Nino Munoz.

It’s difficult to know whether Nino Munoz, who began his career in New York in the early 1990s, has led a charmed life or whether his charm has led his life in such positive directions. Maybe it’s a bit of both.

Nino’s first major fashion story, for instance—photographing Gisele Bundchen for British Vogue—sparked what has become a longtime artistic collaboration and (and friendship). The two have worked together on numerous shoots for magazines ranging from Muse to Rolling Stone. “I love fashion because it’s so colorful and emotional,” says Nino. “There’s a sexiness and a provocative nature to fashion photography that inspires me.”

Nino’s work is at once sophisticated and sexy, always polished but somehow also organic. It’s a tough balance to strike, but it seems to come naturally to him, probably because Nino is as attracted to the essence of a person as he is to the beauty of what they do and who they are. “I respect when people are devoted to their craft—whether you’re a designer or a housekeeper,” he says. “As long as you are expressing yourself, I respect you.”

Over the years, Nino has worked with some of Hollywood’s finest—Leonardo DiCaprio, Julianne Moore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tom Cruise, and many others. Celebrity portraiture can be a fraught process—there’s a lot at stake, the schedules are almost always really tight, and there can be trust issues—but Nino has his own way of keeping things in perspective.

“It’s really not that complicated to do, but so many people put on a front when dealing with high-profile figures that it becomes an obstacle,” he says. “I’ve noticed that people with a lot of fame are very sensitive to people who aren’t genuine. I just approach actors and models like I would anyone else—with respect and kindness.”

Here’s a look at Nino’s work.

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Tom Cruise and Amy Adams. Photos by Nino Munoz.

Ashton Kutcher and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Photos by Nino Munoz.

Anne Hathaway. Photos by Nino Munoz.

Ryan Kwanten (left) and Jake Gyllenhaal. Photos by Nino Munoz

Christina Hendricks for London Fog (left) and an ad from a recent campaign for Daffy's. Photo bys Nino Munoz.

From a series of True Religion ads. Photos by Nino Munoz.

Photos by Nino Munoz.

Photos by Nino Munoz.

Photos by Nino Munoz.

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So here are the current nominees. And below that is a link to massive slideshow of nominees and winners past. In many cases, the same performer was shot by more than one of our photogs, so I included the same person more than once because, you know, it’s fun to compare and contrast.

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Current Academy Award nominees:

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George Clooney
Best Actor, Up in the Air

Previously: Best Actor nominee, 2008, Michael Clayton; Best Supporting Actor winner, 2006, Syriana

Photo by Timothy White.

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Jeff Bridges
Best Actor, Crazy Heart

Previously: Best Supporting Actor nominee, 2001, The Contender; Best Actor nominee, 1985, Starman; Best Supporting Actor nominee, 1975, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot; Best Supporting Actor nominee, 1972, The Last Picture Show.

Photo by Michael Muller.

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Jeremy Renner
Best Actor, The Hurt Locker

Photo by Jeff Lipsky.

Photo by Matthias Clamer.

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Carey Mulligan
Best Actress, An Education

Photo by Jeff Lipsky.

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Sandra Bullock
Best Actress, The Blind Side

Photo by Timothy White.

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Maggie Gyllenhaal
Best Supporting Actress, Crazy Heart

Photo by Michael Muller.

Photo by Nino Muñoz.

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Mo’nique
Best Supporting Actress, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Photo by Kwaku Alston.

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Woody Harrelson
Best Supporting Actor, The Messenger

Previously: Best Actor nominee, 1997, The People vs. Larry Flynt

Photo by John Midgley.

Photo by Kwaku Alston.

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Matt Damon
Best Supporting Actor, Invictus

Previously: Best Actor nominee, 1998, Good Will Hunting

Photo by Timothy White.

Photo by Jeff Lipsky.

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Slideshow featuring portraits by Stockland Martel photographers of more than 70 actors, including Alec Baldwin, Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford, Sharon Stone, Will Smith, Bill Murray, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Hudson, Jude Law, Robert Downey Jr., Johnny Depp…

Click on the image to access our slideshow.

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The first floor of the Le Book Connections trade show was bustling. All photos: Whitney Kidder.

As a writer, I’d never attended the Le Book Connections trade show, which serves the creative community (visually creative, that is). So when Bill and Maureen put me on the list with Stockland Martel, who had a booth there, I was really curious about what it would be like.

I went at night, arriving at the venue, the Chelsea Art Museum, just past 7 on Thursday. The sidewalk was clotted with people—smoking, talking, texting, phoning, looking great. It could have been a nightclub, right down to the moment when I asked to gain entry and was looked up and down by the woman at the door, who eyed my personal business card dubiously. She wore a snug white dress that showed off her toned arms, had black hair and dark eyes, and was savoring a cigarette. A young lamblike woman had guided me to this skeptical arbiter after I walked up and explained that though my card does not say I’m with Stockland Martel, I am indeed with the band. As I waited for her decision, I flashed back to some 13 years ago, when I was being appraised for entry into the Click & Drag geek-chic night at Jackie 60 in the Meatpacking District, except the doorperson there was a large, stout woman in a Viking helmet and shiny metal breastplate, and the crowd included a tall, skinny man wrapped head to toe in duct tape… Before I could wander too deeply into this memory, though, the Le Book gatekeeper smiled and showed me the way in.

