Tuesday, 27 February 2018

Portrait Photography Sessions Raising Funds For Bowel Cancer

Deborah James
The idea behind offering portrait photograph sessions is to raise money for Bowel Cancer UK / Beating Bowel Cancer, the UK's leading bowel cancer charity. My Mum was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2012, and this very soon became stage 4 when it spread to her left lung. Over the course of four and half years she had five major operations, and also CyberKnife treatment when the cancer spread to her brain. She passed away on August 29th 2016.

In May 2017 I met and photographed Deborah James for my forthcoming fundraising book,The Record. She was a truly inspirational woman, who had a very aggressive form of bowel cancer, and yet was so positive and full of laughter. Sadly Debs passed away on July 27th, but I think that the opportunity to photograph Debs, and others, probably planted the seed of the idea in my mind.

Much more needs to be done, both in terms of fundraising and raising awareness, to try and bring down the numbers of people that bowel cancer is taking. 41,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK, and 16,000 people are lost to bowel cancer each year. It is the second highest cancer killer, and yet if detected early it can be successfully treated in over 90% of cases. Less than 10% of patients detected at an advanced stage (stage 4) survive for more than five years.

With Spring fast approaching now is the perfect time to think about having some photos done. For the photo sessions I am offering two options. The standard portrait session will cost £25. I will travel to you, and take your family photos (pets included) in an outdoor setting. Included in the cost will be a link to the photos, which you will then be able to download, edit and print off to your own requirements.

The deluxe family photography session will cost £35. I will travel to you, and take your family photos (pets included) in an outdoor setting. I will edit the photos to your satisfaction. You will be able to choose two photos 8"x10" (or smaller if you wish) which will then be printed off and sent to you. Also included in the cost will be a link to the photos, which you will then be able to download, edit and print off to your own requirements.

I live in Berkshire, so any local setting is good. However I am happy to travel pretty much anywhere to take the photos, although long distance trips will have to be arranged at a mutually convenient time, and location to make them viable. All proceeds raised will be donated to the Beating Bowel Cancer charity.

Since I launched this idea about 6 months ago, I have done a wedding, a 50th birthday, and a number of one on one photo sessions. All of these have contributed to my fundraising total, which taking into account everything that is available to buy on my website, now stands at £3750.

For more information please use the contact form, or you can buy a session from bowelcancerfundraising.co.uk.