International photographic competition, which runs in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, awards special prize for the best close-up images. Here: Winner – Mayflies by Petar Sabol, Goričan, Croatia. (Photo by Sabol Petar/International Garden Photographer of the Year)

In this picture taken late on June 13, 2017, physiotherapist Masayuki Ozaki takes a bath with his silicone s*x doll Mayu at a love hotel in Yachimata, Chiba prefecture. Around 2,000 of the life- like dolls – which cost around 6,000 USD and come with adjustable fingers, removable head and life- like genitals – are sold each year in Japan, according to industry insiders. (Photo by Behrouz Mehri/AFP Photo)

In this Friday, August. 17, 2018, photo, a North Korean waitress prepares to serve dinner to Chinese tourists at the Pegaebong hotel in Samjiyong in North Korea. Chinese businesspeople and tourists are once again flowing over the borders – several large tourist groups were in Samjiyon last week – and South Korean officials are seriously considering ways to help the North improve its roads and railways. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Hostesses wait to direct delegates to their buses and hotels after the opening session of the CPPCC, or Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, in Tiananmen Square outside the Great Hall of the People on March 4, 2024 in Beijing, China.China's annual political gathering known as the Two Sessions will convene leaders and lawmakers to set the government's agenda for domestic economic and social development for the year. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

The cutest Instagram ever! Tokyo-based mother Aya Sakai is taking pictures everyday of her son Tasuku and his best friend, a French Bulldog ‘Muu’ and post it on Instagram and her Facebook page. Whether the two are watching tv on their ‘favorite’ cushion or cuddling on the couch or sleeping together, the two just can’t seem to get enough of each other. Probably the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time…

Photographer Howard Schatz had an idea: place actors in a series of roles and dramatic situations to reveal the essence of their characters. Such was the premise behind his book, In Character: Actors Acting, which captures some of Hollywood’s most emotive stars in the act of, well, making faces. Luckily for us, he continued the tradition for Vanity Fair. Here are some of the best.

Jumeirah's Global Brand Ambassador Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, completes a remarkable year with another amazing bunker shot on the helipad at the Burj Al Arab hotel on December 12, 2011 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images for Jumeirah)