For the past decade, Hollywood A-listers, from actors to directors to studio executives, have sought out photographer Mark Seliger to take their portraits in the elaborate pop-up studio he constructs in the middle of the storied “Vanity Fair” Oscars after-party. Whether resembling a rustic sitting room or a grand marble staircase, his sets have welcomed illustrious subjects including Academy Award winners, nominees, directors, costume designers and other bold-name attendees.
“In some ways, I’ve been training all my life and career to be able to pull something like this off,” Seliger told CNN in a phone conversation prior to the launch of “Vanity Fair: Oscar Night Sessions,” his new photobook. “It is definitely the most challenging experience… essentially using every single skill that I’ve learned in not only being a photographer, but also a director,” the photographer added.
Created with his set designer, Thomas Thurnauer, and after discussions with “Vanity Fair” editor Radhika Jones, Seliger’s studio spaces usually contain subtle nods to Oscar-winning films — ones that aren’t “too derivative,” Seliger said.
This cinematic vision — and his calm, easy-going demeanor — has resulted in many iconic shots: Lady Gaga basking in her 2019 Oscar triumph, a white tuxedo-clad Timothée Chalamet sharing a moment with the director Luca Guadagnino and the diamond-bedecked Michelle Yeoh (pictured above) looking effortlessly regal as she contemplated her groundbreaking Best Actress win this past March are just three of the 200-some portraits featured in the coffee table book.
Iconic photos from the pop-up studio at Vanity Fair's Oscars after-party
The tome opens with a 2014 photo of first-time Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o breaking into a smile while gazing down at her golden statue, held gingerly in both hands. “I didn’t even have to say anything,” Seliger recalled. “I think she was just in an absolute moment of shock and having this internal joy… You couldn’t help but want to celebrate with her.”
The New York City-based photographer said he relies on intuition to capture those moments of magic, explaining that his subjects’ moods, understandably, run the gamut, from “dreamy and effervescent” to flat-out astonished. “I’m always very present,” explained Seliger, “because we only have them for maybe 10 to 20 shots. It really is a very spontaneous, in-the-moment experience.”
(His on-site team, meanwhile, ensures that side tables are on-hand to quickly arrange to showcase the trophies. “Some people are better at holding Oscars than others,” the photographer noted.)
Crafting scenes, and going off script
Seliger is constantly observing his subjects’ mannerisms to create a narrative and elicit an expressive pose: Take his 2022 portrait of Jeff Goldblum, glasses in one hand and a pointed finger on the other like he’s scolding the photographer.
“I said, ‘Jeff, you’re an amazing 1970s Italian director and you are having a very, very candid conversation with your leading lady because she’s really not hitting her mark,’” said Seliger, who had previously worked with Goldblum, as well as many other of his Oscar night subjects, thanks to his long, storied career shooting ad campaigns and editorial photoshoots (like the 1995 shot of Jennifer Aniston that launched a billion haircuts, to give just one example). “He was making all these gestures and he speaks a little Italian. We shot for literally 30 seconds and we got it,” Seliger said of the final photo.
Throughout the night, Seliger’s team is simultaneously wrangling guests and cycling them through as efficiently as possible. (There’s a holding room adjacent to the studio that doubles as a Don Julio-stocked speakeasy.)
But sometimes the stars just aren’t aligned, in more ways than one. In 2022, Zendaya and Zo? Kravitz, whom Seliger has known since photographing dad Lenny in the mid-’90s, were among those patiently waiting in line while 2019 Oscar winner Rami Malek sat for his session, Seliger recalled.
“Rami was fixed on this picture… and was really enthusiastic. He had that perfect Oscar buzz going on and he wanted to do something creative,” said Seliger, who was anticipating Zendaya and Kravitz coming in next. “I thought they were going to be okay (waiting) but they both split. But we got the picture of Rami, which was nice.” That photo of a smoldering Malek made the book, as well as an earlier snap of Kravitz throwing a playful side-eye.
Each arrival, be it one guest or more, presents a new opportunity. In 2018, a spontaneously expanding gathering resulted in an iconic portrait of 17 Black Hollywood and cultural luminaries, including Ava DuVernay, Angela Bassett, Donald Glover, Rashida Jones and Shonda Rhimes. Hands held, or resting on another’s shoulder, they stood in community and support of each other, with Gabrielle Union’s “Nevertheless She Persisted” bag — referencing Republicans’ attempts to silence Senator Elizabeth Warren when she opposed the 2017 nomination of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General — precisely positioned at the front of the group shot.
“I’m giving everybody cue calls and pointing them out… I’m just working out the details step-by-step,’” explained Seliger. “You may only get one or two frames, but that’s really all that we’re trying to accomplish. Then that level of perfection happens pretty much by chance.”
By contrast, Seliger’s 2022 shot of three “Euphoria” cast members in mid-conversation — Maude Apatow excitedly gesticulating and the late Angus Cloud beaming up at a mischievous Barbie Ferreira — didn’t need much direction. “There was this natural quality when they sat down. Obviously, they built a very strong bond and a friendship. I just let them keep going, and was taking pictures without them thinking about it too hard,” said Seliger, before sharing his recollections of Cloud. “He was a wonderful guy. I’d worked with him on a couple of projects, and (his death) was a tough one for sure.”
Seliger’s portraiture also communicates the intensity often apparent between Hollywood power couples — from John Legend and Chrissy Teigen to Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor. “I try to find an off moment where it’s more about their relationship,” said Seliger. “I distill it down to either a spontaneous moment, a moment between them, or a moment where one of them is engaged and the other one is more internal,” he explained.
(Although for a shoot with Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone, both pictured angrily glaring at the camera, Seliger took inspiration from their matching Adidas tracksuits and whisky tumblers. “Just come at me like you’re ready to toss your drink at me because I’m just an annoying photographer at a party,” Seliger recalled telling them, with a laugh.)
“The only person that gave me a hard ‘no’ on that was Anthony Hopkins,” said Seliger, who said he happily took direction from the two-time Oscar winner. “He goes, ‘I just want to be photographed like this.’ I was like, ‘Serenity, of course. I’m just delighted to have you here.’”