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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
"Paparazzi"---changing interpretations.
Robert Scheer, Photographer
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Indianapolis | IN | USA | Posted: 1:48 PM on 05.02.10 |
->> So a couple of days ago I'm at a high school tennis meet. I introduced myself to the coach (maybe 45 years old), who was really nice and shot the breeze with me for a few minutes before the matches started. As I turned to head to the #1 doubles court, she said "have fun and Paparazzi all you want!"
I was a bit stunned, said "thanks," shot my matches and went to go file.
To most of us, the word conjures up Lady Di, shady characters creeping through the bushes with 400s and renting boats to make bikini shots of celebs on vacation.
But, could the definition be changing, at least somewhat? I didn't ask the coach what she meant exactly, but she didn't treat me like a slime ball, and knew I was there to cover the match for the local daily.
It used to be that few people had nice cameras, and the word "photojournalist," was held in more awe. Now, everybody's got a nice rig it seems, and is by extension a photojournalist. Perhaps for some people the word "paparazzi" is the new "photojournalist," and signifies nothing nefarious, just a photographer who has access to things most people don't, and a certain privileged position?
Most of us hear kids say "paparazzi" all the time when we show up to events. I kept it to myself, but it really used to tick me off. Kids are so much more media savvy today than they were even a few years ago. In many places I've been, people think it's kind of cool that they might be photographed for the paper.
Maybe I'm thinking about this too much and am too forgiving, but I think the average 15-year-old isn't visualizing me ramming my car into a celeb's SUV for a reax picture, but as a pro with a fancy camera who might make them famous. Would I rather they call me a photojournalist, of course, but if a certain amount of respect is starting to come with the word Paparazzi, I guess I'll take it.
Thoughts? |
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Jay Westcott, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | USA | Posted: 2:27 PM on 05.02.10 |
->> I think we should go back to Speed Graphics, fedoras with "Press" cards sticking out of them and saying "whadayasaywhadayaknow kid?" when we approach our subjects. That will either relieve the confusion about being paparazzi or make people think "The Hudsucker Proxy 2" is being filmed...
With so much value put on the entertainment industry and celebrity coverage in the mainstream media I feel that the general public has a skewed vision between news and paparazzi. When your trusted news source shows you a "paparazzi-esque" photo or stakes out a hotel entrance or what have you, it must make it ok to call the person that took it "paparazzi." |
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Shelley Cryan, Photographer
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New England | CT | USA | Posted: 2:32 PM on 05.02.10 |
| ->> Good topic, Robert. Semantics are important. I prefer to correct people, politely. |
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Byron Hetzler, Photographer
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Granby | CO | USA | Posted: 3:07 PM on 05.02.10 |
| ->> I don't think the definition is changing, it's the fact that people THINK they are using the word appropriately. I always try to correct people, usually by saying "am I hiding in a bush or stalking anyone?" And also do it politely and educating them on the difference. |
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N. Scott Trimble, Photographer
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Lake Oswego | OR | USA | Posted: 3:15 PM on 05.02.10 |
->> I don't think so either. I have heard that thrown at me through the whole spectrum of emotions, from a barful of locals trying to corner me in North Carolina to Steve Nash joking about it with me at a celeb birthday party.
Ironically enough, I slithered into the polluted waters once. My wife and I were having an argument when I was freelancing in AZ, and a london paper called me to shoot Kate Moss going into rehab. I only agreed to do it because I wanted out of the house and sat in my car for three hours with a photo of the airport I had taken when I got there, and a book I had been meaning to read. They paper called and informed me that, darn it, she had flown into a different airport and was already signed in. I submitted my photo of the airport and got a check for $3000.00–and didn't feel dirty afterwards : ) I always laugh at the way things came together that day to avoid an argument about expenses, doing what I vowed never to do, and getting paid for not doing it. Visa? Priceless...
So, it really isn't so bad... |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 6:24 PM on 05.02.10 |
->> Most people think it means "someone who takes pictures with a big lens"... It's one of those things that photographers make a big deal out of and then leave them thinking we have chips on our shoulders.
It probably comes from only having learned about photography from MTV and VH1, who tend to glorify the term. |
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Darren Whitley, Photographer
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Northwest Missouri | MO | USA | Posted: 6:37 PM on 05.02.10 |
| ->> Lady Gaga probably has more to do with the name being thrown around than celebrity-smut on TV. |
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Michael Ip, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 7:34 PM on 05.02.10 |
->> I think it's simply ignorance. About a month or so ago, I was waiting outside the 6th Precinct in the West Village. There was a lot of media there because we were waiting for the guy who stabbed and killed a couple guys on the subway.
We were waiting across the street near the entrance of an apartment building and a resident asked us why we were there and the NYT guy politely told him what was up. The guy then said, so you're all paparazzi? The NYT quickly corrected him and told him how insulting that was. The guy apologized and claimed he had no idea there was a difference.
Reminds me of a time when I was still in the Army and a friend of mine asked me if it was ok if he called me Corporal. When I told him it would be insulting because it would essentially be demoting me many ranks, he responded with an ignorant "oh."
Ignorance is everywhere. Informing someone is a start to eradicating it. |
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Andrew Carpenean, Photographer
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Laramie | WY | USA | Posted: 8:08 PM on 05.02.10 |
| ->> Paparazzi is Italian for pest. Despite a new spin some may put on an overused word to generalize. Those of us who have been in this industry for awhile it will still hold the same connotation. |
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Jim Colburn, Photo Editor, Photographer
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McAllen | TX | USA | Posted: 8:15 PM on 05.02.10 |
->> Look, the term "paparazzi" comes from a character (a photographer) in a Fellini film whose name comes from some Italian word or saying that means an annoying noise, like a mosquito buzzing around your ear.
