[2][3] Schmidt's early work consisted mainly of straight analogue photography with a later shift in his art practice from 2008 onward towards appropriation, performance, print-on-demand artist's books and video.

[6] In the accompanying essay, Christoph Ribbat states about Schmidt's photography: "His work hints at the soberness of the New Topographics, the humor of New Color, the clever objectivity of newer German photo art."

Described by J. G. Ballard as "the poet of the hotel corridor", Schmidt's second book, The City was published by Hatje Cantz in 2009 and presents dystopian interior and exterior photographs of London's financial district.

His work was shown at the From Here On group show[7] at Les Rencontres d'Arles, Arles in 2011, Fotomuseum Antwerp, Antwerp in 2012 and Arts Santa Monica, Barcelona in 2013 curated by Martin Parr, Joachim Schmid, Joan Fontcuberta, Erik Kessels and Clément Chéroux, showcasing art works by 36 artists (Mishka Henner, Penelope Umbrico, Doug Rickard, Corinne Vionnet, Thomas Mailaender, Willem Popelier, Constant Dullaart, Jon Rafman, etc.)

[13] His artist book The Time Machine[14][15] was included in the group exhibition A History of Photography: Series and Sequences at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2015 which also featured work by Nicholas Nixon, August Sander, Eadweard Muybridge and Lewis Baltz among others.