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For many photographers, self-assigned work is a great way to boost the style and aesthetic voice they want to share in their commissioned work. Chicago-based photographer Luke Schneider has taken to pushing his own projects to be more than just personal, but to be a continuous progression of his vision and an ongoing opportunity for networking. For this recent project, he collaborated with a team of industry professionals that he’s met over time to keep up with relationships while simultaneously creating fresh content for his portfolio.
In this recent series Luke developed, he wanted to “get a team together to create something that’s fashion forward and powerful.” With help from Art Director Jodi Hudson, they set to work on making a project reflective of the current industry trends. They researched thoroughly in advance, looking through the newest campaigns and editorials for all the big fashion houses and magazines. They saw a pattern emerge – literally. Pattern-on-pattern fashion appeared to be sweeping the scene, and it immediately resonated with Luke.
Luke decided that he would like the background pattern of the shoot to be made of two, incredibly detailed, Persian rugs that they could rent for the day. He then turned to Wardrobe Stylist Marta Cebrat, to work out the details of the fashion choices. He gave her a few inspiration images, and she was able to run with it from there. After assembling the rest of the team of a hair stylist, manicurist, and make-up artist, the only thing they had left was finding the perfect space—which proved more difficult than expected.
The challenge came from Luke wanting to stay true to his vision—attempting to achieve exact poses with the models lying down, while also wanting to shoot in the 70-200mm range. This meant even a twelve-foot ladder wasn’t going to do, and could have potentially caused unwanted shadows.
We finally found a loft space that allowed me to shoot down from the second floor which was the perfect solution for this challenge.
After figuring out how to create depth and support for the models by fluffing the rugs with blankets, pillows, and a padded bench, Luke acheived some incredibly dynamic photographs, exactly in line with what he envisioned. London-based Two Magazine and Chicago-Based Michigan Avenue Magazine both saw the quality and used some of the work for a fall makeup article featuring the makeup artist, Fredy Anaya.
Though Luke has no future plans for this project in particular, he is incredibly proud of how brilliantly the team was able to work together to create this beautiful series.
It certainly will continue to open my print book and be hung above my desk for a long time to come. I got to use my dream-team on this project, and am so happy with how it turned out!
To see more of Luke’s photography, check out www.Luke-Schneider.com