Family Photographer of the Year 2026 | Boom Awards Derbyshire

I still can’t quite believe I’m writing this, but I have something amazing to share with you.

I won Family Photographer of the Year at the Boom Awards 2026!

There are some moments in business where you have to stop, take a breath and let yourself feel proud, and this is definitely one of them.

Being recognised by Boom Magazine as Family Photographer of the Year is such an incredible honour, and I genuinely feel so grateful. But while the award has my name on it, I honestly don’t feel like I won it alone.

A huge thank you to Boom Magazine Derbyshire

First of all, a massive thank you to the team at Boom Magazine Derbyshire for recognising local businesses and celebrating the incredible people behind them.

Awards like these shine a light on small, local businesses across Derbyshire and Staffordshire, and the passion, hard work and dedication that goes into building something from the ground up. Being named Family Photographer of the Year is something I will be incredibly proud of for a very long time.

Thank you for seeing what I do and believing it deserves to be celebrated.

You can find Boom Magazine Derbyshire on Instagram at @boom_magazine_ltd

What the awards evening was actually like

I have to tell you a bit about the night itself, because it genuinely made the win mean even more.

One of my favourite parts of the evening was getting to sit with some of the judges and actually talk to them about how the whole thing was judged. I’ll admit, I went into the night not really knowing what happened behind the scenes, but hearing it from them made me appreciate the award so much more.

Every application and nomination was reviewed properly, on a fair, structured point system. The judges genuinely took the time to sit with each entry rather than just skimming through and picking a favourite. Each judge scored the categories separately, based on points, and it was only when everything was added together that a winner emerged.

What really struck me was that the judges themselves didn’t know who had won until the evening.

No behind-the-scenes stitch-up. No favourites picked in advance.

It was all decided fairly, by the numbers, before anyone in that room knew the outcome. Sitting there hearing that made the win feel even more special, because I knew it genuinely reflected the work and the families behind it, not just a popularity contest.

This award really belongs to my families

If you’ve ever stepped in front of my camera, handed me your baby, brought your children along for a family session, or trusted me to capture an important chapter of your family’s life.

Thank you

This award belongs to you too. Whether you travelled from a village in the Derbyshire Dales, popped over from Uttoxeter, or made the trip from anywhere else across Staffordshire and Derbyshire, you chose to trust me with your most precious people, and you let me into some of the most important moments of your lives.

Photography is such a personal thing. Whether I’m photographing a tiny newborn, a growing family, a first birthday, a maternity session or those everyday family connections, I never take that trust for granted.

Every family who books me becomes part of the Gemma Yeomans Photography story. And that’s something I’m incredibly grateful for.

Why family photography means so much to me

I’m not just a family photographer, I’m a mum too, and a busy one at that!

I’m a mum of three, so I know first-hand just how quickly childhood goes. One minute they’re tiny enough to fit in your arms, and the next they’re taller, louder, and raiding the fridge every five minutes.

It’s one of the reasons I feel so strongly about photographs.

The days might be long, but the years really are short. Family photography gives you something tangible to hold onto, whether that’s tucked away on your phone or hanging on the wall of your home here in the Midlands.

My approach to family photography

Winning Family Photographer of the Year has made me reflect on what I want every family who comes to my Derbyshire studio, right on the Staffordshire border, to experience.

I never want your photography session to feel like hard work.

You don’t need to arrive knowing how to pose. You don’t need perfectly behaved children. You don’t even need to be particularly comfortable in front of a camera.

My approach is relaxed, fun and natural. Sometimes the photographs I love most aren’t the ones where everyone is looking at me. They’re the ones where someone is laughing. Someone is cuddling. Someone is pulling a silly face. Someone is looking at the person they love.

From newborns to family portraits

Although family photography is such a huge part of what I do, my work takes me through so many different stages of family life, for families right across Derbyshire and Staffordshire.

From maternity and newborn photography to sitter sessions, cake smashes and family portraits, I get to watch families grow.

Some families come back year after year. I’ve photographed babies who have returned as toddlers. I’ve photographed families who have added new members. I’ve watched little personalities emerge and grow.

Being invited back to document those milestones, session after session, is one of the biggest compliments a photographer can receive.

An award-winning family photographer in Derbyshire

I’m incredibly proud to be able to call myself an award-winning family photographer, serving families across Derbyshire and Staffordshire. But the award doesn’t change why I do what I do.

I still want the same things I’ve always wanted:

• To make you feel comfortable
• To capture your children exactly as they are
• To create photographs that make you laugh, smile, or maybe even shed a little tear
• And most importantly, to create photographs that you’ll still love looking at years from now

So what’s next?

If there’s one thing this award, and that conversation with the judges, has reminded me, it’s just how lucky I am to do this job, and how much care goes into recognising it properly.

I’ve been photographing families since 2014, and I genuinely can’t imagine doing anything else.

So here’s to the next chapter of Gemma Yeomans Photography.

More babies. More families. More muddy outdoor adventures. More studio giggles. More cuddles. More memories. And hopefully plenty more photographs that make you say, “that’s so them”.

Thank you

To every single family who has trusted me with their memories, from right across Derbyshire and Staffordshire, thank you.

To everyone who has recommended me to a friend, shared my work, left a review, liked a photograph, or simply followed along with my little photography business, thank you.

And to Boom Magazine Derbyshire for naming me Family Photographer of the Year 2026, and for such an honest, fair and well-run evening.

Thank you. What an honour. I’m going to enjoy this one!

Gemma x

Gemma Yeomans Photography Award-winning newborn and family photographer in Ashbourne, Derbyshire

Book a family photoshoot in Derbyshire

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