Meet Steven Zeng | Cinematographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Steven Zeng and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steven, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
My path to an artistic career seems unconventional on paper: I studied environmental policy and data science at UC Berkeley—worlds away from a traditional film education—and spent my childhood hopping between cities like Boston, Calgary, and Houston.

Yet all that moving sharpened my eye for pattern and place, teaching me to treat new surroundings as opportunities to learn and translating observations into story.

To me, cinematography’s where STEM meets creative—framing a shot feels like designing an experiment, only that results speak in emotion instead of numbers.

That’s why pursuing it professionally felt like the natural next step—one that lets me channel my experience into stories that resonate with people.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a DP who leads with empathy—everything about my process begins with understanding the core of a story and the people behind it. Professionally, I started out with a pair of Home Depot work lights, spending hours in my bedroom running lighting tests and teaching myself how different angles, colors, and intensities shape emotion. I’m very proud to say that this DIY curiosity has since grown into music videos, commercials, and a feature film. I’ll admit that my path hasn’t been seamless—gear is expensive and balancing school and work is brutal—but each hurdle reinforced two lessons: stay curious and lead with empathy.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For sure! I’m more of an nature type of guy so we’d be going on a road trip to Joshua tree and spending the week there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Cal leans heavy on theory, so if you want to get your hands dirty you have to plug into the student scene. I found my community in the Cinematics Arts & Production (CAP) Club—a production-first organization that’s given me set experience and a tight network of talented Bay Area creatives.

Website: https://stevenzengdp.com/

Instagram: @stevenzengdp

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@stevenzengdp