Personal Mentorship: One-Day & Night New York City Photography Intensive with Steve Simon

A private New York photography experience built around your work, your questions, and the way you want to grow.

Spend a full day and night photographing New York City with Steve Simon, supported by an online portfolio review before the workshop and a focused critique afterward. The experience is personal by design. We shape the day around your interests, experience, pace, and the time of year you visit.

How the mentorship works

Before New York: Portfolio review and creative plan

You may submit up to 1,000 photographs for Steve to review and edit. During a private online session, you’ll look closely at the photographs that are working, the ideas beginning to emerge, and the areas where you may be holding back. Together, you’ll establish a practical shooting plan for New York and address any camera or workflow questions that could otherwise get in the way.

In New York: A full day and night in the field

You’ll photograph side by side with Steve from the quieter streets of the morning into the changing light and energy of the evening. Guidance happens as you work, while the decisions are still fresh: where to stand, when to stay with a situation, when to move, how to simplify a complicated frame, and how to respond when the street gives you something unexpected.

The route is developed for you and may include places such as Grand Central Terminal, the Oculus, the Brooklyn Bridge, the High Line, Harlem, Chinatown, the Lower East Side, Union Square, Washington Square Park, Hudson Yards, Times Square, and less familiar corners discovered along the way. The aim is not to race through a checklist of landmarks. It is to slow down, work situations fully, and come away with photographs that feel connected to your own way of seeing.

Afterward: Editing and critique

Once you’ve had time to edit, you’ll meet with Steve online for a final critique. Together you’ll consider which photographs carry the most energy, what they reveal about your instincts, and how the lessons from New York can continue in your work at home.

What we’ll work on

Street philosophy: Anticipation, timing, gesture, framing, layering, approaching people, working through fear, and recognizing when a photograph is beginning to come together.

Street technique: A simple, responsive approach to cameras and lenses, including autofocus, zone focusing, shooting from the hip, live view, flash, and other practical tools that can help the equipment disappear.

Editing and visual direction: Moving beyond isolated good photographs toward a clearer, more cohesive body of work.

Tuition

Private one-on-one experience: $1,250

Bring one to three friends: $1,000 per person

Deposit: $250 reserves the date. Scheduling is arranged directly with Steve.

This mentorship is suited to photographers at any level who want concentrated time in the field, honest feedback, and a more personal way of experiencing New York through a camera.

What participants have said

“Steve was able to look at my work and shake up how I viewed it. He helped me focus on the core of my message, with sensitivity and tact.”

— Tony Le

“Steve looked at the strong images as a group and showed me how they could be the start of a coherent body of work. His questions and comments helped me sharpen the focus on what my project can be.”

— Larry Felton