Help us take this amazing self-funded campaign to Europe!!

Why Europe? Since the beginning of the project, numerous people from across the globe have been in touch, eager to participate. For some, travel is not an option – so I want to be able to take my camera to them. We are aiming to hold two shoot dates per city across Europe, travelling from A to B with my trusty little car.

Behind the Scars is an amazing photographic project that gives ordinary people an opportunity and platform to embrace their bodies, their scars and to tell their own personal stories that lie behind them.

In a society that is obsessed with perfection I openly challenge people’s perceptions with every photograph I take. I create raw, honest, unedited images of who we really are. Capturing the natural, flawed beauty of creation and beyond. I choose not to define beauty, but to show that beauty is far more complex than a simple definition. It is physical, yes, but also emotional. Anybody and everyone can be beautiful, and anyone and everyone IS beautiful. I want people to be able to identify with my images and to see that their flaws are beautiful too.

I am Sophie Mayanne. I am a 26-year old freelance photographer and the face, and camera behind ‘Behind the Scars’. It has been my passion and my focus for the last two years.

I have met so many exceptional people during this time, unique individuals with their own stories to tell. Some are heart-wrenching, others brave, inspiring or simply accepting of who they are now. Every story and every person will touch you personally.

I have photographed over 450 people and although the project has reached out to people across the world, being self-funded (and basically a one-woman band) funds have limited me to the UK.

With your help and support I would like to take my campaign to Europe!!

With your help we can make shoots in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and Milan a reality!! The more fund we raise the further we can go!!

With your help we can make this happen in early 2019!!

In the above image, you can see a selection of some of the incredible people who have shared their stories so far. To learn even more about the project, you can find our website here, and our Instagram here! If you can help make Behind The Scars in Europe a reality in other ways, please do get in touch!

Funds raise will go towards a trip around Europe, hosting shoots in London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam and Milan. Funds will go towards studio hire, accommodation and travel. Dates will be confirmed upon successful funding.