Rankin

Early life and education

Rankin was born in Glasgow. In 1976, his family moved to Yorkshire, where he attended Thirsk School. They again relocated, to St Albans, where he studied at Beaumont School.

He worked as a hospital porter when he was 21, and studied accounting at Brighton Polytechnic until he realised his interests lay elsewhere and dropped out.

Rankin took up photography on a BTech course at Barnfield College in Luton, and then a BA course at the London College of Printing. He did not graduate from either.

Celebrity portraits

Rankin's portraiture includes:

columns-list|colwidth=15em|* The Queen Adele Damon Albarn Nicole Appleton LeBron James Gisele Bündchen Quentin Crisp Miley Cyrus Robert Downey Jr. Future Hugh Grant Debbie Harry Kendall Jenner Jude Law Helen Mirren Kate Moss Jade Parfitt Rolling Stones Chloë Sevigny Sheridan Smith U2 Liv Tyler Jason Wu

Music videos Rankin has directed music videos for artists including:-

columns-list|colwidth=15em|* Iggy Azalea Cheryl Cole Sky Ferreira Future Kelly Rowland

In 1991, Rankin and fellow London College of Printing student Jefferson Hack launched the magazine Dazed & Confused. They drew upon their experience with earlier college magazine Untitled.

He launched his own fashion magazine, Rank, in 2000. Rankin is also publisher of AnOther Magazine and AnOther Man. In 2011, he founded Hunger.

Rankin has published over forty photobooks including Female Nudes (1999), Rankin Male Nudes (2000), Breeding: A Study of Sexual Ambiguity (2004), and Beautiful (2007).

In 2011, Rankin was the photography teacher in Jamie's Dream School on Channel 4. He then presented the BBC Four documentary America in Pictures – The Story of Life Magazine.

He travelled to South Africa for the 2012 BBC documentary South Africa in Pictures.

BBC Four broadcast his 2014 documentary Seven Photographs That Changed FashionI, in which he created tributes to images by Cecil Beaton, Erwin Blumenfeld, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, David Bailey and Guy Bourdin. Rankin interviewed some of the original photographers, models and assistants, and used contemporary models.

Rankin is a regular photographer and guest judge on Germany's Next Topmodel.

He hosted the 2021 Great British Photography Challenge on BBC4.

Films

Rankin has directed films including:

He produced visual art for Spectre.

Rankin has exhibited at galleries including MoMA, New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

In June 2025, he hosted his exploration of AI and its implications in his Faik exhibition at Annroy studios, giving away to visitors 1,000 free copies of his 'Faik Free' books exploring the topic.

This was immediately followed by his contrasting Back To Reality photography exhibition in the same space, celebrating 35 issues and 15 years of Hunger magazine.

Commercials Rankin and his production team have created for brands including:-

columns-list|colwidth=15em| Aston Martin Belstaff Nike Umbro What's It Going To Take?, and Valentine's Day campaigns.

Nike and Product Red commissioned him to shoot their 2012 HIV/AIDS campaign, Lace Up, Save Lives.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Rankin shot portraits of NHS staff to celebrate their work.

He was a judge for 2021's Holocaust Memorial Day Trust Light Up The Darkness competition.

Rankin has photographed campaigns for Amnesty International; the Institute of Cancer Research; Oxfam; the Teenage Cancer Trust, and Breast Cancer Awareness for the cover of The Big Issue to highlight the Coronation Food Project.

Studio

In 2009, Rankin developed Annroy, a contemporary building in Kentish Town . It was designed by Trevor Horne Architects and incorporates Rankin's photographic studio and gallery. The name is a portmanteau of his parents' given names.

Personal life

Rankin was married to actress Kate Hardie from 1995 to 1998. Since 2009, he has been married to model and yoga teacher Tuuli Shipster.

He is a supporter of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, where his wife volunteers, and has donated a series of photographs to the charity.

Awards Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society (2002) Co-awardee for Best Advertising and Best Editing – London Fashion Film Festival (2015) Lifetime Achievement Award - Mercedes-Benz Bokeh Fashion Film Festival (2016) British Photography Awards Fellowship (2019)