A Small Voice: Conversations With Photographers (exclusive member content)
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A Small Voice: Conversations With Photographers (exclusive member content)

Ben Smith

  • 191 Episodes
  • English
  • Last updated Aug 06, 2025
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262 - Rankin

Aug 13, 2025 • E262 • 01:34:42

John Rankin Waddell, or just Rankin, as he is more commonly known, 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, Zendaya and Queen Elizabeth II, 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.

In episode 262 Rankin discusses, among other things:

  • The magazine and show Faik, a first foray into AI
  • His love/hate relationship with AI imagery and why he uses it anyway
  • The way in which AI will also transform the music industry
  • The importance of critical thinking
  • The early days - starting Dazed & Confused
  • Using the magazine as a ‘Trojan Horse’
  • Being confrontational
  • Being a ‘dick’ and taking cocaine
  • Being saved by photography and fatherhood
  • Imposter syndrome and the benefit of losing it
  • Making a conscious decision not to be an ‘artist’
  • Teaching himself photography
  • Collaboration
  • Rankin Live - photographing 'normal' people
  • Being prolific
  • Personal Projects

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