My gorgeous baby girl

I’m delighted to announce the arrival of my baby girl Rosie!  She was born on Boxing Day morning and my husband and I are totally smitten already.

Thank you so much to all of you that have sent messages, cards and gifts – it’s really appreciated.

It has taken me a while to get round to writing this post, as I have now discovered how little time Mummy’s have to do anything when there is a baby on the scene.

I have taken a few photographs of my precious little bundle and I’m sure I’ll be taking many more!

Thanks also to those of you that have enquired about booking a photo shoot with me. I will let you all know via my website, facebook group and email when I have opened up the dates available to be booked for portrait shoots this year.  I’m not entirely sure yet when this will be, at the moment I just want to concentrate on enjoying being a Mummy.

Please email me if you would like me to add you to my contacts, you could also ‘Like’ my facebook group by clicking here. I’m sure I’ll be adding more photographs of Rosie to my facebook group as I will no doubt be photographing her constantly! You can also follow me on twitter at  @gemmaleak

Thanks again for taking the time to read my blog.

Wishing you all a wonderful 2012.

Gemma x

Rosie

Sorry for the lack of blog posts lately –  I have been super busy with photo shoots, photo reveals … oh and getting ready to be a Mummy!  7 weeks to go!  I’m very excited.

Everyone who knows me knows how much I love children.  I’ve photographed hundreds of families over the last 8 years – and now it’s time to make my own little family.  Be prepared for endless photographs of my baby on the blog in the new year!

I’ve currently finished photo shoots now until next year.  If you would like me to email you when I am ready to open up the 2012 diary for new bookings please let me know and I’ll pop you on my contact list.

Just want to take this chance to thank all my lovely portrait clients, that continue to make my job so rewarding and so much fun.  Thanks for all the fabulous comments, referrals, support and repeat bookings over the years. You are all wonderful x

I will be still be available to contact via email, phone, twitter and facebook …. but I may take a bit longer to reply than normal.

Through October I photographed some lovely families, but haven’t had chance to make individual blog stories for them … so here are some photographs from a few of the shoots captured over the last month.

(Above) I last photographed little Phoebe and Rory in March 2010 when they were little babies. (see their last shoot click here) – and I was delighted to be booked to photograph them again last month.  In this shoot they were joined by the whole family  (See below).

Here are a couple more shoots from October:

The fabulous family on the farm

On Friday 23rd September, I travelled to a farm in Harrogate to photograph a lovely family.

Verity won the photo shoot in a competition on my blog, and I’m so pleased she did. I loved her idea of getting all of her family together for a fifties inspired photo shoot.  Verity even had a make up artist booked to perfect the gorgeous make-up!

Ashlea and Chris’s farm made the perfect setting for the photo shoot.  In between the rain showers we captured loads of images that I can’t wait to show the family.

I am only revealing a few of my favourites in this blog post, leaving plenty of surprises for the family to view in private.

” Verity, I want to thank you for all the effort you made in making your photo shoot such a memorable and fun day – also, a special thank you to 38 week pregnant Ashlea for the yummy lunch (hope we didn’t tire you out too much! –  I now appreciate how tiring being pregnant is!) and finally a massive thank you to all the family for being great fun to photograph –  I hope you are all happy with with this preview in to the results. ”

The glamorous girls x

Blossom and Dahlia make a run for it!

The turquoise door and crumbling steps made a great back drop

Having a giggle on the swings

The sisters were great fun to photograph

Verity won the photo shoot in my blog competition last year

Ashlae, Jade, Verity and Becki

The gorgeous girls

Thanks Verity for organising such a brilliant day x

Grandma & Grandad with their Grandchildren

On Monday 19th September I travelled to York to photograph a lovely family:  Alison and Matt live in America with their two gorgeous boys: Reuben and Dominic.  They decided to book a photo shoot with me to take place on their holiday visiting their family in England.  Alison’s sister Nicola recommended my portrait service after having a photo shoot with her family, and her in-laws last February.  (see the story of her shoot by clicking here)

Nicola with her family last February

I captured some fun & natural images of Alison, Matt, Reuben and little Dominic in a local park -finishing the shoot with Grandma Auriel, Grandad Edward & cousins: Oscar, Fraser and Naimh joining in for a few shots at the end of the shoot.

