Robert A. Schaefer Jr. was born in the teeny, tiny town of Cullman, Alabama which is between Birmingham and Huntsville. In 1975 he received his BA of Architecture Degree from Auburn University. Then he moved to Munich, Germany where he studied photography, architecture and theatre at the Technische Universitaet in Munich and graduated in 1978 with a MA of Architecture (Diplom Ingenieur Architekt). During this time he became a part of the Joerg Walter Koch Gallery in Munich and the Ufficio dell Arte Gallery in Paris, France where his photography was put into the permanent collection of the Bibliotheque Nationale. Exhibitions during this time included Amerika Hauses (cultural part of the American Embassy) in Munich, Hamburg, Hannover and Frankfurt; Kulturhaus in Graz, Austria where he was exhibited with David Hockney and Institut Francais in Munich.

In 1981 Schaefer moved to New York City where he still lives and photographs. From November 1997 to January 1998 he had a one-person-exhibition at the Aroma Gallery in Berlin, Germany. Titled "Berlin Blau" it contained Schaefer's newest direction of Photo Giclee. All images were scanned into a computer from a 2 1/4" x 3 1/4" cyanotype image of Berlin and printed out on canvas in sizes of 16" x 20" and 30" x 40". "Berlin Blau" was published in "brennpunkt" a magazine dedicated to the art of photography and published in Berlin. Robert Schaefer's photography is found in the private collections of Kofi Annan Secretary General to the United Nations; W. M. Hunt, Photography Director of the Ricco/Maresca Gallery, Ben Fernandez, photographer, Arthur Tress, photographer, Anita Chernewski, Photographer and Peter Hay Halpert, Contributing Editor to American Photographer; public collections of Philip Morris, Inc. in NYC and the Birmingham and Huntsville Museums in Alabama In 1999 the newly built Huntsville Museum of Art hosted the exhibition: "Robert A. Schaefer, Jr. - 25 Years of Photography." During this time the AGNES Gallery in Birmingham, AL. had a one-person exhibition of Schaefer's work, as well as the Barbara Ann Levy Gallery in New York City.