“People think we're scumbags. But celebrities call us!’ The changing world of paparazzi

We have long lived in the age of paparazzi, yet the general public ignores the reality of how these images are created. Many people think that it happens as freewheeling photographers to come across reality TV stars working out in full make-up, or musicians walking very slowly towards their cars in front of five-star hotels, or soap opera actors frolicking in the waves in Dubai. What the public doesn't see: paparazzi vacationing with celebrities; agents who have paparazzi on speed dial; the paparazzi who donate a share of their earnings to the people they photograph.

But the past few months have seen the paparazzi thrust, blinded and reluctant, into the spotlight. In the recently concluded 'Wagatha Christie' libel case, text messages were submitted to court in which Rebekah Vardy and her former agent Caroline Watt discussed informing the Splash News photo agency of the arrest of footballer Danny Drinkwater, as well as arranging for a paparazzo to photograph – without their consent – ​​a group of footballing partners exiting a restaurant during the 2018 World Cup. (Splash News and Backgrid are the main photo agencies in the industry, responsible for most images sold in newspapers and magazines.)

Meanwhile, the public's mania for paparazzi photos continues to grow. In January, pop star and beauty entrepreneur Rihanna announced her pregnancy with a series of staged photographs showing her walking with her boyfriend, rapper A$AP Rocky, in Harlem, New York. In March, the internet went into a paroxysm of nostalgia when Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck recreated a scene from Lopez's 2002 music video Jenny from the Block for the benefit of a conveniently positioned photographer with a long-lens camera. . In June, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling were photographed looking like a neon nightmare while filming the long-awaited Barbie movie in Venice Beach, Los Angeles.

"I think a lot people are pretty stupid about how it works," says Manchester-based paparazzo Aaron Parfitt. "People think we're bastards hanging from trees. But these celebrities are calling us. He estimates that 80% of his shots are prepared in advance. "I've been on vacation with celebrities," says Parfitt, 22. "Most of them are reality stars. We go to Spain, shoot six bikini sets and hold them throughout the month. type="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement" class="dcr-10khgmf ">