Workshop Details

Join me in Lisbon for a week of photography that will change the way you see—not just the city, but your own work. Lisbon is where history, color, and extraordinary light collide in ways that reward patience, curiosity, and the willingness to look longer. For six immersive days, we’ll live inside that rhythm together.

This is an intimate, premium masterclass—five nights and six days of shooting, editing, and thoughtful critique—set in one of the world’s most photogenic cities. We’ll explore Lisbon beyond the postcard views. Yes, we’ll photograph the grand plazas, sweeping hills, and golden waterfronts. But we’ll also wander the narrow alleys of Alfama, follow light through Baixa’s tiled corridors, and climb into neighborhoods where daily life unfolds with quiet beauty. You’ll work scenes deeply and come away with a portfolio that reflects both the soul of the city and the evolution of your own visual voice.

The itinerary is crafted to balance rigor and joy. You’ll shoot in changing light, push your instincts, and build confidence through guided assignments and honest critique. We’ll discuss strategy and intent, and I’ll challenge you to slow down, trust your eye, and make photographs that reach beyond the documentary into something more personal.

What I want for you this week is simple: to create the best work you’ve ever made, to feel yourself grow in real time, and to leave Lisbon with a renewed sense of purpose and passion for the craft.

This workshop is limited to eight photographers to ensure personal attention and a collaborative, supportive environment. It will fill quickly. If you’re ready for a week that stays with you long after you fly home, reserve your place now.

The Final Movement: Lisbon Street PhotoFest

From September 25–27, we integrate into the Lisbon Street PhotoFest. The festival features headline talks, spotlight presentations, portfolio reviews, workshops, exhibitions, and photowalks throughout the city. The 2026 program will be announced in May, but the structure will be similar to prior editions.

Your workshop fee includes a standard festival pass. Portfolio reviews and additional festival workshops may be available as optional add-ons through the festival.

By the time the festival begins, you will have strong work in hand. If you choose to do a portfolio review, you’ll be presenting a thoughtful sequence shaped through daily critique—not a random collection of images.

We will also gather as a group during the festival to reflect on what we’re hearing and seeing—placing your work within the larger conversation of contemporary street photography.

Lisbon in September

Lisbon in late September offers warm days, long golden evenings, and a city alive but not overcrowded. The light is softer than midsummer, directional in the mornings, and rich in the late afternoon. Cafés spill into the streets. Neighborhood squares fill with locals. Laundry still flutters between tiled facades in Alfama.

September gives us time to slow down, observe, and build work that goes beyond surface impressions—photographs that capture the soul of the city.

Our Hotel: The Bessa

Our Base: Centrally located in Lisbon’s prestigious Avenida da Liberdade, a few minutes’ from Restauradores Square.

We return to the stylish and contemporary BessaHotel Liberdade, perfectly located just minutes from Restauradores Square and the Elevador de Santa Justa. The upscale, minimalist rooms feature luxurious bathrooms, Wi-Fi, balconies, mini-fridges, safes, and comfortable desks for editing. The hotel offers an indoor pool (a surprisingly good place to edit), fitness room, Turkish bath, sauna, and a comprehensive breakfast buffet each morning.

Lisbon is walkable, and much of our shooting begins just outside the hotel doors.

Details

In the Passionate Street Photography Workshop Lisbon, you will wander and explore vibrant neighborhoods chosen specifically for their visual potential. We work in Baixa, Rossio, Alfama, Mouraria, Cais do Sodré, Graça, Alcântara and beyond. We also collaborate with local Lisbon expertise to ensure access to the most compelling locations.

Though the schedule is thoughtfully structured, flexibility and independence are encouraged. If you fall in love with a location and want to continue working it, you’re encouraged to stay. Depth matters more than checking boxes.

Assignments are designed to move you beyond clichés and into personal vision. You will define a strategy for capturing the rich daily life of the street—overcoming hesitation, approaching strangers, framing and layering with intention, choosing color or black-and-white with purpose, and letting images come to you rather than chasing them.

Steve and Miguel have photographed in the areas you visit giving you tips and suggested shooting positions for a head start on getting great images. During the lectures, assignments designed to get you out of your comfort zone and push you forward in your work will be given. Lisbon is a fairly compact city and you will be doing a lot of walking so keep that in mind!

