We’re having a white Christmas.

Is the title of our latest published work in the December 2017 issue of Your Home magazine…

.. on pages 88 to 91 – which features Amanda and Keith Holly’s Victorian townhouse in Belfast.

“Amanda and Keith Holly stripped a Victorian townhouse to the brick to create their romantic, shabby chic home from scratch.”

Which I talked about shooting here: Belated Christmas.

So congratulations to both Keith and Amanda here…

.. as well as to her sons Bailey and Oliver too, for making it into this top-selling​ national magazine – which is filled with great ideas to make this Christmas year your best ever.

So from Marie, Mandi & me – we wish you all a very merry white Christmas

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Pure Delight.

Is the title of our latest published work in the August 2016 issue of 25 Beautiful Homes magazine…

.. on pages 39 to 43 – Amanda and Keith Holly’s renovated grade B1 listed Victorian townhouse in Belfast.

“Amanda and Keith Holly made major changes to their new house to create a bright shabby-chic look that the whole family clearly love.”

Which I talked about shooting here: “WOW, I take my hat off to you Ashley! Just wonderful” – a few months ago.

So just want to say Congratulations to them all here…

.. for this Pure Delight – and for once again making it into this beautifully printed top selling National magazine – from Marie, Mandi & me @ ampimage.com

Industrial Chic & Shabby Chic.

Shooting a Victorian terrace in Belfast this week, which belongs to Kelly Ann and Dominic – along with their two young children Evie, aged 2, and Rory, who is only 7 months old.

The Storyline:

The major work had been done when the couple bought the home but they have spent the last couple of years putting their own stamp on it – Dominic loves a little bit of Industrial Chic – whereas Kelly Ann loves a little bit of Shabby Chic – so they have had fun finding a balance between the two !!

The weather at this time of year isn’t ideal, so even in a house like this, that has made full use of the natural daylight…

.. on a grey old rainy day, it still needed a lot to light it.

So we started in the main downstairs living area – which was at the back of the house – and that’s where we took the shot of Kelly Ann…

.. before her daughter Evie stood-in to copy her mother’s pose…

.. and then informed her father it was his turn – which made us all laugh

As Marie later commented when I sent her this image:

That’s the most adorable and bright wee one we’ve ever met I reckon – sure she even had you playing on her xylophone – the “big scary man” was no bother to her 🙂

Anyway, we slowly worked our way through to the front of the house, which is where the kitchen was…

.. which was a bit unusual – as that is where one would normally expect the living room to be – but as you can see that worked very well…

.. and in fact, made a lot of sense.

Lots of stairs up to the bedrooms – but with high ceiling and double windows…

.. they were very easy to light…

.. and so we rattled thought this one in record time, after a bit of a slow start.

Shattered – but very pleased with this one – as we both felt Kelly Ann & Dominic had got the balance just right here, between Industrial Chic & Shabby Chic.

So just want to say big thanks to both of them for making us feel so welcome – and to Evie as well, for letting me play with her xylophone

From Marie & Me @ ampimage.com in Belfast this week.

Victorian townhouse for sale.

At the time we shooting Laura & David’s Victorian townhouse in Holywood, it was actually up for sale…

.. but as that was not what we were there to talk about, then let’s forget about that…

.. and let’s see what was behind the door instead

The Story-line:

David is an Estate Agent and Laura is a Solicitor.
Laura has taken time out to look after Lily but has set up a little business sourcing vintage tea sets and converting the cups to candles.

Basically a complete refurbishment along with a kitchen extension.

So it was all about creating a set of images to tell that story – and so we first set-up a shot…

.. to show Laura and her daughter Lily…

.. sitting in front of a large framed ‘Come to Ulster’ print, of Belfast lough – so now you know this is Holywood not Hollywood we are talking about here

Anyway, we then turned around to shoot the kitchen extension…

.. which when lit and styled…

.. looked amazing, as did their ground floor sitting room, which was very striking…

.. and so after lighting that up…

.. it was time to zoom-in on some of Laura’s vintage tea set candles…

.. before heading upstairs with Marie…

.. to shoot the bedrooms…

.. and complete the story that we wanted to tell – about this Victorian townhouse in Holywood and the people who live their – which is for sale – as we are now hoping that this set of images and story behind them, will be of great interest to a number of different magazines over the coming years

Producing images to tell a story, by Marie & me @ ampimage.com.

Never work with children or animals.

Is what they say – however, they are very often a big part of what a family home is all about.

And so was the case this week, as we were invited in to shoot Keith & Amanda’s newly renovated Victorian townhouse in Belfast.

The house had been used for offices for many years and had been badly neglected it seems; however, the couple fell in love with the period features & proportions and so bought it a few years ago to be their future family home. They carried out much of the work themselves – so to say the least, it’s been a massive project for them – which for now is completed.

Amanda is unashamedly a fan of shabby chic – and so it seems she picked up much of their furniture & accessories in auctions, eBay and salvage yards… to stay within her budget.

Anyway, while the girls worked on the finishing touches…

.. I set about doing my thing – and this was the result…

.. of everyone’s hard work.

Seldom have I worked with such a young baby…

.. a little boy called Oliver in this case – two dogs and a cat…

.. all in a single home shoot.

Because from my perspective, people shots do add a lot of time a shoot – but since the Editors feel that a home feature is more interesting and appealing to the homeowner in some of the shots…

..then that’s a given – and that is therefore what we would normally provide them with.

But in this case, I really wanted to capture not only the homeowner & her young family but also their pets too – as they were very much a part of this home and what family life here was all about… in this stunning home, which has to be one of the best examples of a shabby chic home we’ve shot.

So broke all the rules on this one and pushed the boat out – but I think it was worth it – since Amanda and her husband Keith have done such an amazing job here.

Anyway, just like to say thank you to them both for inviting us in and giving us this opportunity – because all in all, it was a really nice shoot – and from their perspective, it’s a moment in time that is now captured for posterity

Labour of love…

.. in Cushendall – and so capturing that was our latest project.

When Breige & Stephen decided to buy this house, 9 years ago, on their wish list was: a small traditional town in which to raise a family, plus a period house with character. Despite having no connections with the town, they spotted this house and fell for it, even though it needed a massive amount of work. The fact that Cushendall is on the coast and is also close to beautiful glens and forestry nailed it! Basically, it was a complete gut job – which meant making one room habitable and living there throughout the renovation, while bringing up their young family.
So it was a true labour of love for all.

And I think that showed in our images, as it was all hands on board throughout the day, to capture this stylish…

.. urban home.

So we would just like to say big thanks to Breige, Stephen, John and especially to Clerys here…

.. who was the Star throughout the day – for making us feel so welcome and letting us capture your beautiful home.

From Marie & me @ampimage.com