My Favourite Photographers 03: Rankin

Right then. Lara Jade and Kirsty Mitchell done, that's two down and one to go. I hope you enjoyed looking at their material as much as I do.

Part three of "My Favourite Photographers" is a man who most will potentially know of as you will probably have seen his images even if you don't know he was the man who took them.

He is a very popular portrait and fashion photographer by the name of Rankin and he has taken some of my favourite images ever...

Rankin
I first came across Rankin properly only a few years ago.

I store up pages from magazines sometimes if I find images I love or a technique I'd like to try working with, etc. as you might expect.

What happened was, I came across Rankin's website, when kind of just browsing through miscellaneous photographer sites one day and I found loads of my favourite images in his portfolio. These included this one of Florence Welch (of Florence + the Machine) which was my favourite image in my stack of magazine pages at the time:

I then got mad-obsessed and trawled though the whole website looking at all his images and with a child-like admiration for all the pretty. So much pretty.

You can see his work here (and in most magazines!):

www.rankin.co.uk

He's done some wicked work over the years and is a really likeable character as well which helps!

If you watch his videos, he's always laughing and joking around with everybody and is just, basically, a right geezer. XD

This is Rankin:

See! Top bloke.

All the celebrities seem to love him and get on with him on both a professional AND a personal level. They often raving on about how fun he is to work with and I find he always seems to have images of celebrities, including ones that are typically nervous characters, looking so relaxed and happy in his portraits...

You can see a load of his portraits here if you're interested in seeing what I mean.

One of my favourite images of Emma Watson is a prime example:

I love his use of light and contrast in a lot of his work. This is the kind of thing that I find particularly striking and is probably why I like his images so much, who knows:

His 'Beauty' portfolio on the whole is wicked...

Beauty

Speaking of beauty, he once did a wicked project called 'Ten Times Rosie' in which he photographed Rosie Huntington-Whiteley who is a STUNNING model and you may know her from her role as the new, less orange Megan Fox in the latest Transformers movie.
(missed a trick there though, Rankin. Could have called it Whole Lotta Rosie... Tsk.)

I love this collection anyway so I'm going to make you look at it...

... I might like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley a bit but don't tell anyone...

...

...

Anyway, finally, he's also got a magazine out now called 'HUNGER' which is a mammoth!

www.hungertv.com

Rankin seems a little bit fond of magazines. He actually sort of started out in fashion by launching a magazine called 'Dazed and Confused' with a chap named Jefferson Hack in the early 90's. They covered fashion, music and other media.

... And HUNGER is basically a monster-magazine. A bi-annual fashion/music/photography explosion.

It's currently in it's 3rd release...:

So that's kind of Rankin, really!

You can 'like' his Facebook page if you want to and you can browse his website for pictures of Dave Grohl, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Moss and Emma Watson...

Last little bit...:
Something that I find particularly inspirational, or perhaps re-assuring though... is that Rankin, is a fantastic photographer who has taken many fantastic images in his life... didn't pick up photography until he was 21!

This is a really great thing to learn when you're a bit of a late-starter like me and you're trawling through pictures that you can't even imagine taking. It makes you (it made me) realise that as long as the ideas and the passion is there, there's nothing stopping me becoming this good? Right?

I find myself thinking sometimes that I picked up my first camera pretty late, don't have a lot of cash to spend on the kit, don't have a lot of time to spend on the photography... but none of that matters because I love it. I love doing it. I would spend all my time taking pictures of people if it wouldn't get me arrested. Possibly even if it would.

Rankin has shown me that you don't have to pick up a camera from an early age and study photography through college and university to become good, you just need to find the passion.

Kirsty Mitchell has shown me that you don't need a lot of money to spend on kit to take breath-taking images, you just need to have some inspiration.

... and Lara Jade has shown me that you don't need to have a lot of time to do what you love... you just need to love doing it and you will make the time for what is important to you. You get the drive from wanting to do it.

Besides, I don't necessarily want to become world-famous...

... I just want to take fucking great images. ;D

My Favourite Photographers 01: Lara Jade

So I have a few favourite photographers, naturally, and so have decided that I am going to share these with you in the hope that you take from it perhaps what sort of standard of images and ideas I hope to one day achieve rather than disowning me after seeing how epic I could never become for any want of trying...

(I lay in corners sobbing to myself regularly after checking up on what these guys have been working on lately).

