Paparazzi Business, an Ever-emerging Industry

Despite the “hidden camera” tumult in Korea this summer, for the Paparazzis (people who secretly take and sell pictures of celebrities) in foreign countries, summer is the best season for business.

If only they could take a picture of celebrities in bikinis, they could sell them at expensive prices. If they were lucky (?) enough to get a picture of a nude celebrity, the price is apt to soar.

Recent edition (July 30) of English weekly magazine The Economist reported that the Paparazzi business is on the rise. In case of the UK, with the foundation of the magazine New!, photography magazine, paparazzi market is said to be rapidly growing.

With “New! competing fiercely with existing paparazzi magazines, such as Heat and Now, sales of paparazzi magazines have now exceeded that of entertainment magazines. Heat alone sells over 1 million copies per week.

Prices of photographs range from thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the popularity of the celebrity. Interesting fact is that pictures of celebrity`s ordinary lives, for instance, celebrities doing grocery, are more expensive than pictures of celebrities at clubs. One advantage of the paparazzi business is that the entry barrier is low. A camera and a little wit will do. For this reason, many people start the business, dreaming of getting rich at one stroke. However, it is said that only 5 percent of newcomers’ photographs are actually considered using.

The secret to paparazzi pictures is patience. Many paparazzis spend nights in front of celebrities’ homes. However, according to the so-called experts, rather than recklessly waiting, it is more effective to get clues from guards, doormen, chauffeurs and waiters.

Then who are the victims of the paparazzi business? The celebrities? According to The Economist, the real victims are the readers.

For, in many cases, paparazzis plot with the celebrities before taking pictures. David Fraser, paparazzi who took pictures of David and Victoria Beckham, is in question for the purity (?) of the pictures.

Then how could one distinguish plotted pictures from real ones? The answer is simple. If celebrities in the pictures look older, fatter, uglier, more ridiculous or more drunk than usual, the picture is genuine.

Jei-Gyoon Park phark@donga.com