Ranks of paparazzi swell with demand for photos

by Sue Zeidler

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters)

They're cursed at, knocked down and have objects thrown at them. They're loathed by their subjects. Yet the demand for the photos they shoot is stronger than ever.

Welcome to the world of the paparazzi: the guerrilla-like photographers who will go to any length - from renting a helicopter to dressing up like a llama - to get the "money shot" like those rare, candid pictures of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt frolicking on a Kenya beach that fed on the public's obsession with the stars and sold for an estimated $500,000.

The paparazzi know Cameron Diaz may make a gesture with her middle finger, Brad Pitt will use a hamburger for defence and Ben Affleck will engage in a high-speed car chase to evade these unwanted lensmen.

They are not the photographers who shoot obediently from arm's length at premieres and the Oscars.

"Their job requires more cunning, creativity, and sheer nerve than a red carpet ever demanded," said Peter Howe, whose book "Paparazzi", published last month, delves into the photo journalists' world and their complex relationship with their subjects and the public.

Veteran paparazzi are quick to note that while many actors outwardly scorn them, they also know they cannot achieve or sustain fame without paparazzi photos in the press.

"I don't think they'd ever admit to saying they like paparazzi, but there are certainly those who accept us as part of their business," said Frank Griffin, a veteran paparazzo who now runs the Bauer-Griffin agency with partner Randy Bauer.

These days, paparazzi photos appear in even the most mainstream of publications as more news organisations than ever have sought to capitalise on the public's seemingly insatiable interest in celebrity.

In his book, Howe said the O.J. Simpson trial was pivotal because the proceedings were covered live on television and showcased what was "under the rock of a celebrity's life."

Indeed, a celebrity may first learn he or she is off the A-list from the paparazzi.

"The paparazzi have amazing antenna. They know before a celebrity does when a career is cooling.

It may not be much of a consolation, but stars know their careers are on track when their lives are made hell by photographers," Howe said.

A thick skin is a prerequisite to be a paparazzo - a term coined by Italian director Federico Fellini in his 1960 film "La Dolce Vita."

"We don't have to worry about who we piss off. Everyone's already pissed off at us," Griffin says on his Web site.

Howe, former picture editor for the New York Times Magazine and director of photography for LIFE magazine, interviewed various paparazzi, like Phil Ramey, Ron Galella and Griffin for the book which came out just as the Los Angeles police announced a probe into whether the city's paparazzi engage in criminal conspiracy to land photos of stars in distress.

The probe was announced in June shortly after a photographer crashed his car into actress Lindsay Lohan's Mercedes, but authorities said it was launched months earlier in response to a growing number of cases in which photographers band together to provoke celebrities.

Many fear another tragedy like the Paris car accident that killed Princess Diana in 1997.

"Certainly, the most indefensible part is the car chases.

There are more photographers than just a few years ago and it's become more and more dangerous," said Howe, who describes tactics like "follows", when paparazzi chase celebrities and surround their cars in traffic.

Los Angeles, with its sunny skies and pretty scenery, has become a mecca for paparazzi, whose ranks have swelled from a handful to more than 100 in the past decade