Peter Schneiter -
Professional Photographer
When I first met Peter we discussed his professional life and
the way he gets the best out the people he works with: his customers. Peter
focuses his photography on people and their special events. Weddings, anniversaries,
birthday parties are the life blood of people’s memories and the special memory
needs a special photograph.
When Peter showed
me some of his work it was immediately apparent that he used lighting and composition
to best effect. He creates memorable photographs.
He always wanted
to be a photographer and said: “I wanted to be a photographer as a teenager.
When I left school I started working at photographic shops, where I could learn
from photographers and buy equipment at reduced prices.”
He was attracted
to the profession because he wanted to help other people to have lifelong
memories of their events and their families. He wanted to stop time and capture
that important moment of family history.
Peter has expanded
his talents into another commercial direction by photographing products for
advertising and promotional material. This requires different techniques by
staging the shoot according to the requirements of the customer and he says:
“Asking first, saves lost time, wasted effort and keeps everyone happy.”
The technique of
commercial photography still relies upon getting the light and colours right
and combining all the elements of composition to create an attractive image.
All photography
involves working with people whether they are the subject itself or the owner
of a pet or product. For all events Peter builds up a rapport with all the
people involved including both the client and the participants. He likes to be
unobtrusive and dresses accordingly at a shooting event.
Pet photography
requires patience and cats can be the hardest to capture as they have a mind of
their own. But patience is required for all photography: “Nothing is really
‘easy’. It always takes time and thought to produce a good resultant
image.”
Photography is not
always about creativity as there are many technical aspects involved and Peter
has long term experience of the practicalities.
He started out
using film cameras. Film was expensive and you could not see the results of
your efforts on a digital display screen. You had to get the light and
composition right first time. Getting the quality of the images right saves
reworking.
You can see that
Peter has transferred some of these skills to his digital work. Time is money and he does not want to waste
it for anyone.
Some events, like
weddings, cannot be relived so Peter surveys the location before the event to
ensure that the photographs can be well lit and composed. Above all, he has a
contingency plan for what could go wrong and he carries two of everything
including spare lenses, flash guns, camera bodies, batteries and memory cards.
He always makes sure that his batteries are fully charged!
Peter has the
instinct for making good images but muses: “Instinct, that’s an interesting
idea. I suppose I did have a flair for photographing as a child.” Experience
has improved upon this instinct for him to work so well with the customer and
deliver the best.
Finally, I asked
Peter for one tip to improve all of our photographs: “Wait for the right time
to get the shot, keep an eye on the background too. Avoid the lamp post coming out of someone’s
head!” And for good measure: “Keep your lenses clean.”
Well said, Peter.
