Don’t take a photo, give it.

That’s the motto of the Help Portrait movement. Founded in the USA but taken up by people around the world it has become a way for the photography community to give back and use their talents to help others. A photoshoot is a wonderful way of paying attention to someone in a very personal way and making them feel significant. It’s also a great fun experience and the memories from it can last a lifetime.

The Passage is London’s largest charity helping and guiding homeless and vulnerable people everyday. We wanted to give our time to those people who are often ignored by society and leave them with an experience to remember – as well as some great photos. So we descended on the center in Victoria and set up a full photo studio inside. Every person to step in front of my camera was amazing. They were awesome people who really embraced the experience. We had some singing Elvis to us, a few telling us their story, and others posing in the most exuberant way. I love the photos we made together. We printed the images for each of them to keep and we will be sharing the photos online to help raise awareness of the work the Passage does.

To donate to the Passage please head over here: http://passage.org.uk/donate/

Mim Quin-Harkin – stylist
Pascale Recher – Make-up
Katherin Cotton – organising
Liam Bergin – production
Angela Dennis – photo assistant
Colin Chan – retouching
Pete @ Picturepulse.com – BTS video
Tildy Allan – assistant
Fotospeed – paper donation