Schaff studied political science and women's and gender studies at Kenyon College, receiving a B.A. in political science.[1][3] She originally intended to pursue a career in politics and worked in the office of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at one point.[3]
In a high-profile freelance assignment, Schaff covered for The New York Times the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in which Christine Blasey Ford testified her sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Kavanaugh testified denying the allegations. She was one of only eight photographers allowed in the hearing room at once, and one of only two women in the pool of photographers.[5] Three of her photographs from the event were selected for the front page of the newspaper.[5][6] Schaff received accolades from female photographers for her coverage of the hearing in a male-dominated field;[7] a 2016 World Press Photo report found that women comprised only 15 percent of photojournalists.[5]
Schaff worked as creative director for FotoWeekDC and photographer and photo editor for Georgetowner. She was also the vice president of Women Photojournalists of Washington, an organization supporting female photojournalists in Washington, D.C.[1]
In February 2019, Schaff was hired by The New York Times as a staff photographer.[1] She was the first photographer the newspaper hired full-time in more than 10 years.[2]
In January 2021, during the storming of the United States Capitol, Schaff was surrounded by rioters inside the Capitol, who stole her ID badge, threw her to the floor, and attempted to take her cameras.[9] She was then held at gunpoint by police before other photojournalists identified her as a journalist.[10]
On January 13, her photo of National Guard soldiers stationed in the Capitol[11] circulated widely.[12] In the photo, soldiers are seen sleeping under a statue of Abraham Lincoln next to a plaque that commemorates the troops quartered in the Capitol in 1861 to defend from insurrection.[13]
Of the photographs Schaff took during the Ford-Kavanaugh sexual assault hearings, two were featured in Time magazine's Top 100 Photos of 2018 and one was featured in Women Photograph: 2018 Year in Pictures.[14][6][15]
Nine of Schaff's photographs were featured in The New York Times' The Year In Pictures 2019.[16]
In the 2020 White House News Photographers Association Eyes of History Still Contest, Schaff's works won several awards. These include the top honor of "Political Photo of the Year", as well as first place in the categories "On Capitol Hill" and "Picture Story/Politics", second place in the categories "Political Portfolio" and "Portfolio", third place in the category "Picture Story/Politics", and award of excellence in the categories "On Capitol Hill" and "Insider's Washington".[17] Her work selected as Political Photo of the Year was from her coverage of the impeachment of Donald Trump; she commented that her approach to that assignment was inspired by portrait photographer Richard Avedon.[18]
Schaff's work was featured in the exhibition "Women Photojournalists of Washington" at the HUB-Robeson Galleries in March/April 2020.[19]
^ abDodd, Nico (December 10, 2012). "Making It All Click". The Georgetowner. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
^Schaff, Erin (Winter 2019). "In the Halls of Power"(PDF). Kenyon Alumni Magazine. Vol. 41, no. 2. pp. 50–55. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