I've chosen three favourites to show you for now, each already pretty well-known in their own right. In these posts you will find some of my favourite images from each and, as always, a fair few words.

I'm starting with a very talented young(er than me and it kills me) lady by the name of Lara Jade.

Lara Jade
Lara Jade is particularly influential. I'll tell you why in a moment...

The image that 'introduced' me to Lara Jade, was this one:

Many people have since tried to 'rip it off' but I remember this one as 'the girl in a birdcage' as it is known, I believe. Also a favourite of fellow photographer, Matthew Stainer.

Lara Jade was interested in photography as of the age of about 15 and started her photography company in West Midlands, England when she was just 17 working to provide images of portraits and for book publishers, etc. but moved to London to expand her knowledge. experience and opportunities I know, I know, it makes it sound so easy, it makes me sick. XD

(One of my absolutely favourite images ever and if you like this, you will love the next photographer...)

She too has a blog which, though incredibly sparse, is infinitely better than this one. I mean really. Why are you still here? Honestly. I mean, I'm so grateful but, you just need to stop wasting your time. Nothing to see here folks, show's over...

This is where you should be:

Lara Jade's Blog

If you don't read it... despite having clearly carried on reading my blog... you'll read from about the beginning of 2010 where Lara Jade decides she's starting a fresh and working on her personal work a little more, plus arranging a few trips to New York to work on some exciting projects. At this point she doesn't realise how much of a journey it will take her on I think as she clearly falls in love with it enough to move out there in 2011!

(Another massive favourite. I ADORE this use of lighting).

She talks of the importance of social media to an artist and makes some valued points on quite how networking is one of the best mediums to get people eye-balling your work. Which is completely and utterly true.

And she is also known from the project in which she went 'head-to-head' with another young and rising photography name, Canadian 'Joey L' in a Photographer 'Shoot-Off' which, frankly, went a bit viral and resulted in an educational DVD!

Lara Jade vs Joey L

The two of them go through the different ways in which they both operate and put together their images under the pretence of travelling the world with several challenges to one-up each other on.

Since then, she has pretty much become world famous as a fashion and beauty photographer and now lives over in New York as of 2011 travelling all over the world working for clients such as Elle, Goldsmiths and Harper Collins and teaching photography workshops for the undeserving lesser humans, such as myself...

N.B. Would accept very expensive Lara Jade photography workshop as future birthday gift. Just sayin'.

Basically, she fah-king amazing.

AND, to boot, she looks like this:

Some people just don't even give the rest of us a chance, do they?

www.larajade.co.uk

Pure Curvation Shoot II: Yvonne Gumbere

On the 1st April, I went back for the 2nd Pure Curvation shoot of the year.


Today I was shooting Yvonne Gumbere, a reasonably new recruit at Pure Curvation. I picked Yvonne and Charmaine Charuma up from their homes and made my way to Pete Baldrey's for the shoot.


Now Yvonne is quite something. She was obviously a talented model from the first time that Pete worked with her a short while back and she didn't fall short on our shoot either.


Just a portfolio update but I have to say, the girl is fantastic.

Beautiful eyes, stunning figure and legs up to here...

She's just got it.

We just did the two outfits, the above, which you've seen, and then, Yvonne had this gorgeous dress.

 Towards the end of our reasonably short session, Yvonne also broke out the moves!

This left one being my favourite.

The photoshopping effect on the skin (left image) is pretty neat, I've found. It is done using a black and white adjustment layer and then a duplicate of the original layer on the top using the overlay blending technique. I find personally that it's a great effect on black skin (as it gives it a shiny, semi-metallic feel... on white skin, it just looks crap XD ) and on men (mainly when they have stubble) as it gives a kind of dirty, rough feel to their images.

So they were my picks from the shoot.

I would most definitely recommend Yvonne as a model. We had a very short time together and there were loads of fantastic choices from this shoot. She's very open, excitable, determined and also very talented (which helps). If you're looking for someone to liven up your image, Yvonne is your girl.

Yvonne can be booked at Pure Curvation. Just email bookings@purecurvation.com to enquire!

Stephanie Lindley: Train Station Girl

The long-awaited post.

I am fairly sure most of you will already know the story of how I came to meet Stephanie, or Steph as she is more commonly addressed...

