Rankin photography (interview)

Referring to my last post:
I wanted to go into a bit more depth when looking at the photographer Rankin. I wanted to look into why he took the photographs he did and the meanings and purposes behind them. Im interested in his inspirations, where they came from? He's general style of photography etc. I found an interview online that gave me the answers to some of my questions.

:-What would you say inspires you, where do you draw your inspiration from?
People inspire me. I'm really inquisitive about them, so just people, just meeting people is very inspirational.

:-How do you know when you have THE shot?
It's a gut instinct when everything comes together- you just feel it, and you know you have the shot.

:-What is or who are your major influences?
People are my major influence. I love meeting new people and getting inside their heads. The best models have great personalities and it really makes my job so much easier. In terms of photographers who have influenced me, the list is endless, but I would have to include Bailey, Avedon, Eggleston, Teller, Knight, Newton, Blumenfield, McCullin, Leibovitz, and Penn in my list.

:-How would you describe the Rankin style?
The Rankin style is that there is no style! I don't use a specific type of lighting, I don't use the same way of shooting all the time, apart from looking for the honesty in it. That's my signature really, the honest thing.

:- How do you take a good portrait?
When I'm photographing subjects, whether they are models, celebrities or regular people I always talk incessantly to the person in front of the lens. I do it mostly to get a reaction so that I can capture something about their personalities; every person will have a different reaction, a different outlook.

Having read this interview, I now have more of a clear view behind Rankin's shots and how he works in a studio. This was very helpful information for my project as I'm working towards doing a Fashion photo-shoot based around my own inspirations, my client profile, and my 'One Word'.