placement surface transmit at least portions of light in the visible wavelength range.