Nino—who worked with Fidelia Lingerie/CJ Company art director Joel Kimbeck—also directed a short video that Fidelia is using at its website and airing on a broadcast-TV shopping channel. (Rikki Keene of Double K Productions was the producer of the motion piece; the camera operator was Sergio Bautisa; and the editor was Shannon Ruddock.)

Here’s a look:

.

Photo by Nino Muñoz for Fidelia.

Photo by Nino Muñoz for Fidelia.

Photo by Nino Muñoz for Fidelia.

 .

.

.

Here’s a look at some of the early press, opening night, and Lauren’s interview.

.

Nino Munoz and Gisele Bundchen at the opening of "Beauty CULTure." Screenshot from Vanity Fair Daily.

.

Vanity Fair Daily: Inside the gallery, Gisele browsed photographs (she is in many of them) with photographer Nino Muñoz. “Some of the times I’ll look at a photo of myself and ask ‘Ugh, what’s happening?’” she told us. “But the most important thing for me is that I’m never looking at the pictures asking, ‘Do I look pretty for my eyes,’ because I am my worst critic. It’s more about, ‘Did I capture what is trying to be captured?’” (Full article: Gisele Bündchen at the Annenberg: “I Am My Worst Critic“)

.

Anna Nicole Smith. Photo by Matthew Rolston. From the exhibition "Beauty CULTure."

.

Photo District News: Manon Sloame, a critic and curator who participated as an exhibition consultant and wrote the texts for the show. But, she says, “When there’s an overemphasis on trying to achieve the look that is perpetuated in the media and fashion magazines, with all their retouching, then what starts off as fun becomes a perversion.” One of the most fascinating things about the exhibition, Sloame says, is the chance to hear from photographers who work in the fashion and beauty industry in a section of the exhibition called Voice of the Photographers. “You would think that they would be so vocal in supporting this [idealized] notion of beauty, but they’re not. They want more diversity. They want to photograph a more interesting range of people. They want to have more women of color.” (Full article: “Photo Exhibition Challenges Media’s Standards of Beauty”)

.

Nylon magazine on Lauren Greenfield and "Beauty CULTure."

.

From left: Nino Munoz, Gisele Bundchen, stylist Evet Sanchez, Bill Stockland, and Lauren Greenfield at the gala for "Beauty CULTure." Photo by Frank Evers / courtesy of the INSTITUTE blog.

.

Los Angeles Times: Greenfield was commissioned by the Annenberg to do the documentary portion of the exhibit, which includes footage of toddler beauty queens with spray tans and outlandish costumes, female body building and Jackie Goldberg, Ms. Senior L.A. 2005, who confidently says in the film that “the question really isn’t ‘To be or not to be’” but rather “‘To age or not to age.’” Her pink-tinged hair and enthusiasm for the latest and greatest in facial fillers would have one assuming she believes in the latter. Greenfield also filmed a group of female high school students looking into a two-way mirror as they make themselves up for their on-camera interviews.”I really wanted to take a 360-degree look at the issue from all different perspectives,” she says. (Full article: ‘Beauty Culture’: The eye of the beholder: The power of the lens to shape notions of beauty is brought into sharp focus at the Annenberg Space for Photography)

.

From left: Gisele Bundchen, Katie Holmes, and Halle Berry at the opening gala for "Beauty CULTure." Photos by Stefanie Keenan / WireImage. Click screenshot to see more photos from the event at the Los Angeles Times website.

.

“Voice of the Photographer: Lauren Greenfield”: “I was really shy growing up and the camera gave me a kind of bravery that I didn’t have in y regular life. And so I think that was part of why I became a photographer because I noticed that with that camera, I kind of had this incentive, this motivation to go beyond my comfort zone and go beyond where I would both in terms of situations and also in my interactions with people. I was much assertive than I would be normally. … I have come to all of my subject matter from a cultural perspective. And I always even when I was in high school was attracted to the idea of social documentary. … I learned that photography could comment on society and reveal things about society that we didn’t know before.”

.

Click to view the Annenberg's "Voice of the Photographer" video interview with Lauren Greenfield.

.

From Zimbio: Daryl Hannah, "Opening Night Of 'Beauty Culture' At The Annenberg Space For Photography - Arrivals." Click image to see more.

.

Related: Gayle Anderson of KTLA interviews Lauren Greenfield

.

.

.

Brigitte Bardot, 1960.

Gisele Bundchen. Photo by Nino Munoz for Elle Brazil, April 2011 issue.

.

.

(Speaking of striking new work by Nino, I’ve posted his diamond-soaked story for Town & Country here.)

.

Gisele Bundchen. Photo by Nino Munoz for Numéro, May 2011 issue.

Photo by Nino Munoz for Numéro.

Photo by Nino Munoz for Numéro.

Photo by Nino Munoz for Numéro.

Photo by Nino Munoz for Numéro.

Photo by Nino Munoz for Numéro.

Photo by Nino Munoz for Numéro.

.

.

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.

.

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.

.

.

Last week was a vacation week for me but a bustling time for Stockland Martel’s photographers. Herewith, some highlights:

.

.

The Huffington Post created a gallery of the entire military-themed Gisele Bundchen fashion story that Nino Munoz shot for Vogue and invited readers to “let us know which is Gisele’s fiercest moment.”

