Emulation of Rankin Portrait

I decided to try a couple of different photographs to emulate, and one image was by Rankin. Although, I do not know who the subject is, as I could not find the image either on his website or by scouring the internet. Instead I am having to use the image that our lecturer provided on a powerpoint.

Rankin's photograph from https://unilearn.southwales.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/pid-1540115-dt-content-rid-1597707_1/courses/FH1D01_2015_v1/portraiture.pdf

I like the idea of this portrait as it is incorporating props into the image, unlike many of the others. the lighting is from above the subjects head and slightly to the left, leaving shadows underneath his eyes and to the right side of his face (looking at the image). The lighting is powerful enough to illuminate his features, yet gentle so that the shadowed aspects are still visible. The subjects head is more in focus than his clothes towards the bottom of the photo, and the black and white filter adds a dramatic effect. The pose that the subject is doing makes him come across as playful and fun, yet his expression is quite serious.

This is the image that I took, attempting to copy the style and lighting if Rankin's photo. I took this photograph in my iPhone as Jack had to hold my camera as a prop for the image to be an effective pastiche. The lighting on the subject is in the right position, but possibly slightly strong, as his shadowed features are a little too dark yet still just about distinguishable from the background. I think using a lighter background would have been better, and in hindsight I would have changed it to a white one. The focusing on the face and hand is correct, yet by using my iPhone I could not control the aperture so Jack's clothing in the bottom of the frame is completely in focus instead of slightly out of focus. Also the photograph needs to have been taken ever so slightly closer to the subject so that the top of his head was cropped out. The composition and angle seem to be correct though, and as a first attempt taken on an iPhone I am quite happy with it as a portrait, but I will not be using it as my final pastiche.