Face it. To a lot of people we are annoying. We get in the way (i.e. in front of THEM) at events. We get into concerts and games "for free" whereas THEY have to pay to get in and THEY sometimes have to leave their cameras (at least their good ones) at home.
They don't understand that we only have the first two or three songs to shoot before we have to get-the-hell-out and transmit or that if THEY want to see a decent picture of THEIR high school quarterback making the pass in tomorrow's paper we have to be on the freaking sidelines and NOT sitting in the 14th row of the stands.
They suck. They're assholes. They'll complain either way. So we might as well enjoy the access while we can and wave that PAPARAZZI flag high.
(I don't expect to get a lot of support on this...) |
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Kevin Seale, Photographer
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Jeff Lewis, Photographer
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Long Beach | CA | USA | Posted: 11:30 PM on 05.02.10 |
->> I see from all who responded to this thread that most of you don't live in the capital of the "paparazzi," Los Angeles. It is the WORST thing you can call a photojournalist or anybody with a camera in LA in my opinion. It is an insult and something I will correct immediately if somebody called me "paparazzi."
I remember I was at an event and a celebrity called me a paparazzi as a joke on the mic and I corrected him from the front and told him never to put that word on me. The crowd gave me a cheer for not wanting to be associated with that type of photographer.
As far as people thinking we as photographers are annoying, I believe if we take them into consideration when shooting and possibly talk to them and share what we shot by showing them the back of the camera for a quick second, they might be a little more forgiving. I have made a ton of friends in the front row at events and also security guards and those friendships go a long way when I am at the same event again.
Here in LA, I do have several friends who hang out in trees shooting celebrities. They are cool people and I do understand that it is a job but it's not the way I work. I have several good friends who I have made over the past several years who are celebrities and if they ever got the impression that I am associated with the paparazzi, the friendship would probably end.
As far as the woman who called Robert, "paparazzi," I don't think she really knew how bad a word it is but if you do hear a mom saying the word to any of you again, and she has a camera in her hand, just call her "mamarazzi" and maybe she might have a good laugh and be somebody who can help you next time you are at the same event.
Jeff |
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Patrick Fallon, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | USA | Posted: 2:38 AM on 05.03.10 |
->> One more note from the LA scene... there is a significant difference between a "paparazzi" and a red carpet photographer. The red carpet photographers are invited guests - an integral part of the Hollywood entertainment scene that magazines, publicists, celebrities, and studios rely upon to provide coverage of their events and the the publicity out there.
Don't confuse the two. |
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Neil Turner, Photographer
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Bournemouth | UK | United Kingdom | Posted: 2:53 AM on 05.03.10 |
->> I think that there are many kinds of Paparazzi these days - there are the professional folks who get endless tip-offs and many of whose pap' pictures are entirely staged by celebrity PRs. Then there are the hard working ones who make decent money by hunting down celebs and who (generally) know where to draw the line between chasing and stalking. Further down the food chain are the slightly desperate and very aggressive "get the shot at all costs" ones who are the folks who cause 99% of the problems. Finally there are the clueless part-time paps who have a day job and sell about $50 worth of images a week and dream of getting their big break.
Here in the UK there are more of the clueless and the aggressive buying cameras all of the time. Some London clubs and bars have a permanent gang of hapless paps outside during opening hours and it makes going to those places as a customer decidedly unpleasant. 20 people getting the same shot floods a market with bargain basement useless images but these guys don't seem to care about earning a living - it's all about the chase.
Sadly, the rest of us get the fall out and it can be a pain when you are on the streets of London carrying your gear. |
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Jeff Lewis, Photographer
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Long Beach | CA | USA | Posted: 10:39 AM on 05.03.10 |
->> Sounds like the paparazzi have the same problems that the sports photographers have.....
Lots of hard working people..... and a few undercutting, giving free pictures away, causing most of the problems, trying to get a big break photographers bringing the business down.
I know and shoot a lot of sporting events next to a ton of red carpet photographers and they are really decent people. They even own a tux in some cases and are the entertainment equivalent of sports photographers but its those shoot at all cost's photographers that even might give them a bad name.
Please people, find a decent way to make it in your field. Have values for yourself. Create a personal mission statement with your business plan and say in it that you will not do anything to bring down your industry and give your industry a bad name.
Jeff |
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Robert Scheer, Photographer
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Indianapolis | IN | USA | Posted: 2:05 PM on 05.03.10 |
->> Darren, I'm glad you brought up Gaga. I like the song, and I watched the video before posting this thread. Like her or not, she's very influential in pop culture now. In the Paparazzi video, she plays a character in an abusive relationship who is put in a wheelchair by a boyfriend. The Paparazzi are omnipresent, but never the villain, which is supported by the lyrics. While the paparazzi aren't sympathetic characters, Gaga could have easily painted them as a menace, but doesn't.
Jeff Lewis, I understand completely with the LA paparazzi vibe, which is legendary. In the case of my tennis coach, the vibe wasn't antagonistic, so if this scenario repeated itself this week, I'd probably handle it in the same way. It wasn't a big deal, as the hostile vibe wasn't there. I fully admit to reading into her intent, but how she chose to define "paparazzi" ultimately didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth. I personally didn't think there was a need to correct her. I'm kind of mellow like that.
This is how I handle people who say "hey, photography looks easy!" I used to lecture them about all the training and stuff, but now just smile and say, "yep! isn't it cool?!"
If someone gets in my face with a Paparazzi insult, and I'm absolutely not playing the pesky Paparazzi roll (I've had to twice in the past 15 years), I'd have no qualms about correcting them on the spot.
All about intent and context, IMO.
-B |
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James Nix, Photographer
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 6:39 PM on 05.04.10 |
| ->> I wonder how many "paps" correct people who confuse them with photojournalist. |
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