Call me a fool, but I love good portraits. Interesting portraits. Well-done portraits. And Vanity Fair has them in the March issue, the annual Hollywood issue that comes out around the Oscars.

The cover, as usual, is by Annie Leibovitz and includes a multitude of stars, and a Leibovitz slideshow showing covers of the past is available for perusal. Just fabulous, especially the March 2006 with Scarlett Johansson, Tom Ford and Keira Knightley. The luxurious black contrasts with the pale skin of the actresses and yet comes off as soft and sensuous instead of harsh. Beautiful. (And not for the nudity.)

Seeing this gallery makes me wish I had not missed the Leibovitz show in Washington, D.C., I wanted to see ... dang. 

There is a set of celebrity portraits by Mario Testino. The Meg Ryan image is striking in its simple use of light and the unlikely sitting place on the floor next to a bed. It is not often the edge of a bed is used ans a leading line into a subject. The Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston photographs are also exquisite, the minimalistic composition enhancing the human figure within each.

Celebrity portraits are loaded in the fact they are used to being in front of the camera and acting, so it is more natural for them and makes it easier for the photographer. Yet the ability to make images that stand out from the rest, shine in their own light, is what separates them from the others.