WITH the ‘no makeup selfie’ craze becoming such a success, raising over £8m so far for Cancer Research UK, Warrington based photographer Paul Jackson couldn’t wait to get involved.
He even posed himself (pictured right) in a ‘made up selfie’ in support of all the ladies that had taken part in the fundraising and offered five free studio shoots with a free professional make over from MUA Kelly Green of Kelly’s Beautique, with Four seasons florist also supplying each winner with a beautiful bouquet of pink flowers. 
The sole purpose was to encourage those that were taking part and to give a little something back to people who were donating their money to the charity and also raising awareness about the disease that currently kills around 7.6 million people worldwide every year.
The trend was started when Fiona Cunningham, an 18-year-old mum, set up a No Make Up Selfie For Cancer Awareness Facebook page and encouraged others to post shots of themselves and donate £3 to Cancer Research UK.
Facebook users tagged their photos to enter into a special prize draw and five names were picked at random for the special shoot, which took place in Paul’s studio located in Bewsey business centre.
One of the winners, Chloe Plunkett, was pictured in her ‘selfie’ with another young lady, Lana Grace Robinson aged 13 from Golborne. She was offered a special extra place in the photo shoot after Paul, who runs Unit 8 Photography, heard how she herself had been affected by cancer, losing her mum when she was just 11 years old. Andrea Robinson was 38 when she lost her seven year battle with Lymphoma and Sarcoma. One thing that each person on the day did have in common was that they had all been affected in some way by the big C.
Deborah Spencer from Penketh, said “I think the no make-up selfie campaign is a great way to bring more awareness to breast cancer. Any way of raising funds, and helping people to spot the warning signs early is always a good thing. I couldn’t believe it when I won a place on the shoot. It was a fantastic day. So professional but so personal. Couldn’t have put us anymore at ease. I can’t wait to go back for another session, can’t recommend them enough!!”
On the day the women all spent around 30 minutes having a personal shoot done and afterwards they all had a group shot together. They were offered an array of refreshments bought in from local shops and all had a great time having their make overs done and getting ‘glammed’ up.
Sonya Hurst from Burtonwood helped host the event and added “The atmosphere was brilliant and everybody got on really well, Paul has a great way of making you feel relaxed. We were all really nervous, even I was and I was only making tea! But within a few minutes everybody starts to really enjoy themselves and get into it. The people in the local business community pulled together and offered their services for free to make the day really special for everybody involved. It was a pleasure to be a part of something so exciting.”
It seems another thing that all these ladies have in common now is that they will be back using Paul for any future photography they will be having!
Top picture shows the lucky winners after their make overs.
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