Stockland Martel

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The March issue of Ebony just came out, and it features a beautiful portfolio—much of it in glorious black & white—of Hollywood’s rising young stars, as photographed by Nino Muñoz. Specifically, Nicole Beharie, Katerina Graham, Aldis Hodge, Annie Ilonzeh, Brandon T. Jackson, Romeo Miller, Lamorne Morris, Keke Palmer, Amandla Stenberg, and Denzel Whitaker. Styling was by Raquel Griffin.

“We’ve wanted to work Nino into the photo mix here at Ebony for a while now,” explains Dudley Brooks, the magazine’s senior photo editor. “His lighting is pretty impeccable, and he has an elegant approach to his subjects that just enhances his range as a photographer ten-fold. Everything I’ve seen him do fits squarely into what we’re trying to say here at the magazine: Be willing to take it to the next level.”

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“After a couple of near misses, a story came to the fore that had his name all over it,” Dudley continues. “We were profiling the new wave of African-American actors on the Hollywood scene—kind of a ‘who’s got next’ feature. We assembled a hip lineup of talent—ten of the real who’s who in the future of the industry—and we needed just as hip of an approach photographically. Nino was right on point with what he delivered. He realized that the personalities of each individual needed to come through in the images, and he worked hard (and did his homework) to ensure that it happened.”

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“He’s a great guy to work with. He turned what could have been a long and laborious day into a fun event for everyone involved. A key to making great photographs is to connect with the subject and to establish a visual partnership. Judging from the oohs and ahs of our assembled talent when they saw the results, he accomplished that goal with every one of them. I’m sure they’ll all be requesting his talents again very soon.”

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And what was the experience like for Nino? “It was a great shoot—these young Hollywood talent are full of energy, have dynamic characters and made it a fun and easy day on set,” he enthuses on the magazine’s Contributors page. “It was such a pleasure working with all of them, and I know they’ll be taking over Hollywood!”

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