RANKIN . Ray Winstone Ray is an old acquaintance of mine. Somebody you can really rely on to make you laugh. He's often portrayed by the media as a hard man but he's also a bit of a softy. This picture was him playing up to his public persona in a tongue-in-cheek way. Debbie Harry She is simply one of the most beautiful women alive Meltdown The art director for the book, (David James) I originally shot this series for hated it, so we ran it in Dazed & Confused instead. Don't ask me how we did it - it's a secret! The Queen I was invited to photograph The Queen as one of a few photographers, celebrating her Golden Jubilee. I had 5 minutes with her and was so aware of trying to be respectful. While I was shooting my sync lead fell out and she smiled. I instantly knew that was how I wanted to capture her and spent the next few minutes saying, "Ma'am please could you smile for me?" His favourite portraits of all time Arnold Schwarzenegger I was shooting Arnie for a job and asked him to pose for some extra shots. He happily obliged. I seem to remember him telling mother-in-law jokes all day which was very bizarre! Alexander McQueen I was shooting a project for Lee inspired and about the women he loved. This image was taken at the end of that day, I remember he was quite reluctant because he didn't like having his picture taken. I hadn't photographed him before and never did again, so this image is really special to me. Photos like this are a reminder that it's not always about celebrity but documenting truly great artists - I wish I had the chance to shoot him more!  Joe Strummer Joe was a friend of a friend and I've always been a massive fan. I got the chance to take his press shots and we got on really well. Sometime after, I had a run-in with Hooky from New Order at a party. Joe stepped in and said, “leave him alone, he's one of the best photographers I've ever met!” It was a rare moment when I felt I might  just be doing something right. Mikhail Gorbachev I waited to shoot Gorbachev in his office. On the wall was a portrait of him taken by one of my heroes Yousuf Karshheroes Yousuf Karsh. Gorbachev walked in the room, looked at me, looked at the photograph on the wall and said, “Do you think you can do better than that then?” I tried! Jarvis Cocker This was shot for Jarvis' last album cover. He likes to get involved in the artistic side of the shoots and comes up with lots of ideas on how he wants the image to look. Here Jarvis was playing on his height and the perception that he's quite gangly. He is truly one of the most creative men I've met in my career. Beth Ditto Beth is a true fashion icon. I find the trend for super skinny models very disconcerting and unhealthy. Beth is an amazing example of a person who isn't the idyllic size six but still looks fantastic! See more of RANKIN’s personal-favourite portraits in next month’s magazine. All of our advertising is certified by Google and therefore may be viewed safely.