I’m only revealing a few of my favourite shots in this blog post, keeping plenty of surprises for the family to view in private.

” Matt and Alison – Thank you for including a photo shoot with me in your holiday plans! I hope you like the photographs. Thanks also to Auriel, Edward and all the children for being great fun to photograph. – and not forgetting a huge ‘Thank you’ to Nicola for recommending my work. ”

Family time in the park

Reuben loves his little brother Dominic

Kisses x

I can still hear the giggles!

Mummy cuddles

Catch me if you can.

Auriel & Edward

Family moments to treasure

The beautiful twins

On Thursday 15th September, I had a great time photographing two beautiful sisters: Bethany and Charlotte.  The girls received this photo shoot voucher from their lovely godmother Jane to celebrate their 21st birthday.  Jane has had several photo shoots with me over the years, her last shoot was to celebrate her special birthday with 10 of her very glamorous friends on Ilkley Moor – see her shoot by clicking here.

Beth and Charlotte decided they wanted an outdoor shoot, and we captured all of the images at their friends farm nearby.

” Beth and Charlotte, I hope you like the images in this blog story, I have many more that I can’t wait for you to see! Thanks for being great people to work with and photograph – see you soon, Gemma ”

We used an old trailer for a few shots - it had beautiful faded paint work which made a gorgeous back drop

Fields & overgrown shrubs make fab back drops too.Charlotte and Bethany: in a black & white.

Their lovely dog joined in for a couple of photographs

Gorgeous girls

Beth in blue tones

Using the barn for a different setting.

Charlotte

A beautiful black & white

Bethany

Thanks for a great shoot girls!

Alex, Sarah & Edward

On Wednesday 14th September, the sun was shining, and I made my way to a beautiful area near Harrogate to photograph Sarah, Edward and Alex.

This family live in the most amazing setting, with a wonderful view surrounding their cosy home.  As soon as I entered their house I was greeted by three smiling faces and the most awesome aromas from Sarah’s cakes baking! Not only is Sarah a fantastic mum, she’s a talented cake maker too. (I can vouch for how good the cakes tasted… thanks Sarah! )

After a quick chat about the kinds of images the family wanted to capture throughout the day we decided to start the shoot outside, incorporating all the pets and the fantastic surroundings in the photographs.   We captured some shots of Edward in his shooting gear with his faithful dog.  I love capturing personal images that are full of character and really represent the people in them, so I was really happy when Edward came up with this idea.

After working up an appetite outside, we headed indoors for some delicious lunch (thanks again Sarah, I was so hungry and it was much appreciated). We then used studio lighting to capture some images in the gorgeous lounge, and Alex’s bedroom. Alex was great fun to photograph, she’s a beautiful girl – and she has the most amazing selection of clothes, shoes, bags and accessories! which we had fun with using as props in some of the images.

I hope the family like this little sneak preview in to some of the results from the shoot, I really loved photographing them all.   I can’t wait to reveal the rest of the images to them in their private viewing very soon.

Sarah with her beautiful horse - 35 year old Helsinki

Beautiful Alex & her cheeky cat

Gorgeousness x

Edward in his hunting gear

The fantastic views from their home

Sarah makes AMAZING cakes!

Family time

Alex was great fun to photograph

This girl loves to shop!

Jessica has the most amazing eyes!

On Saturday 10th September, I photographed Lisa, Ben and little Jessica at Lisa’s fathers house near Tadcaster. Lisa received the photo shoot gift voucher as a present for Christmas last year from her father and his lovely wife Veronica.

Lisa and Ben really wanted me to capture natural and fun images of their family – and hopefully they will think that we achieved this.

The location and weather were both perfect for an outdoor photo shoot, and we spent several hours shooting a huge variety of images around the family home and nearby surroundings.  Little Jessica had so much energy, she didn’t stop running around, and her big beautiful blue eyes were fantastic to photograph.

This blog story only shows a few of my favourite images from the photo shoot, making sure I keep plenty of surprises for the family’s private viewing at their home soon.

