Charmed by beauties of fantasy

Rankin revels in images of celebrities without worrying about truthful depiction.

A vast picture of the supermodel Gisele, body oiled and lips pouting, covers much of the wall behind Rankin's desk. It is an intimidating prospect for the mere mortals who step inside his London studio but the photographer reassures me that the Brazilian bombshell is not the most beautiful woman in the world. "That would be Kate [Moss]," he says. "She is drop-dead gorgeous. Definitely the most beautiful woman I've ever shot - apart from my wife, of course." And Rankin has shot them all, from Madonna to Michelle Pfeiffer, Keira Knightley to Kylie Minogue.

Celebrities have lined up to be photographed by Rankin. Preparing for a major retrospective of his work, Rankin has been flicking through some of his most iconic shots, including Hugh Grant looking guilty and dishevelled with his arm around a naked mannequin, Arnold Schwarzenegger chomping on a cigar, and, of course, the Queen, looking very much the modern-day monarch, beaming in front of a billowing Union Jack.

So how does he get his high-profile subjects, whose images are so tightly controlled, to loosen up? "I ask them to do things that no one else does. I asked Richard E. Grant to dress up as a woman because he is so effeminate. And I never go in with a preconceived idea of people. ... Most people are not what you think they are."

Tony Blair is his case in point. Shortly after Britain invaded Iraq in March 2003, Rankin was asked to photograph the then prime minister for a magazine cover. Expecting the king of spin to be eager to please, Rankin was disappointed. "I didn't get any of that Tony Blair charm I'd seen on TV. It was all very 'get on with it'. He was very distant and I thought he'd be charming. But it just goes to show, don't ever assume." In fact, the only thing that impressed Rankin was Blair's lack of an entourage, "though Alastair Campbell did call me afterwards", he says, rolling his eyes.

Even though Blair refused to play ball, Rankin had the measure of him. "I underlit him in some [of the photographs] so he looked very menacing, like a devil, and used more [light] in others, so he looked like a saint," he says smiling. The final front cover shot showed Blair looking gaunt, tense and drawn as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

Mikhail Gorbachev, on the other hand, was "a legend" to work with. Yet Rankin admits to being star-struck only once in his life - photographing Queen Elizabeth to commemorate her golden jubilee in 2002. "My family are Scots and traditionally we're not very supportive of the royal family, so I wasn't even sure whether I would wear a suit, as I've never worn one to photograph anyone before." In the end he wore one but was still loathe to bow to every royal convention. "I told one of her assistants that I was uncomfortable with the notion of bowing and asked if it would it be OK if I didn't. She said: 'She'll be fine with it but she'll be a bit disappointed'.

"I was waiting for her in the throne room and saw her walking down a long corridor with a tall footman who was escorting her and she was looking up at him and laughing, really laughing. She walked into the room and whoomph, without even realising, I was doing the whole bowing thing and trying to remember to say ma'am like 'jam'. ... She was jokey and funny and I was determined to capture that."

Born John Rankin Waddell, Rankin grew up in St Albans. He studied photography at the London College of Printing. "But I soon realised the only thing I was good at was portraiture because it was just the natural thing for me to talk to people and take photos." Now 43, he lives in London with his second wife, Tuuli Shipster, a model and long-time muse. He also has a 13-year-old son, Lyle, from his first marriage to the actress Kate Hardie. While supermodels are Rankin's bread and butter, he also shot the Dove "real women" campaign, which featured women of all shapes and sizes. "We have become too obsessed with the idea of beauty but I think women are starting to feel more relaxed about it - that it's all right not to be the perfect [size] 10. It was exciting to change the perception of what is beautiful but I did actually find those women really beautiful."

Retouching and airbrushing, he admits, are still part of the process but less so than during the super-skinny phase of a few years ago. "It's not just about sucking in bits any more - people want it to be subtle, they want to look real, not fake, but they do want a bit of help. And I've always said that photographs are fantasy, like watching a film. Photographs are not reality." Having shot everyone who is pretty much anyone, who is still left on Rankin's wish list? "Obama and Prince William, because now I'm really interested to meet him. Yeah, I know," he says laughing. "The Scot has been converted. Long live the Queen."

Rankin Retrospective is on at the Old Truman Brewery, London, from today.