Claude Schneider's Photoblog

Editorial Fashion with Emma

Claude — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:42:00 +0000

I’d arranged to meet a prospective model (Dina) for a drink to chat about ideas for our first photoshoot, and I noticed that the waitress serving us was tall and photogenic, ideal modelling material. As I paid the bill, I asked if she was interested in modelling, and left her my card. A couple of weeks later, she got in touch, saying she was signed with M±P Agency, and as she was in the process of building a portfolio and really liked my work, she’d love a shoot. I suggested a location shoot the next day, as the sun had finally returned after weeks of unpredictably wet weather.

Shooting with Emma was effortlessly easy, as her face, body shape and poses are ideally suited for editorial fashion.

More photos from the shoot can be viewed at http://claude.gallereasy.com/#gallery_309

Photoshoot with Katy

Claude — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:05:00 +0000

Note to all: this is what a professional model looks like. Stunning to photograph, stunning to work with, and so very competent and inspiring. And she LOVED my brownies. What more could you ask for.

Photoshoot with Dina

Claude — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 20:45:00 +0000

Dina is a final year student at Cambridge University. I’d wanted to arrange a shoot with her a year ago, but she was out of the country for her language year. She’s just returned, and got in touch with me asking for a shoot, so I guess we were both fans of each other’s work. She has truly striking features, which made the shoot worth the wait.

Conference of Chilean Scientists

Claude — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 21:04:00 +0000

I was commissioned to photograph a conference taking place at Robinson College, where over a hundred Chilean scientists convened to share their research, and find solutions that would help Chile’s economy through science. The conference took place over two days, and included a formal hall dinner at St. John’s College, before which a group photo was taken on the backs.

CCD Dance in Sidney Sussex Chapel

Claude — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:15:00 +0000

I’ve photographed many, many wonderful performances by Cambridge Contemporary Dance, the most impressive being a gala performance and publicity shoot for Light Matter, in Cambridge University’s Senate House. The dance company was asked to perform in Sidney Sussex’s chapel for Coty Prestige’s conference, as part of the post-prandial evening entertainment, and as always, they asked me to come and photograph it. Needless to say, the six dancers’ performances were as beautiful as ever, even one that was entirely improvised!

The altarpiece is by Venetian painter Pittoni, and features the blue and red gowns often found in his paintings.

Li & Alyssa’s Wedding

Claude — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:59:00 +0000

Li is a good friend from University, and I was honoured to be part of his day both as a guest and wedding photographer. The wedding was quite small, but very beautiful. One of the few weddings I’ve photographed that had a wedding planner, but Rebecca Gregory did a fantastic job. The grounds of Wotton House, a hotel in Surrey, afforded myriad beautiful locations for photographs, and being able to enjoy the day among friends made everything perfect.

The rest of the wedding photos can be found at http://claude.cantabphotos.com/100808154327/

Preview – Li & Alyssa’s Wedding

Claude — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:16:00 +0000

A sneak preview from yesterday’s wedding; Li & Alyssa were married in Wotton House, Surrey.

Cambridge Dancers’ Club Flyer

Claude — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:21:00 +0000

Following on from the photoshoot to acquire new publicity material from the Cambridge Dancers’ Club, here are my final designs for the A5 flyer which will be sent to 15,000 members of Cambridge University at the start of the forthcoming academic year.

Cambridge Dancers’ Club

Claude — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:49:00 +0000

One of the reasons that I photograph a lot of dance, is that I’m also passionate about dancing myself. Thanks to the breadth of opportunity and classes available in Cambridge, I’ve worked my way through Ballroom, Latin, Offbeat, Salsa, Acrobatic Rock’n'Roll, and Contemporary dance. Most of these styles are offered by Cambridge Dancers’ Club (CDC), which was, up until recently, the largest student society in Cambridge. They’re in the process of doing a large publicity drive to bring lots of new members to classes, which in turn feeds new members to the Cambridge University Dancesport Team, one of the most successful student dancesport teams in the country. While I was on the Cambridge University Rock’n'Roll Team, I created lots of publicity material for RnR classes and the CURnR Team, so CDC have commissioned me to create the new publicity material for this year. Having started on my Cambridge Ballerina Project this summer, I had the idea of a photoshoot in one of the most impressive locations in Cambridge (New Court, St. John’s), with 3-4 couples, representing each of the styles offered.

One of 4 related photos, focusing on each couple in turn

Salsa dancers

Ballroom dancers

Ballroom Gents. So suave.

Photoshoot with Amie

Claude — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:29:00 +0000

I’d been planning on attending a photoshoot with 4 models up North at the weekend, but had several other events taking place on the same day, so couldn’t go. Fortunately one of the models, Amie, was available at a studio not too far away, so I arranged a 2 hour shoot with her. I normally prefer a minimum of 3-4 hours for a shoot, to work through as many ideas, lighting styles, clothing changes, and possibly locations, as possible; so given the brevity of this shoot, I worked quickly to get as much as possible from the model and studio.

Luckily, Amie is an incredibly professional, vivacious and talented model, which made my task so much easier. In fact, all I really needed to do was decide on costume changes, the mood of the shoot, and Amie did the rest! It was the first time I’d had use of a ring flash, and was blown away with the effortless fashion-quality of every shot, so got carried away with that, only using a beauty dish for a few photos towards the end. I wanted to get some edgy, modern, almost-fashion photos from this shoot, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Nor was Amie, as she’d like to collaborate together on some artistic ideas in the near future (she’s also a photographer, and asked to photograph me next time we meet… ;)

Peekaboo with Amieboo

The rest of the shoot’s photos can be viewed at http://claude.gallereasy.com/gallery/297/