The John Jefferson Smurfit Room.

“The John Jefferson Smurfit Room is located in the hotel itself which dates from 1832. The room boasts a magnificent Georgian stucco ceiling, complete with ornate plasterwork and a magnificent Waterford Crystal Chandelier. Beautiful sash windows allow views onto the manicured gardens and also allow plenty of natural daylight to flood into the space while the elegant marble fireplace adds a wonderful focal point to the room. Double doors lead out onto the Yeat’s Room which is home to a large collection of original Jack B. Yeat’s paintings and is often used as a tea/ coffee breakout area or as a pre-dinner drinks reception space. The John Jefferson Smurfit Room can be used for private dining, a board meeting or for a meeting or presentation.”

Which was the first room we looked when we went down to see Orla…

.. a few months ago.

OUR THINKING: Late evening – shooting around 7:30pm, so need to be setting up around 6pm.
2 members of staff preparing the room.
Dinner party possible set for a private birthday or small corporate dinner, so maybe if we keep flowers in low rise arrangements down the centre of the table.
White table clothes unless the table is really nice.
Fire lit.

So having agreed on that, just after arriving and have agreed to deal with Ivan here…

.. Dianne noticed that they were already starting to set it up for us to shoot at the end of the 2nd day – so rather than just letting them get on with it, she got out the iron and when to work…

.. which meant by the time I set up the camera and took the first picture here…

.. it was already looking very good.

So while Claudio and Ivan worked on improving the lighting, Dianne worked on the place setting…

.. as she felt there should be a little bit more on the table.

Then Ivan lit the candles…

.. the finishing touches were added…

.. and that was basically it – as you can see…

.. which in the end looked like this…

.. after the fire had been lit and I had added on the “magnificent Georgian stucco ceiling, complete with ornate plasterwork and a magnificent Waterford Crystal Chandelier”.

Delighted with that – however, we had mentioned in our report, that either 1 or 2 members of staff may work well – so before moving the camera, we gave that a go…

.. and yes as you can see here…

.. that worked very well too.

So were provided them with the two slightly different variations here – the first of which can now be seen on their website here…

.. as this was one which they felt really didn’t need anymore.

And I couldn’t argue with that – because it really didn’t.

Still, as I would often say about all the stuff that we would bring to these type of shoots…

.. “It’s better to be looking at it…

.. than for it”

And so that’s the story behind this image which you can now see on our homepage too…

.. as I would say that this was my favourite image from this shoot.

From Dianne, Claudio, Ivan & me at ampimage.com

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Wanting to be close.

This was an interesting one and a first for me…

.. as they were wanting an image to show that they offered a Pull-Out Sofa too, in their Liffey Deluxe Rooms.

So having seen what the camera would record if I where to shoot the room with a wide angle lens – it was agreed that a tighter shot may look more appealing.
And so this was our suggestion:

“Mum with her daughter – possibly about 3 or 4 years of age – reading a story in bed.
Lots of Teddies including a K Club one !!
Dressing robes for both.
Flowers for table.”

Having got a ‘yes’ to that idea – that meant it was now time to take a picture…

.. to see if we could create the type of image that they would actually want to use.

Which started out looking like so…

.. before the pillows were straightened…

.. and the curtains were fixed by Ivan here…

.. who’s talent for climbing and fixing things, I know far exceed something as simple as this – as he recently showed us all some pictures of him on top of some of the highest mountains in the world, which totally blew me away.

And so while Dianne sat in for a quick test shot…

.. Ivan was climbing out the window…

.. setting up this…

.. which then created this…

.. which both he and Claudio here…

.. were clearly very pleased about

And rightly so – because there is no way I could have done that, especially if I’d been on my own – nor would I have even tried too.

So a big thanks to both the guys for the beautiful light here…

.. which one may get naturally in the early morning, as the sun rises on this side of the building.

Anyway, with that now done, it was time work on what we should ask our ‘Mother & daughter’ to do.

Claudio made a suggestion – which is what we were looking at here…

.. just as Oral walked in with our ‘Mother & daughter’.

So I’m sure you can imagine the look on their faces when I zoom in on this…

.. and then tried to explain our thinking here

Anyway, once everyone stopped rolling around the floor – it was time for the Stars of the show to take-up their positions…

.. as everyone watched…

.. the two of them having fun talking to the bears…

.. who spoke back – due Dianne having hidden one of the walkie-talkies under the quilt

Team work at it best – much of which I know goes unnoticed – which is part of the reason behind me writing these blogs, because I don’t want to forget all these wonderful moments that lead up to us creating an image like this…

.. which you can now see on their website…

.. as “The K Club offers a range of family friendly accommodation including Interconnecting Family Rooms” – which was the next shot we did…

.. “Luxury Pull-Out Sofa beds”, as seen above – “and Two-Bedroom Suites”…

.. which I talked about us shooting here: The Presidential suite.

