A model in Mongolia costumes prepares backstage in Xiangshawan Desert, also called Sounding Sand Desert on July 18, 2013 in Ordos of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Xiangshawan is China's famous tourist resort in the desert. It is located along the middle section of Kubuqi Desert on the south tip of Dalate League under Ordos City. Sliding down from the 110-metre-high, 45-degree sand hill, running a course of 200 metres, the sands produce the sound of automobile engines, a natural phenomenon that nobody can explain. (Photo by Feng Li)

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.

Badminton School sixth form pupils (L-R) Lucy Warden, who got 3 A* and is off to study English at Durham, Sam Crumpton, who got 1 A* and 2 A's and is off to study to be a vet at Cambridge and Madeline Sunter, who got 2 A* and 1 B, and is off to study fashion at St. Martins, celebrate their A-level results on August 18, 2011 in Bristol, England. With another record year for A-level results, sixth-form students face a scramble for university places in the final year before tuition fees rise. According to the examination bodies the pass rate rose for the 29th successive year to hit 97.8 percent, while around one in 12 exams achieved the top A* grade. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

A set of pictures taken by Kellie Netherwood on the northern-most island located in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland perfectly captures the spirit of the Scots: wild, free, and majestic. It is no wonder that Scottish people fought tooth and nail to gain their independence all throughout their history. The green fields, rocky hills, and the beautiful waterfalls all sing to the spirits of the Scots, instilling pride into everyone who considers this place to be their motherland. However, no matter what your origin may be, you cannot help being fascinated by the beauty of these landscapes, drawn to them as if by a powerful force. (Photo by Kellie Netherwood)

In this Monday, March 10, 2014 photo, a 9,000 year-old mask is on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The exhibition called “Face To Face” shows eleven stone masks, said to have been discovered in the Judean desert and hills near Jerusalem, which date back 9,000 years and offer a rare glimpse at some of civilization's first communal rituals. (Photo by Tsafrir Abayov/AP Photo)

“Inspired by the French authorities' solution to move Romas from point A to point B, Romanian authorities planned and started forced evictions of Roma informal settlements in cities like Cluj-Napoca and Baia Mare. Some of these settlements date back to the early 1990’s. These communities were tolerated by the authorities who verbally encouraged Romas to build in the area, meanwhile, reassuring them nothing bad would ever happen to them. However, the the reality today is that during political campaigns, authorities are planning forced evictions without reasons other than ethnic cleansing of the cities. My home documents the every day life of Roma communities in Romania, 2011”. – Mugur Varzariu. (Photo by Mugur Varzariu, 2011 FotoVisura Grant Finalist)

Migrants play soccer at makeshift camp in Via Cupa (Gloomy Street) in downtown Rome, Italy, August 2, 2016. Italy is taking in thousands of boat migrants every week for a third year in a row, and friction is common between them and those who live along the path many take on their journey towards northern Europe. (Photo by Max Rossi/Reuters)

Kyaiktiyo, Burma, 1978. The Golden Rock at Shwe Pyi Daw (the Golden Country), the Buddhist holy place. Hiroji Kubota writes: “I was desperate to keep a distance from America for a while; luckily, I found Burma and its gentle and compassionate people. In the spring of 1978, on the top of the hill where I took this photo, I had two Leica bodies: the one with Tri-X and the other with Kodachrome 64. Soon after, I realised that the colour one looked very colourful and was more powerful. That was my decisive moment, to become a colour photographer”. (Photo by Hiroji Kubota/Magnum Photos)