A fun family shot

Jessica on her Grandad's childhood chair

The crazy family cat made us giggle throughout the day.

A family moment

A thoughtful moment

Bouncing around

Lisa, Jessica and Ben

Super happy Sammy

On Tuesday 8th September I travelled to York to photograph a lovely family: Andy, Nicky and little Samuel (Sammy).

It was a rainy day on Tuesday, but we didn’t let that stop us having a fun photo shoot!  We decided to capture all of the images inside the family home. Using a mixture of studio lighting, the white back drop and some of the bedrooms as alternative back grounds.

Nicky and Andy are fantastic parents and it’s obvious as soon as you meet them that they totally adore Sammy. They were great to work with and photograph. The main aim was to capture some family images and some of Sammy on his own that show his gorgeous, happy character.  I think we achieved this – and I hope Nicky and Andy will agree.  Sammy didn’t stop smiling for hours- he was amazing!

I am only revealing a few of the images in this blog post. Keeping plenty of surprises for their private viewing taking place at their home soon.

A few fun shots using the white back drop

A family squeeze

Such a cutie x

A rainy day is the perfect time to use the white back drop for a few shots.

Mummy & Sammy in the bedroom

Enjoying a family stroll along the Woodlesford Lock

On Saturday 3rd September I had a great day photographing Matthew and Julie with their two beautiful daughters: Lauren and Faith.  As soon as I arrived at their family home in Leeds and saw their beaming smiles and welcoming ways, I knew I would have a fab time working with them!  They were all a little nervous at first, which is quite common – being photographed is not something most people do everyday!  But the nerves soon disappeared as we discussed their ideas for the shoot and they realised we would have a fun time on the shoot – nothing to be scared about.(I’m hopefully not that scary!)

We started the shoot with a walk along a the Woodlesford Lock, which is somewhere that will always mean something to the family – as it’s a place they often visit.  We spent a couple of hours there capturing a variety of images.  We then headed back to the family home for some delicious lunch – ” Thanks so much Julie for making such a yummy lunch, it was greatly appreciated! ”

After lunch and a change of clothes we captured some studio style images using their funky bedrooms as personal and unique back drops.

I’m only showing a few of my favourite images in this blog post, keeping plenty of surprises for the families private viewing very soon.

” Thanks Julie and Matthew for a lovely day, your children were fantastic too, and I hope you are all happy with this sneak preview in to some of the results.  Also, I just want to say a special thank you to some of my wonderful portrait clients: ‘Rachel and Oliver’ for buying the photo shoot as a gift for Julie and Matthew. ”

Family time

Faith loves her big sister. x

Lovely Lauren

Giggles on a gate!

Gorgeous little Faith

Pretty in pink

Amazing eyes

A beautiful black & white

This expression on Faith made me laugh ... a lot!

Snuggles in the bed

Family time in the woods.

On Thursday 1st September I travelled to Ripon to photograph Emma and Paul with their three gorgeous children: Georgia, Lydia and little Toby.

The sun was shining and we had a wonderful time capturing many images that capture the individual personalities and characters of each of the children – and the pets!

We started the shoot by capturing photographs in and around the family home, with a variety of natural and studio lighting. After a few breaks and some delicious lunch (thanks so much for that Emma!)  We finished the shoot by heading to some nearby woods.

This family were brilliant fun throughout the day, I loved photographing them all, and I can’t wait to reveal the rest of the photographs (of which there are many!) to them in their private viewing at their home soon.

”  Emma and Paul – thank you so much for being such a a welcoming and lovely couple.  You have created a wonderful family, and it was a pleasure to meet you all! I’m so pleased that Sarah bought you a photo shoot as a gift. I hope you are happy with this sneak preview of some of the images. See you soon, Gemma ”

Lydia & her beautiful Palomino pony

Georgia & her favourite toy Piglet

Family cuddles & tickles

Gorgeous little Toby and his massive smile

Three lovely dogs.

A thoughtful Georgia

All the girls in a beautiful black and white

The girls

Family moments to treasure

The adorable gang

Hide & Seek

King of the castle

The last shot of the day. Toby is still smiling!