Rules of the Paparazzi

No Touchy

Never touch a celebrity, because many celebrities have large, violent bodyguards just waiting to put their muscles to use. Besides a brutal beat down, touching a celebrity in certain scenarios is assault and can land a paparazzi photographer in the slammer.

If You Want Privacy, Don't Live in LA

Los Angeles is full of paparazzi looking to photograph one of the many stars that live or work there. Rich celebrities have the resources to live in areas where paparazzi photographers are scarce. Many celebrities, such as Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, chose to live and raise families outside of Los Angeles for privacy.

Halle Berry's Law Protecting Children of Celebrities

In 2013, Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner testified on behalf of California Senate Bill 606 to increase penalties for paparazzi photographers. The bill discourages photographers from using aggressive tactics towards celebrities' children while photographing or taping the children.

It's Helpful to Goad the Celebrity with Verbal Abuse

A photo of a celebrity taking a swing at a photographer sells for more than a photo of the celebrity just going out for coffee. For this reason, it is sometimes successful to instigate the celebrity with verbal abuse to get a reaction out of them. Paparazzi get away with verbal abuse because the Constitution guarantees individuals freedom of speech.

Aerial Cams of Private Property Are Legal

There is no need for a photographer to risk his freedom to get a photo of a celebrity on private property. It is legal to film the celebrity on private property if the photographer uses an aerial cam while shooting from public property.

Stay Out of Their Way

Many paparazzi photographers who came too close to a celebrity ended up with their equipment broken. While overseas, Beyonce and Jay Z had a mob of paparazzi filming and photographing them. A member of the mob accidentally poked the stars' bodyguard. The angry bodyguard then proceeded to ruin the equipment that poked him.