Rankin is a British photographer, publisher, and film director. Best known for work that is on the cultural cusp and leading future trends, he has produced rule-breaking campaigns for brands such as Rolls Royce, Unilever, L’Oréal, Lego, and Samsonite; created wide-reaching projects for charities including Women’s Aid and Macmillan; and shot music videos for the likes of Miley Cyrus, Rita Ora, and Kelis.
As a photographer, Rankin’s portfolio ranges from portraiture to documentary. He has shot The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Kate Moss, Kendall Jenner, and Zendaya, to name only a few. In 2023, Rankin photographed King Charles III to mark the monarch’s 75th birthday for The Big Issue magazine.
As a publisher, Rankin co-founded the seminal magazine Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack in 1990, and has since published the likes of AnOther and AnOther Man, alongside over 40 books and the fashion and culture publication Hunger.
His photography has been published everywhere from his own publications to Elle, Vogue, Esquire, GQ, Rolling Stone, and Wonderland, and exhibited in galleries globally, including MoMA, New York, and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
Rankin lives in London with his wife Tuuli and their dogs.
Contact
Whether it’s a photoshoot, or directing opportunities, contact Rankin & Co.
to discuss with us Rankin's availability for your upcoming campaign or creative project.
General or Press Enquiries: hello@rankin.co.uk or chelsea@rankin.co.uk
Syndication and Image Licensing: licensing@trunkarchive.com www.trunkarchive.com
Artwork Sale Enquiries: editions@rankin.co.uk or Publications Enquiries: books@rankin.co.uk
For any information regarding Rankin’s past work: archive@rankin.co.uk
REPRESENTATIVES
Europe: Rankin & Co.
hello@rankin.co.uk
www.rankin.co.uk
Germany and surrounding areas: René Hauser
info@renehauser.com
www.renehauser.com
USA: David Maloney
David@MaloneyArtistManagement.com
www.maloneyartistmanagement.com
Canada: Andrea Hutchins
Andrea@ahharepresents.com
www.ahharepresents.com
Timeline
1966 John Rankin Waddell born on 28th April
1982 Loses his virginity
1986 Takes first photograph
1987 Rankin’s first camera – a 21st birthday present
1989 Photograph of family outside their house – Rankin naked
1991 First exhibition at Colletion Gallery – called Blowup
1991 First issue of Dazed & Confused, founded by Rankin and Jefferson Hack
1995 Dazed & Confused move to Old Street
1996 Lyle Waddell born on 5th April
1996 Rankin photographs Kate Moss for first time
1998 Photographs Madonna for Q Magazine
1999 Rankin Nudes, Proud Gallery, London
2000 Snog published, exhibition at Rossi Gallery, London
2001 Male Nudes exhibition, film and book
2001 Rankin photographs Queen Elizabeth II on 6th December
2001 First issue of AnOther Magazine published, Autumn/Winter
2002 Visually Hungry exhibition, New York
2002 Bailey and Rankin exhibition at Proud Gallery, London
2003 Shoots Heidi Klum for first time, for Italian GQ
2002 Photographs Tony Blair, April
2003 Bailey and Rankin published
2003 Meets Tuuli Shipster on Elle McPherson Intimates shoot, May
2004 Directs first feature film, The Lives of The Saints
2004 Shoots ground-breaking Dove campaign with Ogilvy & Mather
2005 Starts going out with Tuuli Shipster, October 30th
2005 Rankin’s dad dies, December
2006 Rankin’s mum dies, January
2006 Tuulitastic published
2006 Me Me Me published
2006 First issue of AnOther Man
2007 Visually Hungry published
2007 Front Row exhibition at Southbank Centre, London
2008 Rankin travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo for Oxfam
2008 Chosen as Macallan’s first Master of Photography
2008 Oxfam Congo exhibition
2009 Rankin marries Madeleine Tuuli Shipster, 6th June
2009 Rankin Photography moves to Kentish Town, North London
2009 Rankin Live/Retrospective exhibition, Truman Brewery, 30th July-18th September
2009 Cheeky published
2009 Heidilicious published
2010 Oxfam – We Are Congo published
2011 Rankin and Damien Hirst publish Myths
2011 Hunger Magazine Issue 1 is released
2012 Releases books with Caroline Saulnier, Ayami Nishimura and Rolls Royce
2013 Alive in the Face of Death exhibition and documentary
2013 Interviewed for the BBC’s Desert Island Discs
2014 Starts short film series, Collabor8te
2014 F*ck Y*u is published plus exhibition
2015 Lessi is More exhibition in Germany
2015 Blood, Sweat and Bond is published for release of Spectre
2015 It’s Glam Up North exhibition at Museum of Liverpool
2015 Rankomat photobooth installed at Annroy
2016 Dazed 25th anniversary – Rankin shoots exclusive cover with Gigi Hadid
2016 Starts creative agency The Full Service
2016 Hunger Magazine releases 10th issue
2016 No Body’s Perfect by Rankin and Alison Lapper shown on BBC
2016 For Queen and Country published
2016 Hunger The Book published
2016 Light Up The Room exhibition at London’s Southbank Centre
2017 Design Red Nose Day merchandise for Comic Relief
2017 Naked exhibition at Kunsthuis Amsterdam
2017 Starts Tonic Post and Tonic Reps
2017 Heidi Klum by Rankin published
2017 The Cast published in partnership with BIFA
2018 Unfashionable published with Rizzoli
2019 Selfie Harm project
2019 Rankin launches his creative agency, RANKIN
