Steve Simon Photography – http://www.stevesimonphoto.com
Steve Simon on street photography, process, and practice
This talk is essentially a permission slip: shoot more, stop chasing perfection in the field, and commit to a personal direction long enough for the street to start responding to you. It isn’t a gear sermon. It’s a process sermon.
What makes Steve Simon’s approach valuable is how grounded it is. He isn’t selling mystery or talent. He’s talking about repetition, discipline, attention, and editing honestly. Street photography, in his framing, is less about hunting moments and more about building conditions where moments are likely to happen.
Below are consolidated study notes from the transcript, shaped to fit the way I’m thinking about my own work and projects.
The core idea: “The more you shoot, the luckier you get”
Steve returns to this idea again and again.
- Most outings don’t work.
- Even the greats kept a tiny percentage of what they shot.
- The job isn’t to force magic, it’s to increase the odds.
Street photography is a numbers game filtered through awareness. The street doesn’t reward intention alone; it rewards presence over time. This dovetails directly with my belief that walking is not incidental to photography; it is the practice.
Walking the city is how you stay available.
Step 1: Passion — “An inch wide, a mile deep”
Rather than trying to photograph everything, Steve emphasizes narrowing focus.
- Choose a theme.
- Choose a project.
- Let it become a filter.
A theme does two critical things. It gives direction when the street feels chaotic, and it makes editing possible. Without a theme, you don’t have a body of work, just a folder.
This aligns tightly with my own shift toward committing to voice, style, and long-term direction. A portfolio is not a greatest-hits album. It’s a consistent argument.
Study note: A portfolio isn’t “my best photos.” It’s “my clearest idea.”
Make it personal and it becomes universal
Steve references Diane Arbus’s idea that the more personal the work becomes, the more universal it often feels. That can be unsettling because it means letting go of what you think photography is “supposed” to look like.
Personal work stands out precisely because it doesn’t try to please everyone.
This explains why intimate portrait projects and narrow visual commitments tend to resonate. They aren’t coverage, they’re perspective.
Study note: If I try to make something people will like, I’ll average out. If I photograph what I can’t ignore, I’ll separate.
Step 2: Volume — not spray and pray, but commitment
Steve talks about volume the right way.
- Work the scene.
- Start with the first frame, then move.
- Change position, height, distance.
- Let the situation evolve.
The point isn’t to mash the shutter. The point is to stay long enough for variation to happen. The first frame is rarely the strongest frame.
This is where wide-angle discipline shines. A fixed field of view forces movement, which forces learning.
Study note: “One and done” usually isn’t decisive. It’s impatience.
Step 3: The lonely adventure
Steve is blunt here: your strongest work often happens alone.
- Shooting with others is social.
- Street photography requires focus.
- Focus requires solitude.
When you’re alone, you watch longer. You settle into a rhythm. You stop performing and start observing.
Study note: If I’m distracted, I photograph the obvious. If I’m attentive, I photograph meaning.
Step 4: Photographing people — buying time, not permission
Steve’s approach to street portraits lives in the space between candid and posed.
- He doesn’t ask, “Can I take your photo?”
- He asks, “Can I talk to you for a second?”
That subtle shift matters. A yes/no question ends the moment. Asking for time opens it.
The goal isn’t a smiling headshot. The goal is to hold the moment long enough for something unscripted to happen. When that happens, the portrait becomes a street photograph rather than a posed image.
Study note: The goal isn’t permission. The goal is permission plus time.
Step 5: Light — usable beats perfect
Street photography doesn’t require perfect light.
- Harsh light can work.
- Contrast can work.
- Midday can work.
Steve’s advice is simple: go where the light is. Where there’s light, there’s shadow. Where there’s shadow, there’s structure.
Color complicates things. Good light simplifies color and keeps it from overwhelming content.
Study note: On the street, light is less about beauty and more about structure.
Step 6: Editing — the hardest skill
Steve is honest about editing: you can’t truly edit your own work in the short term.
- We carry emotional metadata.
- We remember how a moment felt.
- That memory clouds judgment.
Time helps. Distance helps. Other people help.
Revisiting old work often reveals images you didn’t recognize as strong when you first shot them.
Study note: Editing isn’t selection. Editing is identity.
A practical takeaway: edit fast once, walk away, edit again later, then show a tight set to someone whose judgment you trust.
Step 7: Know your gear so it disappears
Steve’s gear advice isn’t brand-based. It’s friction-based.
- If the camera is slowing you down, it’s a problem.
- If settings require thought, they’ll steal attention.
- The technical side is fixable, but only if you commit to mastering it.
The less attention your camera demands, the more attention you can give the street.
Study note: If I’m thinking about settings, I’m not thinking about timing.
Step 8: Protect sharpness — blur should be intentional
Steve’s stance is clear: if blur isn’t helping the image, it’s hurting it.
He advocates using automation intelligently to protect shutter speed and keep images usable. The philosophy matters more than the exact settings.
- Let the camera handle what it’s good at.
- Reserve your attention for timing, framing, and interaction.
Study note: The decisive moment doesn’t matter if the file fails.
Step 9: Lens choice is behaviour design
This is one of the strongest conceptual ideas in the talk.
- Lenses don’t just change framing.
- They change how you behave.
- Telephoto lets you stay back.
- Wide lenses force closeness.
- Primes remove choice and encourage movement.
If you use a zoom, treat it like a prime. Pick a focal length and commit.
Lens choice is not neutral. It’s a statement about how close you’re willing to get.
Study note: My lens is my ethics.
Step 10: Assignments and exercises — where growth happens
Steve offers practical drills that are worth revisiting regularly.
- Presence and patience
- Pick one spot and wait.
- Stay longer than feels comfortable.
- Perception
- Shoot reflections only.
- Shoot shadows only.
- Photograph people passing perpendicular to you.
- Look up for an hour.
Comfort zone expansion
- Photograph in a place that makes you slightly uneasy.
- Go out with only your phone.
- Pick a random transit stop and photograph the surrounding area.
Habit breakers
- Photograph something you normally ignore.
- Shoot wide open and study how selective focus changes meaning.
Study note: Exercises aren’t homework. They’re eye training.
Translating this into my own practice
Steve’s talk is street-focused, but the framework applies everywhere.
- Choose a constraint.
- Repeat until the mistakes fade.
- Edit hard.
- Publish.
- Reflect.
- Refine.
That structure works whether I’m doing street portraits, walking the city, or photographing live music.
The thesis in one sentence
Street photography isn’t about finding rare moments. It’s about building a life where you’re out often enough, attentive enough, and technically ready enough that the rare moments eventually find you.