Steven began his professional photography career after receiving his Bachelors of Science in Journalism from Ohio University's School of Visual Communication in 1994, and began working as a photojournalist for the Journal Review (Crawfordsville, IN) and then the Tribune Chronicle (Warren, OH). In 1998, he moved to suburban Chicago to work for the Copley Chicago Newspapers group, specifically, the Elgin Courier News and then onto its sister paper, the Aurora Beacon News, where he remained until 2005. In the spring of 2005, he began his tenure at the Chicago Tribune where he is currently the Senior Editor for Visuals.

His work has been recognized by numerous prestigious organizations including the University of Missouri Pictures of the Year competition, National Press Photographers Association, and the Illinois and Ohio Press Photographer Pictures of the Year competitions.

Steven has shot assignments for The Associated Press, The Knight-Ridder Tribune Photo Service, The Columbus Dispatch, The Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Cincinnati Enquirer. His work has also appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, The Washington Post, Time.com, MSNBC Pictures of the Week, and in various other newspapers across the country.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he currently resides in the Chicago area with his wife and daughter.