Night Photography

Lisbon comes alive at night. Mixed light spills across narrow streets, trams glow against blue-hour skies, and silhouettes emerge in layered compositions. You’ll learn how to work hand-held at higher ISOs, how to stabilize your body rather than rely on gear, and how to handle challenging mixed lighting situations. A small, lightweight travel tripod is optional but not required.

Food

A wonderful breakfast buffet fuels each day. Throughout the week we’ll sample a variety of Portuguese cuisine—fresh seafood, cod, grilled sardines, renowned olive oil, cheeses, and the famous custard tart. Lisbon is a café culture, and coffee is always within reach.

We’ll share special group dinners, including a closing evening with traditional Fado music. Experience first. Photograph lightly.

This intensive workshop will help you find your own unique vision and street style through assignments created to get you past photographic fears and cliches to capturing lyrical, poetic and decisive moments that communicate the energy of the streets. But mostly you will be shooting the theatre that is the street; sometimes together, often on your own.

All levels of photographic experience can benefit from this workshop. You’ll learn about the “rhythm of place” and you will discuss the laws and ethics of street photography as well as dealing with difficult situations that might pop up. You will define a strategy for capturing the rich daily life of people on the street; overcoming fears and shyness, approaching strangers, framing, juxtaposition, layering your compositions, letting the image come to you and whether color or black and white best suits your vision. And you will have fun!

Street Tech

We’ll talk street-tech in a practical, simplified way. I’ll share my minimalist philosophy on gear and response time—whether you’re using mirrorless, DSLR, compact, rangefinder, or even a phone. We’ll discuss autofocus systems, zone focusing, lens choice, shooting from the hip, live view, flash when appropriate, and building a streamlined shooting process that supports instinct rather than slows it down.

Class Lectures & Critiques

Each lecture lays the foundation for the day’s shooting. Honest critiques are central to the workshop. We look at what works, what’s repetitive, what’s weak, and where your voice begins to emerge.

Photography doesn’t end when you press the shutter. In many ways, that’s where it begins. I will walk you through my workflow in Lightroom Classic—from culling and sequencing to archiving and backup—so your Lisbon images become part of a disciplined, long-term practice.

You’ll be encouraged to develop a theme during the week and narrow your work to a tight, cohesive sequence before the festival begins. Editing ruthlessly strengthens clarity. Removing the majority of your images gives power to the few that remain.

Schedule

Day 1 Monday September 21

Arrival & Orientation. Afternoon shoot in Baixa & Rossio. Golden hour into blue hour. Welcome dinner.

Day 2 Tuesday September 22

Morning market session (Feira da Ladra or local market). Midday lecture & critique. Afternoon shoot in Mouraria/Intendente. Independent evening.

Day 3 Wednesday  September 23

Cais do Sodré & Time Out Market. Edit session. Golden hour in Alfama. Optional night session in Bairro Alto.

Day 4 Thursday September 24

Alcântara & LX Factory (graphic discipline). Afternoon critique. Golden hour in Graça. Independent assignment evening.

Day 5 Friday September 25

Morning local market. Midday critique & sequence refinement. Afternoon return to a key location for deeper work. Evening festival opening events.

Day 6 Saturday September 26 : Independent Workday

Independent project work in the morning. Festival talks, exhibitions, portfolio reviews. Group reflection dinner.

Day 7 Sunday September 27  : Independent Workday

Festival events and photowalks. Workshop concludes late afternoon.

 “The only thing that gets in the way of a really good photograph, is the camera.”  - Norman Parkinson

Testimonials

Don Dillon, Phoenix, Arizona October 2018

If I am honest, I approached this workshop with a combination of excited anticipation and butterfly inducing dread. This is my third Steve Simon workshop; you’d think it would get easier and less stressful. Nope, doesn’t work that way. The excited anticipation is about traveling to new and sometimes exotic locations, seeing old friends from previous workshops, meeting new ones, getting to know Miguel at this particular workshop - enjoying his knowledge of Portugal and his edgy sense of humor -  and spending time with and learning from Steve Simon, our dear leader and mentor. The fear is knowing I really have to produce images at the level I know is coming. 

In pregame preparation, I spent some time with the photographs I made in Tokyo and Havana as well as the rudimentary attempts of street shooting done in another lifetime. They are like visiting old friends with whom I have shared a powerful, split second human moment.  I modestly tell people who see my “keepers” that, “even a blind squirrel gets a nut once in a while” or “ when you take a zillion photos, you’re bound to get a decent one occasionally.” 

