Esther Schmidt

Franklin and Esther Schmidt (www.FESchmidt.com) are a photography, styling, writing team who have photographed and written about hundreds of private and museum houses, inns and other venues in the hospitality industry. Their assignments have taken them to every one of the contiguous 48 states in the U.S., producing articles and features for major magazines. The major focus of their work is on interior design as it relates to architecture, art, antiques, lifestyle and history.

Among the books they have authored and photographed are "Victorian Kitchens and Baths," illustrating the history and advancement of 19th century homes over the years, "Cabin Kitchens and Baths," illustrating the architecture and design of log homes, Passion for Primitives depicting a wide variety of folk art furnishings. They also furnished the photography for "PreFab Home" that takes a journey through the developing stages and final product of a remarkable prefab home designed in the Arts & Crafts tradition and all the contemporary photography for "Old Louisville: Exuberant, Elegant & Alive," a new 248 page coffee table book that takes an inside look at 60 homes as well as the extraordinary environment of one of the largest historic districts in the nation. Their work also appears in many other design and décor coffee table books.

They have appeared on television shows including Christopher Lowell's program as experts in photographing historic interiors and on ABC's Great Day Live also depicting them photographing a home interior.

Aside from writing and shooting for publication, the Schmidts work regularly with interior decorators, architects and builders, documenting their work for promotion and advertising.

Among the magazines with whom the Schmidts have most frequently worked are Art & Antiques, serving as Correspondents-at-Large as well as Washington, DC Correspondents, Old House Interiors, Architectural Digest, Country Home, Country Living, Country Sampler, Early Homes, Romantic Homes, Victorian Homes Magazines where they had been listed as Field Editors, Timber Homes Living, Log Home Living, Dream Home Showcase, Old House Interiors, Old House Journal, Home & Design as well as a number of other national and regional publications. They have also lectured in Virginia and New York on 19th century design.

Hotels, and inns are among the clients with whom the Schmidts work frequently and these include the iconic New York City Hotel, The Warwick and the world renowned, five-star Inn at Little Washington.

Other frequent assignments deal with travel and destinations throughout the U.S., showcasing the best of small towns, cities and recreational areas.

When not traveling on assignment, they are headquartered with their canine friends on a rural farm in the mountains of Virginia.