The public gets what the public wants

As a member of the LA paparazzi quits his job in apparent protest at the press’ hounding of Britney Spears, the familiar cries demonising celebrity photographers can be heard.

Ever since the paparazzi were indicted in the Diana accident, stories about paps and their methods have never been far from the headlines.

When I’m not in the office, I can often be found camera in hand taking photos that appear in a range of media. In the past that’s included red carpet and rarely, paparazzi work. Indeed, my first nationally published picture was Wayne Rooney and his girlfriend arriving at a charity ball.

While I personally would never go to the lengths that some do – climbing into gardens, hounding families or girlfriends and so on – I do find it difficult to blame paparazzi when the demand for their work is generated by the public.

Many have already blamed the savagery of the media for Ms Spears’ decline and I am sure they will hail Nick Stern as a reformed soul. However, the simple truth is that across the globe, the highest value photography remains the product of paparazzi work. To give you an idea, this short film about the Diana inquest covers one photographer’s £300k price tag for his photos of the crash scene.

So how can they demand such price? It’s simple - because the public will pay to see celebrities falling over, relaxing in private or in any shocking scenario. Paparazzi shots continue to sell in their thousands and the front pages remain dominated by splashes of ‘exclusive photos.’

If the public genuinely wants to get rid of paparazzi, then they should boycott the media that pays them. Until then, who can blame someone going after a single photo that could change their life?

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