But truthfully, there is so much more to it. This feels like the semi pro street photographer’s tour. There are years of knowledge and experience mixed with lots of rookie mistakes. For me, what makes this such a powerful experience is I always come away from one of these an incrementally better street photographer with a clearer sense of what and why I am doing this in the first place. 

For me fear is the best motivator. If we all were just showing up as a nice group of folks out for some travel and vacation snapshots, I would be bored to death and would never come back. But, our Dear Leader has a very gentle way of throwing down the gauntlet and letting us know we are expected to triple down on the amount of time out on the streets shooting, become fearless in going in for the kill shot, cull and edit when normal people are sleeping and eating, and actually producing images that will be critiqued by some very talented people. As they say, “this ain’t easy.”

Lisbon has been one of those tough venues that from time to time really dislike, especially when getting the 15^th brushoff or outright angry rejection. I’m not a hunter but this feels like a hard bow hunt for elusive game. I finally know what I am as a street shooter. I know what I have to do to “bag” the elusive jewel. I know I can’t leave the little black camera in a drawer between workshops anymore; that just won’t cut it. 

I got more than what I came for. 

Gary Niederpruem, Chicago

“What a fabulous experience. I learned more about photography in one week than I had in 5 years. Steve is very knowledgable about the technical side as well as composition. He is very patient, gives excellent feedback and will work one on one with you on any photography subject you want. I asked him for help on night photography and at 10 PM he was out on the streets of Havana with me with step by step instructions on how to take the shot. 5 star plus rating!!”

Anna Blanco, New York City

“Best workshop I’ve ever taken! Steve is not only a great photographer, he is also a terrific teacher. He is patient and very hands- on. In some workshops the instructor sends students out to shoot after a short lecture–Steve goes out with his students, coaching them throughout the process. His course is well organized and covers diverse topics. He is funny and engaging and generous with his time and knowledge. I had SO MUCH fun and am ready to sign up for the next one. Highly recommended!”

Anne Dunford, Ithaca, New York

"My week in Steve’s Street Shooting workshop challenged me tremendously. There’s nothing like taking your work apart and putting it back together with new vision to make you a better photographer. If you take this workshop, I guarantee you will see the world differently at the end."

Paul Lavergne, San Juan, PR

"Steve’s passion for photography is contagious and his teaching abilities and knowledge extraordinary! I highly recommend this workshop to anyone interested in photography."

Chapman Solomon, Mountain View, CA

“Participating in the NYC Street Photography Workshop was an enriching and exhilarating experience. It challenged me to step out of my comfort zone to improve my skills. Steve’s curriculum and hands on approach offered me an opportunity to learn new techniques, add some creativity and visualize subject matter from another perspective. Each day presented abundant photo opportunities, resulting with the capture of some amazing images, exceeding my greatest expectations.”

Stephen Sholl, New York City

"Not only is Steve a great photographer, he is also a caring, compassionate person as well. He is constantly trying to help participants achieve their photographic goals in a gentle, caring, and sincere manner. Sadly, the critiques of my work were very helpful. Steve was right-on in terms of his suggestions to better my work. The totality of the workshop was terrific, primarily because the parts were all excellent as well. Choice of shooting locations, image reviews, suggestions, videos shown, and galleries visited were all great. Steve also promoted wonderful interactions among the participants. The venue was perfect for the workshop. We could spread out, leave your things there, use the facilities, and eat the goodies provided. You know you’re in good hands with Steve! An outstanding workshop!!"

Steve Lavelle, London

"This is an outstanding workshop, led by a world-class photographer. It is impossible to spend time in a room with Steve Simon and not be inspired to get out there and make great images …I had high expectations and you exceeded them…Steve is very personable, articulate and passionate about photography, very welcoming with a warm, engaging personality. Steve’s style is outstanding. I knew of Steve from the TWiP podcast and would have attended if he was talking about how to watch paint dry…”

Oscar Piñeyro, Dallas

"I just spent the last three days with Steve Simon, What a wonderful experience, the best time spent in a workshop ever. Steve is a perfectionist, every presentation not only had spectacular photography but also the perfect music to enhance the mood, a roller coaster of emotions. He cannot hide his journalistic background every single image tells a story. His technique is flawless; his teaching patience unparalleled. I am eager to start a new chapter of my photography applying what Steve taught me in the last few days."