Simon Chetrit is known for being one of the best Arab American photographers around! Though he may be taking a step back from social media, he is still active with photography. He also still seems fond of fashion and shares how working in fashion has impacted his clothing style.

When he was younger, he grew up feeling isolated from society. He has used photography as a means to gain a deeper understanding of the diverse people around him while connecting with them at the same time. He says he wants to show them who they are without making changes, judging, or criticizing them.

Simon Chetrit described photography to be both a good and a bad thing. He says in an interview that the bad thing about modern-day photography is the trends. He calls this type of photography trend-seeking, soulless, and repugnant that only uses images for popularity. He is suspicious of those trends in the industry, both in fashion and photography. He claims that working to increase representation is overlooked by groups in portraiture and fashion before it becomes trendy. Simon also states that though the industry is becoming more and more thoughtful about diversity, they still overlook many groups, so he believes that he still has a lot of work to do to make the industry more thoughtful about diversity.

Due to the COVID pandemic, Simon couldn’t live the somewhat outgoing lifestyle he used to live. But now, Simon says that he underestimated the amount of inspiration from a personal and artistic level, not only from the people he photographs but from going to social gatherings or huge events to take pictures. Something else Simon said as he thinks it’s wrong to only takes and post amazing, breathtaking photos of cheerful, joyful people. With so much happening in the world, he finds it right to post pictures of people that have experienced such a sudden, dramatic change in their lives.

Simon Chetrit loves to take pictures of people with wonderful outfits, hence his love for fashion. He has noticed that many women tend to wear clothing more flashy and beautiful than men wear. He usually sees men wearing the typical shirt, pants, and maybe even blazers. He states that men are usually safer and more cautious about what they wear due to their fear that they would be perceived as gay even when they aren’t. Since Simon is a straight man, he fully understands why they would think that. So, he finds it very fascinating whenever he sees a man wearing a flamboyant, eye-catching outfit in public. An outfit that would make many men feel uncomfortable wearing. He finds it quite inspiring to see a man pushing the boundaries of men’s fashion since it’s a pretty rare find.