So an interesting one that’s for sure – which just leaves me to say a big thanks to everyone involved here – and especially to Ivan for all that he did, who I believe is still in therapy, as he never knew he had another big son

Indulge yourself.

Next up was the River Room Restaurant – which like with the The Pantheon Suite, they were busy redecorating when we were last down…

.. but we knew this room well, as this was where we had our breakfast each morning – so the concept was simple:

“This is a big room so we feel it will look better with a few people about.
Breakfast setting – with the early morning sunlight pouring in across the room.
Family having breakfast with possibly the father at the self-service”

So as soon as the last guests had finished their breakfast…

.. we started to do what we do…

.. while Claudio and Ivan worked on the lighting…

.. then there was the ironing to be done…

.. repositioning of the chairs…

.. and before you know it we were basically ready to shoot it for real…

.. just as the Stars of the show arrived…

.. all of whom we knew, as we had worked with them all before.

So while Claudio had fun briefed them…

.. poor Ivan waited patiently by the lights outside…

.. but he didn’t have to wait very long – because it was basically all over in less than 5 minutes…

.. as they all posed to perfection in almost every frame.

And so this was the final result…

.. which I was delighted with, once it was pieced together or amped as we would say

And so that’s the story behind this image that you can now see on their website…

“Indulge yourself with a Full Irish Breakfast in our elegant River Room Restaurant while overlooking our extensive landscaped gardens.”

.. at the fabulous Kildare Hotel, Spa & Country Club in the beautiful Irish county of Kildare

My turn.

Shoot towards the bar…

.. or towards the seating area…

.. was the big question asked back when we first looked this room, which they call the Media Puzzle Lounge.

Media Puzzle (May 7, 1997 – June 22, 2006), foaled in the United States was an Irish horse best known for his win in the 2002 Melbourne Cup.
Bred by Walter Haefner’s Moyglare Stud Farm and owned by Dr. M. W. Smurfit. He was sired by Theatrical, the 1987 U.S. Champion Male Turf Horse, and out of the mare Market Slide by Gulch, the 1988U.S. Champion Sprint Horse. Media Puzzle is the half-brother of Refuse to Bend, a four-time group 1 winning entire by Sadler’s Wells.

Anyway, bright and early the following morning – after having spent quite some time in this room the night before – the team made a start…

.. as Ivan prepared himself for another long day…

.. which Claudio brilliantly captured on camera…

.. as he clearly was up for an early start

Seriously though, with Ivan’s help…

.. the two of them had all the lights up outside the 3 large windows…

.. in no time at all – so now it was starting to look pretty good…

.. as they stood in for some test shots…

.. as we tried visualise where the people would be in the final image…

.. once they all arrived.

Which also gave Claudio plenty of time to take lots of behind the scenes shots…

.. of us all in action…

.. doing whatever each of us felt needed to be done…

.. including of me…

.. which usually just shows me pressing the button every now and then

He’s very good at this – but by far the best shot he took was still to come – after the Denise and her husband, Ciarán, arrive…

.. and I had given everyone their instructions…

.. taken a few quick shots…

.. adjusted the lighting…

.. and then captured them for real:

Because as good as that was, it wasn’t until Claudio took this image of this absolutely amazing looking guy…

.. which Ivan then texted everyone he knew about…

.. that I was then able to say, this is the final result…

.. because yes, it was my turn to make an appearance in an image that had been well and truly amped

Which just leave me to thank everyone involved, including Denise & Ciarán here, who was about to appear in a few more images before the end of the day – but more on that to follow.

And so that’s the story behind this image that you can now see on their website…

.. about the Media Puzzle Lounge.

The Byerley Turk.

“Well we did agree at the start, Ivan – so I’m going to finish this beer…

.. and then it’s back to work”

Which basically was what it was like – as we just had time for a club sandwich before we needed to set-up for the next shot – which was of the Byerley Turk restaurant here…

.. which they wanted us to capture after the sun had gone down – in other words, a late evening shot.

Never an easy one to do, as it can be very hard to visualise how that is actually going to look until it basically is dark outside.

