Portraits I - Portraits II - Covers - Beauty I - beauty II - Fashion - advertising - Rankin Live - Charities
In 2009, Rankin launched RankinLIVE, the most ambitious project he had ever undertaken. He invited real members of the public in front of the camera and captured their portraits, from shooting to hanging on the wall in just 15 minutes. At the first RankinLIVE in London, Rankin photographed over 1,800 people before rolling it out in cities around the world, including London, Cannes, New York, Los Angeles, Düsseldorf and Mexico City. Since then, businesspeople, parents, children, dogs, artists, dancers and many others, as well as celebrities, have taken part in RankinLIVE. In 2010, Rankin published a book featuring some of these shoots, dedicated to the women he had photographed throughout the year.
In 2021, Rankin expanded the project further with PERFORMANCE: RankinLIVE x West End Theatre, one of his most ambitious projects to date. Produced in partnership with the Mayor of London and the Society of London Theatre as part of the #BackOnStage campaign, PERFORMANCE was a bold celebration of the capital’s world-leading theatre industry and its post-pandemic recovery. Rankin photographed up to 200 subjects drawn from a multitude of productions and venues across central London, from star actors, dancers, writers, directors and producers to costume, sound, lighting and set designers, puppeteers, technicians, dressers, stage managers, front of house staff and many more. The programme also included live photo shoots, a city-wide exhibition, interviews, a book launch and a charity auction, all in support of the Theatre Artists Fund and youth homelessness charities in London.
In July 2022, Rankin presented the immersive exhibition Outernet x RankinLIVE: The Pride Sessions, held at Outernet London. Featuring photography by Rankin, Jordan Rossi and Joshua Heavens Onabowu, with interviews conducted by Rossi and author Matthew Todd, the show celebrated the voices and stories of the LGBTQ+ community in real time. Then, exclusively on Carnaby Street for Christmas 2023, Rankin brought the RankinLIVE Experience to the British high street in a pop-up store, offering members of the public a unique opportunity to be directed and photographed by Rankin himself on one of London’s most iconic streets.
RankinLIVE has continued to capture participants at Rankin’s photographic studio, across London festivals such as Art Car Boot Fair and The Other Art Fair, at Picture People studios in Hamburg and Cologne, through special events like RankinLIVE x Honor 200, and most recently at Cannes 2025 in partnership with EY, where participants were photographed by Rankin and then immortalised as AI sculptures.
To register your interest for future RankinLIVE photo sessions for yourself, a family member, friend or even your dog, please head to the link below.