Mustafa Seven
Info
Mustafa Seven is an Istanbul-based documentary and street photographer with over three decades of experience. Beginning his career in photojournalism in the 1990s, he worked for major Turkish newspapers and magazines, developing a distinctive visual language focused on people, cities, memory, and everyday life. His photographs have been exhibited internationally and published in six books, including Instanbul, One-Person City, and La Latinité de Constantinople. Having photographed in more than sixty countries, Seven continues to explore the human traces that shape urban life. Through exhibitions, books, workshops, and long-term projects, he approaches photography as both testimony and a lasting physical encounter.
Mustafa Seven is an Istanbul-based documentary and street photographer with more than three decades of professional experience. He began his career in photojournalism in the 1990s, working for leading Turkish newspapers and magazines before developing a distinctive photographic practice centred on people, cities, memory, and everyday life. Rooted in a deeply humanistic perspective, his photography explores the emotional traces people leave within urban spaces. Rather than observing life from a distance, he approaches the street with empathy, curiosity, patience, and respect. He is drawn to ordinary moments that reveal something universal: human dignity, vulnerability, resilience, humour, solitude, and our need to connect with one another. For him, photography is not merely the act of seeing; it is a way of meeting people, understanding life, preserving memory, and bearing witness to time. Throughout his career, Mustafa has photographed in more than sixty countries. His work has been exhibited internationally and published in six books, including *Istanbul*, *Street Photography*, *One-Person City*, *10 Years, 10 Cities, 10 Stories*, *If I Want*, and *La Latinité de Constantinople*. His photographs and long-term documentary projects reflect his continuing interest in the relationship between people and the cities they inhabit. Mustafa’s photo walks are shaped by the same human-centred philosophy. They are not simply guided tours through Istanbul or technical photography lessons. Participants are encouraged to slow down, observe carefully, anticipate moments, engage respectfully with people, and discover the rhythm and visual language of the street. Drawing on decades of experience, Mustafa shares practical insights into composition, light, timing, visual storytelling, and working instinctively in constantly changing environments. Each walk offers an intimate encounter with Istanbul through its neighbourhoods, streets, people, contrasts, and hidden layers. Mustafa helps participants move beyond taking attractive pictures and begin creating photographs that carry emotion, meaning, and a genuine sense of place. His aim is for every participant to leave not only with stronger photographs, but also with a more attentive and compassionate way of seeing the world.