2019 Rankin: From Portraiture to Fashion, 29 Arts in Progress, Milan
2020 Portraits of NHS workers who responded to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020 Embrace Published
2020 Play Published with Rizzoli
2020 Rankin’s 2020 TV show and book
2021 Great British Photography Challenge for BBC4
2021 The Joy of Later Sex For Relate
2021 Hunger Magazine launches 20th issue
2021 Penthouse Salon launches
2021 Performance by Rankin Exhibition and Publication launches
2022 VISUAL NOISE by Rankin opens
2022 LEGO: 90 Years of Play
2023 The Dazed Decades: 1990 - 2013 Exhibition and Publication launches
2023 Zeitsprünge Leica Exhibition opens
2023 Rankin’s online course with BBC Studios, BBC Maestro: An Introduction To Photography launches
2023 Mathmos x Rankin Limited Edition Astro Lava Lamp is released
2023 Rankin and Movember collaborate for their 20th anniversary campaign
2023 Rankin photographs King Charles III commemorating his 75th birthday for the cover of The Big Issue
2023 Rankin Live pop-up store opens in Carnaby Street for Christmas
2024 Rankin opens The Dazed Decades 1990 - 2001 in London and its accompanying exhibition, Back In The Dazed.
2024 Rankin photographs nominees and winners at the Olivier Awards
2025 Rankin photographs nominees and winners at the GRAMMYs
2025 Rankin launches FAIK Magazine, an AI explorative magazine and exhibition
2025 Rankin and Hunger Magazine launch their 35th anniversary and exhibition, Back To Reality
2025 Rankin launches The Prompt with EY, a creative AI magazine launched at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025
FAQs
How did your upbringing shape you?
Growing up working-class in Glasgow instilled a serious amount of resilience in me, and a real kind of empathy for outsiders. It also gave me a pretty good bullshit detector, which has served me well over the years, believe me.
Did you always see yourself as creative?
Not really, no. Growing up in Glasgow in the 70s and 80s, being ‘creative’ wasn’t exactly presented as a viable career option. You just didn’t see it. But I was always looking for ways to express myself, to get something out. I just didn’t have the language for it. The tools, the vocabulary.
What first inspired you to pick up a camera?
Can you believe it? I started out studying accountancy, absolute nightmare! At 21, I dropped out, picked up a camera for the first time, and it was like a lightbulb switched on in my imagination. So I left accountancy, went back home, got a load of menial jobs, and started retraining as a photographer. What truly got me into photography was this burning need to understand people. It was about connection. I always felt a bit on the outside, a bit of an observer, but with a camera, you're ‘allowed in’. It's like a passport to places and conversations you wouldn’t otherwise have. Photography, to me, it's an addiction. I get jittery after a couple of days without a camera.
First camera? First proud photo?
My first proper camera was a Praktica, a real workhorse. And my first photo I was truly proud of… probably this one.
Was there a moment you knew photography was your path?
Oh, absolutely. The first time I saw an image slowly appear, that moment of magic as it developed on the paper... it was instant addiction. It felt like discovering something truly, utterly magical. It just clicked.
What was your time at university like? Is a degree necessary?
I loved uni. It really helped me form an idea of what I wanted to do with my life. That was the real, true value of it. The degree itself? Not essential, no. I'm not precious about that. But finding your voice, meeting other creative minds, collaborating. That is absolutely crucial. That is what sticks with you. That community.
Who influenced you?
So many people, too many to mention. The whole punk movement, that DIY attitude. Magazines like Oz, Nova and Interview. I’ve always been influenced as much by music and attitude as by photography itself. It’s all connected, isn’t it?
When and why did you start Dazed & Confused?
It was 1991. Jefferson Hack and I were at college, working on the college magazine, and we were just in the right place at the right time. The advent of desktop publishing was happening. As Apple brought out better and better tech, we suddenly became capable of making a magazine. We thought, if we can do it for the student union, we can do it for ourselves. That, plus there had been a recession in the UK and there weren’t a lot of jobs in mainstream media. And also, we were seeing things very differently from other creatives. We were seduced by style magazines, but we really loved art, and that was a new way of looking at the glossy mag market.
What was the 90s like for you?
Electric. Absolutely electric. Everything just felt possible. There was this incredible sense of energy. It was messy, it was fast, and it was incredibly collaborative. People were just making things happen and influencing each other. I loved it!
What was your big break?
Starting Dazed itself. We didn’t wait around for anyone’s permission. We just went out and did it. That’s often how the biggest breaks happen. You make them yourself. But I really don’t believe in big breaks!
Why launch HUNGER magazine?
Because I still had the hunger to create!
Why books and print in a digital world?
