Celebrity photographer Rankin has taken school day portraits for seriously ill children at Great Ormond Street Hospital to ensure they do no “miss out on the normal things”.
Rankin, who has photographed famous faces ranging from Queen Elizabeth II to the Rolling Stones, snapped traditional school day-style photos to help capture important “milestone moments” for children at Gosh and their families.
The children were striking poses in front of white screens, bright lights and powder blue backdrop set up by the British photographer as he captured professional portraits of the young people.
“Children who are seriously ill shouldn’t miss out on those milestone moments especially having a photograph taken because you want to remember this stuff even if you don’t like it and it’s difficult. You want to have the memory,” he told the PA news agency.
“The (Gosh) charity invited me to take some photographs of children who have serious illnesses specifically because we want them to have the opportunity to have normal life experiences whilst they’re ill.”
He said meeting the children was “extraordinary” and “very humbling” and hopes the photo day helped bring a sense of normality to young people living with health issues.
“You don’t want them to miss out on the normal things and having fun really helps them,” he said.
“Photographs are these brilliant things. They’re like little packages that go through time and space and they really help you contextualise and have a memory of what was going on,” he said.
“I think especially when you’re going through a critical illness, to be able to do something as normal as having your school photograph taken… that’s a special thing to be able to give to the kids.”
He added the photos can help people understand the work of the Gosh Charity, which aims to fund research and provide support for families for children living with serious illnesses.
Rankin hopes to create memories and capture milestones through photography and said looking back at old photos is “one of my favourite things”.
“I don’t really think about photographs as just commercial pieces of marketing or even as art. I always think about them as creating memories,” he said.
“For me, looking back at my old photographs is literally one of my favourite things to do because I get to be transported back to that moment in time when I was at school or growing up.”
Among those photographed was Arthur, aged five, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was just six weeks old.
His mother, Jennifer, who did not wish to share her surname, said having her son’s first school photo taken by Rankin “means the world to me” after she felt she missed out on Arthur’s “special milestone”.
“It really means the world to me that Arthur had his first ever school photo taken by Rankin and it’s something I will treasure forever,” she said.
“No child should have to spend their childhood in hospital, but Gosh Charity has helped make sure that Arthur doesn’t miss out on some of those childhood moments that matter most.”
Director of fundraising, Liz Tait, said it has been a “joy” to provide children at Gosh with a treasured keepsake.
“The wonderful staff at Gosh — from the charity-funded Play team to the amazing clinical staff — go above and beyond to ensure that seriously ill children in hospital can experience as many fun and important childhood moments as possible. But it’s inevitable that some moments will be missed — school photo day being one of them,” she said.
“We’re so pleased to be able to offer children and their families this special opportunity to have their school photo day experience, with none other than world-famous photographer Rankin.
“It’s been a joy to see the results and know they’ll have a keepsake to treasure for years to come.”
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