Which at this time of year and especially on a day like it was today, could mean it would be nearly 10 O’Clock…

.. by which time they would be starting to serve the last orders of the black stuff – so it was time to crack on,
as far as I was concerned

According to Wikipedia:

The Byerley Turk was a dark brown or black horse of unknown breeding, but described in historic accounts as an Arabian…

.. it was the earliest of three stallions that were the founders of the modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock (the other two are the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian).

So while Dianne worked on the table setting…

.. Ivan and Claudio started working on the lighting…

.. before it was time for Claudio’s big moment…

.. because yes Claudio…

.. the spotlight is now on you

And so as night time approached, we were pretty much here…

.. adding a few small pools of light…

.. which when all pieced together – finally ended up looking like this:

Which on The K Club’s website now looks like this…

.. to let everyone see that Claudio also enjoys “a sumptuous evening dining experience” too

A tough one to end the day on – so it was time for a few pints of the black stuff, as I needed to keep everyone’s strength up for the following day – so more to follow, but for now that’s it from the team who just amped The Byerley Turk’s image too

The Pantheon Suite.

I usually just talk about the work that we would do on the day of the shoot – but in many cases, that is just the final part, as the actual job may have started many months ago – and the work that the client would have done may have even started long before that.

Which was very much the case here at The K Club, because as you can see from this quick shot I took of this room back in March…

.. they were busy decorating their hotel.

So by the time we arrived, 99% of the work was done…

.. so I was simply here now to capture that…

.. using light…

.. and a camera…

.. to put into words what they wanted to say to their guests about this wonderful room.

So this one was fairly simple, as the sky was blue and the sun was shining – which in this case meant the room was already beautifully lit too.

Controlling that light saw therefore really the big thing here…

.. but other than that, I reckoned it was looking pretty good…

.. so after a few test shots…

.. it was time to shoot it for real…

.. making one small change…

.. and this was the final result…

.. to show their Pantheon Suite.

“Perfect for entertaining your corporate clients or to reward your top earners, best sales people or just a treat with friends…”

“The K Club offers a truly unique dining experience”

Due to months of hard work by a lot of people – so more to follow, as we do our best to capture that in it’s best light

River View.

Last year when we were at The K Club, looking at Straffan House – which I talked about us shooting here: A dream come true – we also looked at one of the bedrooms in their hotel, which they called the Liffey Deluxe.

And the main reason for doing so, was because they felt the view outside the window made a difference, i.e. the River view on the left, the Woodland view on the right.
So with that in mind, after having taken this quick shot of one of the rooms…

.. below was our suggestion:

“Just some quick and retouched snaps to show what we think may work here – to tell the story or say what you want to say about each of these rooms.
The Lake view room for example…

.. which I think would work – but the view would need to be shot from higher up, as this is like a ground floor view, rather than a 2nd or 3rd-floor view outside the window.

And the Woodland view could, for example, look something like this…

.. which I think would say what you are wanting to say to the viewer / your guests here.”

They liked what they saw and so it was now time to shoot it for real – starting with the River view room…

.. so while the girls were having fun inside…

.. I was having fun outside…

.. capturing what I felt was the best view of the river…

.. as I knew I may need this later on.

Then it was up with the lights…

.. which Claudio & Ivan worked on…

.. while Dianne did usual her thing…

.. as Denise waited patiently by the window

So after controlling the sunlight which was pouring into the room…

.. it was time to shoot it for real…

.. which I actually thought looked pretty good as is, because one could clearly see the river outside.

Still, I wanted this image to obviously say “River view” – so I quickly processed that image…

.. while everyone else just had to go find something else to do…

.. and this was the final result:

Which this morning I see they are already now using on their website…

“One of The K Club’s newest bedroom additions, each of our beautifully appointed Liffey Deluxe Bedrooms feature views overlooking the River Liffey, our magnificent gardens or woodland views of the resort through two wide windows.”

.. along with this…

.. which was the ‘Woodland View’ bedroom image we produced at the end of this 3-day shoot.

So more on that one to follow – as that’s another story for another day – from Dianne, Claudio, Ivan & me @ ampimage.com .

The Chinese Drawing Room.

“So what do you think…

.. not bad I guess…

.. but how much will it cost me…

.. just work us all into the ground over the next few days, Ashley, and it’s all yours.

You’ve got to be joking, Ivan – then let’s shake on it…

.. because you’ve got yourself a deal”

Yes we were back at the fabulous K Club and what an amazing place it is – but joking aside, I would first really like to say a big thanks to my team here, because they really did go the extra mile for me on this one, as they never stopped from sun up to sun down.