Gisele Bundchen, photographed by Nino Munoz.

.

.

The New York Times featured Nadav Kander‘s portraits of Jon Favreau, President Obama’s speechwriter, and Reggie Love, the president’s personal aide, in the article “All the Obama 20-Somethings.”

.

.

The Smiley Faces Foundation exhibition opened, featuring portraits by well-known photographers of children who underwent surgery to repair a cleft lip and palate, and The Daily News was there to cover it. The paper ran this portrait by Roxanne Lowit, who is just one of the Stockland Martel photographers who donated their talents to the cause.

Emily Lanzarotta, photographed by Roxanne Lowit.

.

.

Kwaku Alston‘s portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama was on the cover of USA Weekend. The story was called “America’s Mom-in-Chief, Michelle Obama.”

Michelle Obama, photographed by Kwaku Alston. Hair: Johnny Wright. Makeup: Derrick Rutledge.

.

And Kwaku’s portraits of groundbreaking jazz artist Herbie Hancock were featured in the Ventura County Star, in a story that explores the “essence of an icon.”

Herbie Hancock, photographed by Kwaku Alston.

Herbie Hancock, photographed by Kwaku Alston.

.

.

Vincent Laforet taught a three-day workshop on HDDSLR cinema—online, via creativeLIVE—aimed at first-time filmmakers and photographers making the transition into video. (The class can be purchased as a download for $79. Details here.)

.

.

And Artnet.com used a portrait by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders of legendary New York art dealer Leo Castelli to illustrate its review of the new book Leo & His Circle: The Life of Leo Castelli, written by Annie Cohan-Solal and published by Knopf.

Leo Castelli in 1988. Photo by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

We’re thrilled to welcome Nino Munoz to the Stockland Martel roster. Nino is a celebrity, fashion, and lifestyle photographer known for his sexy but sophisticated visual style and personal charm. His work has been published worldwide, including in The Face, InStyle, The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, and Arena.

Nino’s first-ever assignment was shooting a fashion story with Gisele Bundchen for British Vogue, and the two remain good friends to this day. In fact, below I’ve posted one of his more recent portraits of Gisele, along with his photos of some other people you might recognize. (To view Nino’s portfolio online, please visit stocklandmartel.com/talent/nino-munoz/photography.)

.

Gisele Bundchen, photographed by Nino Munoz.

Maggie Gyllenhaal, photographed by Nino Munoz.

A Vogue cover, minus the type, photographed by Nino Munoz.

Beyonce, photographed by Nino Munoz.

Jennifer Lopez, photographed by Nino Munoz.

Ashton Kutcher, photographed by Nino Munoz.

Leonardo DiCaprio, photographed by Nino Munoz.

Matthew McConaughey, photographed by Nino Munoz.

.

.

I hope magazine publishers read Raquel Laneri’s opinion piece on fashion magazines at Forbes.com yesterday. So many publications lately have been racing to work out digital solutions—such as Kindle-like readers, iPhone iterations, and beefier websites—to solve the stubborn problem of falling circ numbers and declining ad revenue. Which means they’ve put themselves in the position of learning and succeeding at a new business model while they’re in crisis mode. Talk about stacking the odds against yourself.

In “Save the Glossies,” Laneri argues that fashion magazines should stick with what they do better than anyone else: offer sumptuous photography and wonderfully-out-of-reach flights of fancy. And they should do it in print. “Most readers buy Vogue, or really any fashion magazine, for the photographs: sylphs dressed in diaphanous gowns in a verdant forest, saucy girls dressed in Jazz Age finery in Parisian cafes, glamazons posing haughtily in their haute couture,” she writes.

“The ‘editorial,’ or fashion spread, is the fashion magazine’s saving grace: It is the one thing that Web sites and blogs actually can’t replicate; they neither have the money nor the connections to acquire the fashions displayed (which appear in the magazines before they hit stores) or the photographers used.”

.

“The Internet can give us runway pictures and analysis faster than any print publication ever could, but it hasn’t yet figured out a way to capture the experience of a great fashion editorial. If magazines were smart, they’d hold on to that.”

.

Before we continue with Laneri’s cogent argument for spending more on photography, let me briefly introduce you to a brand-new addition to Stockland Martel: fashion/beauty/celebrity photographer Nino Muñoz. His portfolio hasn’t gone live yet at our site, but you can see his work at his website, plus here’s a cover he shot of Gisele Bundchen for British style mag Arena in 2008. I’ll be telling you lots more about Nino in the coming weeks.

.

Photo by Nino Muñoz—now represented by Stockland Martel.

.

Okay, back to Laneri, who even goes so far as to advocate for fashion pubs to hire non-fashion photogs, “as Paris Vogue did when it hired art-world star Cindy Sherman to photograph Balenciaga’s new line in 2007. There are many photographers who have used fashion and clothing in innovative ways in their work—such as Tanya Marcuse, who has shot wigs and jewelry on wax mannequins, and Miyako Ishiuchi, whose series of diaphanous lace slips and old lipstick tubes belonging to her mother were among the most haunting and beautiful images shown during ICP’s entire “Year of Fashion.”

There’s more, and you’ll find it here.

.

.