If you happen to be in London this Friday (July 31), why not call in at the Old Truman brewery, where for the modest sum of 10 pounds (around $20) you will be granted entrance to Shoot Me Rankin, ‘a live and interactive photo-shoot experience in which previously selected members of the public will be shot by Rankin and their images immediately added to the exhibition.’
 July 27, 2009: If you happen to be in London this Friday (July 31), why not call in at the Old Truman brewery, where for the modest sum of 10 pounds (around $20) you will be granted entrance to Shoot Me Rankin, ‘a live and interactive photo-shoot experience in which previously selected members of the public will be shot by Rankin and their images immediately added to the exhibition.’ But what’s a Rankin? What’s a live and interactive photo shoot experience? How were the members of the public previously selected? Why was Photo Review here in Australia sent a document called ‘Rankin Live – Virals’ about an event in London. (And should we take some antivirals just in case?) First question first. Rankin is the ‘brand’ of a photographer formerly known as JR Waddell. You have to concede that ‘Rankin’ has more cut-through than Waddell, though this one-name gimmick is risky. Prince and Bono and even Pink get away with it because they are, well, Prince and Bono and Pink, but Rankin…? The Rankin ouvre is strong on lingerie, nudes, fashion – and young, mainly minor celebrities mugging furiously at the camera. He has inveigled Jarvis Cocker (from Britpop band, Pulp) and several other people who are apparently well-known in London to appear in short videos on how to behave when you are getting your photo taken. This primarily involves flapping your arms around a lot and looking either startled, cross or bored stupid. So that’s Rankin. On to the ‘preselected members of the public’ (ie, unfamous, ordinary folk) and the ‘live and interactive photo shoot, etc, etc’: If you wanted to be involved in this whole circus (and who wouldn’t?) you must first submit an image of yourself to the Rankinlive.com website. By doing so, you will relinquish total ownership of said image: All photographs appearing on this site are the exclusive property of JR Waddell trading as Rankin Photography and are protected under the international copyright laws. Any images submitted to this site will further give JR Waddell and persons acting on his behalf the right to use and publish these photographic images for Rankin Live, for exhibitions, books, websites and press relating to the promotion of Rankin Photography and Rankin Live. I further release Rankin Photography, or others for whom they are acting, their legal representatives, successors and all persons and corporations acting with their permission, from any claims for remuneration associated with photographic images I have supplied. In fact, once you submit an image to the website, the breathtakingly one-sided Terms and Conditions seem to say you can no longer use it for any purpose yourself. But it will all be worth it if you are selected to front up at the Old Truman brewery and get the Rankin treatment. And all it will cost you is 50 quid. For that you get a print (4×6? 5X7?) of Rankin’s image of you, and Rankin gets another image for his exhibition – model fee-free. How cool is that?
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