AL'S RANTS
"Hollywood Photographers"
I have been covering this town since 1989 and I have seen some changes happing here in Tinsletown in just this short amount of time that could affect the way we do business in the future.
For the lack of a better word a photographer that captures the images of mainly famous people have been branded "Paparazzi"; the word originated in the film LA DOLCE VITA by Italian director Federico Fellini. The name now is synonymous with any photographer carrying a camera at whatever function stars flock.
I would like to finally set the record straight by stating that there is definitely a pecking order and a difference among the types of photographers that cover this town.
First off a true Paparazzi would never be seen anywhere near an event as they rely on assignments and exclusives to command the massive paychecks and expenses they invoice mostly national and international tabloids. Newspapers, the most respectable of the publishing world are notoriously cheap when offering compensation for photographs! These unique hybrid of photographer/covert operatives never have to deal with publicists or calling the various pr firms to be added on any RSVP lists. They truly have a disdain for the rich and famous and only wish to make bucket loads of cash to retire early. Some have dubbed them "Scumarazzis or Stalkarazzis" chances are you won't see them in tuxedos at the Academy Awards!
Yet it puzzles and infuriates me when entertainment shows like ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, ACCESS HOLLYWOOD or E! ENTERTAINMENT do their scandal pieces or Paparazzi stories around sweeps week, they always use their stock footage of the invited photographers at movie premieres or events, further confusing the public misconception that all celebrity photographers are the same!
Next up on the list are what we call the red carpet Paparazzi, that are privileged fotogs allowed to roam the red carpet without barricades and hassles, these are mainly photographers covering for "the trades" (Variety & The Hollywood Reporter) the film studios and the wire services like AP (Associated Press) and Reuters.
Lastly in the food chain of photographers are the freelance and agency lens men that litter the photo pits, erected in front of movie houses in the greater Los Angeles area. Anywhere from 20-60 photographers inhabit the makeshift cages all trying to get the same shot as their neighbor who just so happens to be their competitor! Photographers representing every country in the world send in their best shots to be considered for publication.
These days images are captured via digital cameras and sent over the internet, anyone remember film? The new upstarts vying for dominance are the internet agencies, promising the quickest simplest way to extract images from their sites in time to make deadlines. Wire Image and Image Direct go head to head on a daily basis recruiting the top talent in variety of fields. This may possibly revolutionize the business and change the status quo of day to day shooting.
When I first started in this business a person had to have some knowledge of photography, nowadays with auto focus cameras and laptops one just has to have a grasp of technology. A photographer would take his bounty of film to their lab, select the best shots and ship them via FedEx to either their agent or client. Nowadays you just take out your disk and insert it into your laptop and send it via a modem right from the event! It is no longer an art form but a bonafide business, forget everything you may have learned in photo class now it is just a matter of speed not quality.
So then what does the future hold for the freelancer? Already the pens are becoming smaller and smaller to accommodate the growing amount of video shows that continue to crop up every season and lets not fool ourselves, this is a television era. Already it can seen in the attitude of pr people everywhere; those precious sound bites on ET are a lot more important to them than a hundred of stills that will fill periodicals worldwide, besides they have what they consider the important photographers on the red carpet anyway. Apparently we have been reduced to window dressing, a prop for those video crews to capture yelling and screaming for the star of the evening.
So what happens to the dinosaur that has not yet converted to the digital camera (which can cost over 3 Thousand and change) are they obsolete? Just about and if you are not scanning and transmitting these days you can just about kiss you foreign sales goodbye!
In an industry that does not offer retirement or benefits or have any kind of union representation it makes one wonder why they would want to work in this field in the first place. Contrary to what you might have heard, the streets are not paved with gold here in "photoland." I mean don't get me wrong it has had been fun and its' nice to be your own boss and have a flexible work schedule but don't be blinded by the illusion that you'll become wealthy in an industry that eats its' own....
Your Man in The Trenches,
Al Ortega