And then I could see why she was protective of her event. It really was a fashionable affair. Stockland Martel’s booth was on the first floor, and our area was stacked with portfolios. The covers alone communicated how different our photographers are from each other. The tomato-red cloth cover of Scott & Zöe’s book, with their names stamped in royal blue in a fun font. Couple/collaborators Scott Darling and Zöe van Baaren love both color and the offbeat, and their portfolio telegraphs that from the moment you see it. The book for Matthias Clamer, by contrast, is handsome and slate-gray, with his name embossed in a tone just slightly darker than that of the cover. Matthias is a friendly guy, an interesting guy, but there remains something unknowable about him. Appealing but unknowable. The cover of his book suggests this and makes you want to know more.

The Stockland Martel booth at full throttle (clockwise from left): freelance art director Christine Be; Cam Dunlap, VP of Bird Bonette Stauderman; art buyer Amy Frith; Stockland Martel rep Kathryn Tyrrel; Kristi Drago-Price, photo editor at Brides; and Stockland Martel rep Emily Leonardo.

Maureen Martel (left) with Carolyn Dowd, senior art buyer at Hill, Holliday.

Granted, I didn’t have a ton of time to mingle; Connections closed at 9. But in a determined pass through the other two floors, I was able to meet some really friendly people. The newish photo/literary magazine Dear Dave, had a booth, and I was thrilled to see that photographer and photo editor Carrie Levy, whom I interviewed recently for a story for PDN, was featured in one of the recent issues. (Jessica Craig-Martin and Amy Adams are among the photographers featured in the current issue.) Managing editor Eli Oakes told me about the “Conversations” series the magazine has been hosting to promote photographers’ work. There was one back in February, for example, with writer Philip Gefter and photographer Paul Graham, in conjunction with the latter’s exhibition “a shimmer of possibility” at MoMA. If you’re interested, you can download previous “Conversations” here. I also had a nice chat with Bob Hallisey, product manager at Industrial Color, whose M Project Gallery in Tribeca is currently presenting Jim Fiscus’ “The Unfortunate Moment of Misunderstanding.”

Floor 3 of Connections was home to more reps. I liked the uniformity of the booths’ design: Everyone had a white backdrop with their name printed in black and a string of images along the top, sort of like an overline on a magazine cover. The names of each rep’s talent were printed in the large white space that consumed the bottom 2/3 of this backdrop. So at a glance, you could get who the rep was and whom they represent. And if that intrigued you, you could walk up and flip through the portfolios or take a promo card. Totally efficient and an example of design that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional. A trade show that was both easy on the eyes and supplied with you with the details that you needed. Not an easy feat.

I asked Bill Hannigan of Vaughan Hannigan about how one gauges whether an event like this was worth their time. He explained that Vaughan Hannigan is still relatively young—they’ve been around only two years—and that this was their first time at Le Book Connections. They chose to participate after informally polling fellow reps in the business whom they respected. One of the people they consulted noted that his agency could track a direct correlation between the trade show and work that they later got. There’s no better recommendation than that, really. Bill also said that the event was a chance to really capture the attention of art buyers and other potential clients, since they were away from the distractions of their workplaces. And at the same time, many of them experience portfolio overload, he said, so you can’t really be sure what names and images will stay with them after all is said and done. It will be interesting to see which agencies receive follow-up inquiries.

As for me, I think there’s something quite valuable in being among your competition and yet having everyone be forced to present themselves in exactly the same format: white backdrop, white table, and your reps and your stack of books. It’s like in private school when everyone has to wear uniforms. Stripped of all your carefully chosen signifiers, what kind of impression do actually make? How well does your talent show? And how well do you show your talent? It will be weeks before we know in the case of Le Book Connections, but these questions are, I think, worth asking yourself every single day.

Emily Leonardo with Saatchi & Saatchi art buyer Hosanna Marshall.

Mea Tefka, art buyer at JWT, and Maureen at the Stockland Martel booth. (That's Scott & Zöe's portfolio in the foreground, with the Agency book underneath.)

Lauren Thompson, PR director of Glitterati magazine, with the most recent SMart Book photo annual. The front and back covers feature Nadav Kander's portrait of director David Lynch.

On Wednesday morning, before the start of Connections, Stockland Martel's reps (including Kathryn Tyrrel, far right in white) hosted a breakfast for art buyers.

The breakfast would not have been complete without honoring Maureen's birthday. (Happy birthday, Maureen!) Here, Stockland Martel photo editor Katya Arsenieva presents our fearless co-leader with a cake, no doubt promising that it does not contain explosives, like the ones by Hans Gissinger that are now on display at The Gallery @ Stockland Martel (if you look closely, you can see some of them behind Maureen).

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