Paparazzi: A freelance photographer who doggedly pursues celebrities to take candid pictures for sale to magazines and newspapers
The world of photography takes on a bit of an ugly side when freelance photographers are on the prowl, hungry for the perfect shot of the unsuspecting celebrity. The photo on the left is a picture of Tiger Wood's car taken after a late night/early morning accident on his own personal propery. Tiger Woods has become the newest victim of the paparazzi. Although, certainly Tiger Woods is not the first nor last victim of the persistent paparazzi, and he definitely cannot stake claim to the "most harassed" celebrity. I think one of the most publicized cases of the paparazzi and their relentess pursuit of photos takes us back to August of 1997 in Paris, France, when Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed, and Henri Paul lost their lives in a car chase gone badly.
The French paparazzi admitted to taking photos only ten feet away from Princess Diana's fatally injured body.
Please see link below which describes the story of the French paparazzi.
Society was outraged at the paparazzi's role in the death of Princess Diana, and certainly their anger was justified; however, one must also ask the question, who are the paparazzi taking these pictures for?? Who are their intended audience? Look in the mirror!! It's US!! As a society, we thrive on photos and websites and videos and stories of celebrities. . . .thus if it wasn't for our incessant need and desire for these very pictures the paparazzi would fade away. Instead, this is a booming business with high money at stake for the perfect picture!!
I found a great article written by a sophomore journalism student talking about the very dangerous relationship of the paparazzi and the consumer.
As much as I don't care for the paparazzi and I feel they diminish the beauty of photography, they are one of the many threads of society woven together to create the world we live in today.
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