Student Spotlight: Stephanie Leung Still Doesn’t Know How to Use a Camera, and That’s the Point

By Jessica Cao and Kayla Li

Through a bus window fogged by city light, an older man’s reflection blurs into the figure of another commuter, two lives crossing for only a moment. It’s the kind of scene senior filmmaker and photographer Stephanie Leung gravitates toward: fleeting, human, and ordinary. Through her film and photography Instagram accounts @shot.bystephanie and @ourgoodsummer, Leung bridges suburbia, cityscapes, and nostalgic coming-of-age storytelling. She specializes in street photography, finding extraordinary connections in the ordinary rhythms of daily life.

Leung’s interest in photography and film began at the young age of six. Movies such as Inside Out (2015) introduced her to the emotional depth of visual storytelling, but it was her sophomore year Digital Photography elective that sparked her passion for capturing stories through photography and film. That realization gave rise to her Instagram account @shots.bystephanie, where she began posting photos publicly in March of 2025. “For the longest time, I was really afraid of even posting my work. I realized that photography isn’t just knowing how to get the perfect exposure … it’s about expressing an idea in a visual way, and that’s really important,” said Leung. Later, her interest expanded into collaborative film projects such as Our Good Summer, an in-progress collaborative short film project that collects clips via Instagram from teens around the world. From videos taken on long drives to photos of glowing summer sunsets, Leung is working on weaving these submissions into a film that embodies youth and the fleeting feeling of growing up.

Shooting with her father’s Fujifilm XT-30 and experimenting with natural light, Leung has become deliberate in how she tells a story. Color and light are central to her storytelling; she gravitates toward shifting tones of bright greens, retro yellows, and monochromatics that convey emotion as much as setting. Rather than relying on technical precision, she focuses on how the visual atmosphere can mirror human feeling. Her use of low shutter speeds and textured materials, like plastic wrap or pantyhose, gives her work a hazy, dreamlike quality. 

That sensitivity to mood  defines her upcoming photo series, a project exploring how suburban driveways, lawns, and quiet streets can become spaces of inspiration and self-discovery. “Even though it’s so boring [in the suburbs], I feel like it allowed me to appreciate things more,” she said.

Finding inspiration and self-discovery in the ordinary taught Leung that photography is her most honest form of expression. “I don’t really like to express myself verbally a lot, especially emotions or something really vulnerable. Photography gives me an outlet to express that,” she said. As Leung continues creating, she hopes to explore film directing and screenwriting, expanding her storytelling across mediums. To her, the art of creating isn’t about equipment or technique, but about perspective; every shot and every frame is a reminder that meaning exists in the unnoticed corners of life. She encourages others to adopt the same mindset and experiment fearlessly. “Don’t worry about getting the perfect specs. Don’t worry about getting the perfect camera. Shoot with your iPhone. Just get started because 80% of photography is observation and noticing the little things.” Leung said.