Informants, License Plate Numbers and Techniques

Aug. 23, 2005 — -- Is Britney Spears expecting a boy or a girl? Is Jennifer Aniston looking for a new love? Or will Paris Hilton be the one to steal the spotlight this month in the tabloids?

Paparazzi photographers are anxiously hoping to be the first to tell these kinds of details to readers of celebrity magazines like Us Weekly, In Touch Weekly, People and the new American version of OK! magazine.

Working on freeways, in airports and other celebrity-rich locales, these aggressive photographers are tireless entrepreneurs who hound celebrities in the hopes of snapping an image that will translate into a financial windfall.

"They're always on. I don't think I've ever been out to dinner with one of those photographers that the phone didn't go off, the pager didn't go off … and they will often leave you in the middle of dinner just because they've got a tip," said veteran photographer Peter Howe, whose new book "Paparazzi" traces the history of the practice.

"If these guys were doing mainstream journalism with the enthusiasm, fervor and resources that they apply to celebrity journalism they would have solved Watergate in a weekend. Nixon would have been out of there before you knew what was happening," said Howe.

From Hollywood to Croatia

Stars and gossip have gone hand in hand since Hollywood emerged.

But the current batch of A-list names is being followed by an increasingly competitive batch of photographers. Howe estimates there are now 200 photographers working in Hollywood, up from about 50 a decade ago. The extra lenses were likely lured in by the huge potential for profits -- a basic celebrity picture sells for $1,000 and Howe notes a rare image of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie went for as much as $500,000 -- as magazines compete for noteworthy images from the photo agencies.

Those famous smiles are also shipped off to fans and curious readers in places as far flung as Croatia and Singapore. "It used to be basically the English-speaking world, Britain and Australia were big markets for this, but now it just seems to be going everywhere," said Howe.

To get those pictures, photographers go beyond enlisting valet parkers and maitre d's for information; some paparazzi told Howe they paid off the Department of Motor Vehicles for license plate numbers so celebrity cars can be easily spotted on the road.

Frank Griffin, who runs one of the most well-established agencies, Bauer-Griffin, told Howe he spends from $50,000 to $100,000 a year on information.

Another prominent photographer and agency owner, Phil Ramey, told Howe he maintains an office overlooking the runway where private planes frequently land at Santa Monica airport.

That information enables the photographers to keep up with their competition, who also are trying to capture both salacious images of stars caught in compromising positions and ordinary shots of actresses running to the supermarket.

"They've become almost like a weekly soap opera whereby every week you check in to see whether Nick and Jessica are still together or, you know, how big Britney's 'bump' is, how well Jennifer's getting over Brad, and you do it every week," said Howe, referring to the public's apparently insatiable appetite for news about celebrities like married singers Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, pregnant pop icon Britney Spears and divorcing Hollywood power couple Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt.

Dangerous Chase or Wanted Publicity?

To satisfy the demand of so many weekly tabloids, the photographers are constantly looking to the stars.

One episode of MTV's realty show "Newlyweds," showed Jessica Simpson driving in California and wondering aloud if the paparazzi were trying to run her off the road. A car, apparently carrying a paparazzi photographer, is shown following her vehicle.

Earlier this summer the Los Angeles Police Department began investigating the practices of paparazzi photographers, prompted in part by a May incident when actress Lindsay Lohan's car was allegedly struck by a photographer and moments later paparazzi arrived to photograph the scene.

There's also an effort by one California legislator, Cindy Montanez, D-San Fernando, to pass a bill making it easier for a celebrity to sue for damages when assaulted or intimidated by the paparazzi.

Howe says there are already plenty of laws on the books for reckless driving, speeding and other offenses.

The glare of the cameras has led hot-headed stars like Sean Penn and even the typically more reserved Coldplay frontman Chris Martin to throw punches toward unwanted cameras, and actress Cameron Diaz has been known to respond by offering the paparazzi a shot of her middle finger. But those who make their living in the public eye would have a hard time denying they benefit from the publicity generated by the pesky photographers.

"It's definitely not 'oh the poor celebrities' and 'oh the evil paparazzi,' " said Howe. "This is an even, symbiotic relationship that kind of works for both of them."

"The stars get photographed by the paparazzi just when they've got a movie coming out," said Howe.

The paparazzi ultimately shrug off complaints from their subjects, and repeatedly told Howe it was all about the money.

And if that kind of cash sounds appealing -- keep your digital camera handy.

Amateur photographers have also joined the game. The initial image of Britney Spears and her first husband, Jason Alexander, is included in Howe's book with a curious story. The digital photo was taken by another groom in the chapel who spotted the pop star and was permitted to take a wedding photo. He then sold the image for $10,000.

Not bad for a random vacation photo.