I was on platform 4 of Basingstoke train station last October, trying to get to work in Brookwood. Previously, on the 2-3 occasions that I had travelled into work, I had left on the train at 8:25am and got there fine, however, this time, I was going in a bit later. I waited on platform 4 only to find that the train I needed left from platform 1 after 9am. So in short, I missed it. Damn. Not to worry though, I checked with an attendant and made my way to platform 1 to wait there for another 20 mins for the next train to Brookwood.


In the additional 20 minutes, Steph arrived on the platform with a short purple pixie-cut and long legs. I cursed myself immediately for not having a card on me. I thought it was a shame I was going to miss this one.


As I sat there, feeling very annoyed at myself, another train came for Southampton (?) I think. Steph started gathering her stuff and stood up waiting for the train to pull up and come to a halt.


I scrawled my email address and name on a post-it and went over to her to deliver, what was possibly, the most awkward sentence ever. I think it started something like: "This may sound weird, but hear me out..." and didn't get much better.


Well she took it and was very polite (though did check that it wasn't nude photography so I must give off a fairly substantial air of WEIRDO ALERT, as I suspected) but I was pretty sure as she got on the train that I was not going to hear from her again as I was aware that I potentially came across as a very keen lesbian.


I checked my emails fairly constantly that day. Nothing. Great, I thought, I blew it then.


I cracked on and put it to the back of my mind thinking perhaps she just hasn't got 'round to looking me up or isn't interested or something.


Then - I got an email (I think the next morning):


"In reply to your suggestions of modelling when we spoke at the train station yesterday, I am fairly new to this but would be happy if you could send me an email back of details and your expectations.


Stephanie Lindley"


Wicked. It was on!


We met up in Wetherspoons in Basingstoke to discuss ideas.
2nd time's a charm, eh Steph...?)


... And then 5 months later and here we are. I'd borrowed some Steampunk accessories from various folk. A beautiful All Saints dress from one, Lucile Kavanagh, an epic mono-goggle from Gavin Smith, a handgun made by Aldershot's Games Shop owner Rhys Knight, and half of LARP friend, Kate Evans' wardrobe. This was one of the looks we were going to try to create today.


But first, we got some beauty shots in the studio. Rachel using her brand new shiny RVB make-up kit. (Which looked amazing, by the way.)

If you are a budding make-up artist (or existing) you can enquire about getting your own RVB cosmetics into your kit by calling them on 01767 682288.

Or you can win some free stuff on their Facebook page here to get you started! You just need to 'like' and 'share' their page to enter the competition for your free kit.


Rach started out with some pinks and purples and gave Steph a really beautiful, and I think ethereal look.

The colour choice really made Steph's eyes stand out as they're a lovely sort-of amber colour. I already loved this make-up range.

And then Rachel added a bit more contrast and some eyelashes for a bit of fashion...


I then added about half a truckload of mousse in Steph's hair only to find myself happy with it as it was when we started. *sigh*


I love all of these, by the way. I'm going to just throw that out there.

Now do you see!?

This is why, sometimes, it is just worth looking like a complete psycho/nutter/creep/stalker at the train station!

OK, we were ready for Steampunk now.


We got Steph into Lucy's awesome dress and puffed it out with an underskirt, courtesy of Kate's wardrobe. We attached my old telescope and some assorted pouches and we headed out in the car. We pulled up at a lovely little area in Basingstoke that looked quite like countryside and had a suitable dirt road. Steph donned her mono-goggle and Rachel and I set up the 'set'.


Turned out, it was a wee bit COLD!


Steph's eyes were streaming, and I mean streaming with tears and so Rachel was very soon dabbing her tear ducts in between shots:

We got a few shots (about 25-30) and then we had to leave because, despite our efforts, Steph was turning into a human popsicle.


Not to mention, her make-up was running a treat.


We did get the following shot though before leaving..

So we aborted the location plans and had a quick go of this outfit back in the studio, and I have to admit, even though I had to scratch location off the plans to do it, I'm really pleased with the studio shots:

Another reason I'm chuffed with these is the lighting.

I kept the studio light on full power but only used the modelling bulb as my light source rather than triggering the flash. I then set my white balance to cloud compensation, creating a warm orange tint to the photos.

So that was my shoot with Steph.


I feel it was a huge success and personally can not WAIT to work with her again on another project. I definately enjoyed the shoot and am enjoying the results still.


... Now I just have to remember who's stuff is who's and return it all to it's rightful owners...