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Ah, to be a pretty young thing. Get all the girls. Do all the boys. Have your face immortalized on coffee tables across the land. To be beautiful is to be otherworldly — at least that's what celebrity photographer John Russo seems to be saying in his handsomely bound book, the limited edition About Face (out February 11). 
 

Shot using only natural light and ultra-crisp B&W Polaroid 55 film, the unretouched headshots of male models and celebrities in one of three poses — side, three-quarter, front — feel taxonomic in their repetition. It’s like a publicist's proofs fed through a fine art machine. Eyes pop in sharp focus while bare chests fade away. The effect is entrancing, almost sculptural. Individual quirks — yes, flaws — shine despite hotness' glare. Like gazing at a lover in post-coital rapture.
 

The only thing that jolts us from that bliss is the self-serious quotes that accompany the photos. When faced with Taylor Kitsch's scruff, Ian Somerhalder's stare, Sean Faris' smolder or Ryan Kwanten’s crooked smile, we don't really need Confucius to tell us, "Everything has a beauty, but not everyone sees it." 

 

About Face will available February 11 from Pixie Press Worldwide. It is a limited edition pressing of 1500 copies.