Because it’s tangible. It’s permanent. You can hold it in your hands, feel the paper, smell the ink. In a world full of fleeting digital images, there’s something incredibly powerful and lasting about a physical object. Everything that’s real is always more valuable.
Why directing?
To tell more layered stories. Photography captures a moment, but directing allows you to build a bigger world, to explore a narrative over time.
Does photography influence your directing?
One hundred percent. Although not as much as you would probably think it does. Strangely for me, directing is much more about capturing a moment and a feeling than I think photography is.
What’s a RankinLIVE? Why did you create it?
It is a unique live portraiture experience that I conceived to democratise the art of the portrait, making high-quality, authentic photography accessible to absolutely everyone, regardless of background or budget.
Practically speaking, it typically takes the form of pop-up studio events, often in public spaces, where I photograph individuals with minimal fuss and maximum energy. It is a fun, fast-paced, and deliberately unfiltered session. Unlike traditional, often highly stylised portraiture, it embraces immediacy and rawness. There are no airs and graces, no lengthy processes, just a direct and immediate connection between photographer and subject. The images are typically less retouched, celebrating natural beauty and individual character.
I created RankinLIVE because I felt there was a disconnect in the world of portrait photography. I wanted to strip away the pre-tense and elitism often associated with professional portraiture and bring the raw energy and connection of a photoshoot directly to a wider audience. It is my way of making photography less intimidating and more inclusive, allowing anyone to experience the power of a professional portrait and to see themselves through a celebrated photographer’s lens without the usual barriers. It is about celebrating individuality and the joy of spontaneous creation.
Describe your style.
Trying to find honesty in the lies!
Why portraiture?
Because people are endlessly fascinating. I love the psychology of it, trying to get into their heads. To see what’s really there. Every portrait is a tiny window into that. It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter.
Digital or film?
Both, absolutely. Film taught me discipline, that slow, methodical process, really thinking about every shot. Digital, though, gives me freedom. It allows for experimentation, for instant feedback and that raw energy. I’m not precious. I use whatever tool is right for the job.
How do you build trust on set?
Collaboration, working with the person, not against them. You just have to be real. Listen. Laugh. People can tell when you’re genuinely interested in them, when you’re not just there to take something.
Typical shoot?
Organised chaos, I’d call it. We always have a plan, of course, but there’s always plenty of room for accidents, for play, for things to just happen. You have to be open to that. That’s often where the best stuff comes from.
Stills vs. moving image?
They’re just very different tools for the same job: storytelling. Whether it’s a single frozen moment or a sequence of moving pictures, it’s all about communicating, expressing an idea.
Image-maker or storyteller?
Both. You can't really separate them, not for me. Every image tells a story, and every story needs compelling images. Even written ones with descriptions.
Editorial vs. advertising?
Editorial is where you get to express yourself, where the creativity can really flow. Advertising is more about problem-solving and communicating. You’ve got a brief, a product, and you’re finding the most impactful way to communicate that. Both have their challenges and their rewards.
How do you take a good portrait?
You’ve got to be present. You’ve got to truly see them. And don’t overcomplicate it. Strip away the distractions and focus on the human in front of you. Make them feel comfortable and that you are collaborating with them.
Timing or vision?
Vision, absolutely. But timing definitely helps, doesn’t it? You can have the greatest vision in the world, but if the moment isn’t right, it won’t translate and vice versa.
How do you know you’ve got the shot?
You just feel it, this shift. It’s almost instinctual.
Instinct or strategy?
Instinct first. Always trust that gut feeling. But then you need strategy to sustain it, to turn that raw instinct into something tangible and lasting.
Advice for young photographers?
Work harder than anyone else. Be kind; it makes a huge difference. Stay curious, always. And for God’s sake, don’t copy. Find your own voice. The playing field is pretty flat now, everybody’s starting off at the same point. So make your work unique.
Avoid burnout?
Take time off. Don’t use social media too much. Be bored. It’s the best form of rejuvenation.
Internships?
Yes, absolutely. But right now we aren’t taking any I’m afraid!
Defining moment?
None yet!
Charity work?
I think it’s incredibly important to give back. For me, it’s about using what I do, my platform, to help others feel seen, to give a voice to those who need it.
How to get commissions?
Show your work, get it out there. Build relationships, networking is crucial. And don't be afraid to ask. You've got to be proactive, you can't just sit and wait.
Portfolio for agencies?
Absolutely no one will ever hire you to do something you’ve not done before!
Thoughts on AI in visual culture?
It’s exciting, and it’s a bit scary, isn’t it? It’s forcing us to ask fundamental questions about what’s real, about authorship, about where creativity truly lies. Morally, you feel bankrupt, but if you don’t use it, you probably will go bankrupt. It’s a wild west out there.
How will AI change photography?
It’ll change how we work, no doubt. It’ll change the tools, the processes. But the core of what we do? Photography, at its heart, is about connection. It’s about the human element, the interaction between the photographer and the subject, and that can’t be automated. That’s what will become even more valuable. Real photography by masters of the craft will endure because that type of work lives across all media and mediums.