So yes we were back once again – this time to capture rooms like this…

.. which they called the ‘Chinese Drawing Room’ – which they wanted to show set for high tea.

So with the camera in place, we started to move the furniture around a bit…

.. as we didn’t really want to be looking at the back of the sofa.

Then checking the screen to see how that looked…

.. and then – well we basically turned the room upside down…

.. but as you can see we were starting to get here…

.. as it was basically naturally lit…

.. with a little help from what the guys had set-up outside

So inside it was decision time, now that all the furniture was basically in place – white table clothes or not…

.. was the question – and so the ironing began…

.. followed by more test shots…

.. with Susie and Dianne standing in – followed by Claudio and Ivan having a go…

.. and then there was more ironing to be done…

.. before Denise (who recently got married here it seems) arrived to become The Star of the show – as Ivan…

.. Dianne…

.. and even Claudio here…

.. all seemed very eager to make her smile – before I stepped in to show them all how it was done…

.. which obviously took the smile right off her face

Seriously though – one last look at the screen with Oral here…

.. who is the Senior Marketing Executive – and this was the final result…

.. to show the Chinese Drawing Room – at the fabulous Kildare Hotel, Spa & Country Club in the beautiful Irish county of Kildare.

Delighted – and so were they – which means we had only 9 more to go, before they would tell us to pack our bags and go home – which one obviously doesn’t want to do, when you are staying (or even working) at a place like this

Anyway, next up was the Liffey Deluxe River View bedroom – which was on the far side of the hotel – so for now that’s it, from Dianne, Claudio, Ivan & me @ ampimage.com

Pieced together.

Next morning we were back into the Tara Suite…

.. now that it was free – this time to show it’s full size.

So podium down…

.. foreground table in place…

.. lights up inside…

.. and outside too…

.. and then it was time for some steaming…

.. pulling…

.. and even some pining…

.. as we all worked at reducing the creases as much as possible…

.. which in the end, after everything was done, looked like so:

Which just left one shot to go – the Drawing Room…

.. set for a private dinner party, in the late evening, being the brief.

Which originally I thought we were going to have to wait for once again – but no, it was full steam head…

.. as we dismantled it all…

.. then ironed not only all the table clothes…

.. but also all the chair covers too…

.. which made for some very interesting behind the scenes shots…

.. before we put it back together again…

.. just as it was before:

Quick shot…

.. to confirm that we hadn’t done anything at anyone would notice…

.. which meant it was time to start working on the lighting – which both Claudio…

.. and Ivan here…

.. had all under control – included it’s security too, as the hotel was very busy.

Meanwhile, back inside, Dianne & I were on the floor…

.. doing something which obviously must have seem very important at the time

Anyway, after the candles and the fire had been lit, the waiter had been positioned, etc, etc – this was the final result…

.. once it was all pieced together – or amped as we would say – as there is often a lot more put into these images, than anyone (I’m hoping) will ever think or even notice

Which just leaves me to say a Big Thanks to everyone who was involved here – especially Rosalie, who was amazingly well organised throughout the shoot – and to all the hotel’s staff too, as it was a real pleasure to work with you all once again – from Dianne, Claudio, Ivan & me @ ampimage.com

At the end of the day.

With the days being much longer now, it meant there was no point in setting up to shoot the IVY restaurant here…

.. until much later on, as they were wanting to show how this room looked at night – which does come with its own problems, as it means working around their guests, who are coming in for something nice to eat that evening.

So it was a case of finding my spot and setting-up early…

.. while the team started to work on each of the tables…

.. and put up the lights.

So 10 minutes later I was pressing the button…

.. as that was basically it…

.. expect for some people – as we naturally didn’t want this restaurant to look like it was on the Mary Celeste

So we started playing around on where their possible positions would be…

.. before the models arrived…

.. as Dianne worked on the all-important table closest to the camera.

Anyway, once everyone had arrived, it was time to do a few more test shots…

.. as the sun began to drop and night time approached – which 10 minutes it started to do – and so it was time to shoot the people for real…

.. after which some last minute changes were once again made to the table in the foreground…

.. as the tablecloth was not to our liking – and then it was a case of waiting for that twilight moment…

.. to capture the final frame.

And so this was the end result…

.. after it had all been pieced together – which can sometimes take longer to do than the actual shoot itself, but then that is often all part of creating of an image these days – especially one that you are hoping others will then want to use a lot over the next few years… which is naturally our goal at the end of the day