Behind the Scenes: Serena Williams and Amy Schumer Featured in Pirelli Calendar for 2016

In past years, the Pirelli Calendar (the Italian sports car tire company) has featured provocative photographs of countless models in exotic locations. But for 2016, Annie Leibovitz is giving the calendar its most intimate, stripped down photos yet, but with a twist. This year's calendar will feature top female influencers, including Amy Schumer, Serena Williams, Yoko Ono and Patti Smith.

According to Elle Magazine, this year, the calendar will feature 13 natural portraits of the most influential women-ranging from Serena Williams and Amy Schumer to Yoko Ono and Patti Smith-who are helping shape today's modern world. Other women who will be featured in this year's calendar include supermodel Natalia Vodianova, author Fran Lebowitz, director Ava Duvernay and blogger-turned-actress Tavi Gevinson.

Serena Williams is making her mark in the sports world. This year alone, she managed to hold all four major singles titles simultaneously. Unfortunately, she lost against Roberta Vinci and wasn't able to hold this year's Grand Slam at the U.S. Open (which honestly, is Drake's fault). Despite the loss, she has made a huge impact on the tennis world and in fashion as well. She's been truly inspirational to women and athletes all over the world, so to be a part of the Pirelli Calendar for 2016 only makes sense.

Amy Schumer, who recently won an Emmy Award, has paved her way into the comedy world. She wrote and acted in a lead role in her film, Trainwreck. She's come a long way and is definitely an influential actor/comedian, especially in a male dominated category, as reported by Time Magazine. She also makes a perfect fit for the Pirelli Calendar.

What makes the calendar even better is the fact that it's being shot entirely by Annie Leibovitz, the acclaimed and beloved photographer who actually shot the Cal back in 2000.

"I wanted to make a classic set of portraits. I thought that the women should look strong but natural, and I decided to keep it a very simple exercise of shooting in the studio," said Leibovitz of the project, as per Huffington Post. "This calendar is so completely different. It is a departure. The idea was not to have any pretense in these pictures and be very straightforward."

You can check out the full behind the scenes gallery at Vogue.