By Tiffany Miller, PayScale.com
If there were a list of most hated professions, paparazzi might earn the top spot. Few people besides telemarketers earn wrath like these professionals. But Julie Smith doesn't have the cold heart you'd expect.
The freelance photographer and sometimes paparazzi fell into the job on accident. She was working for a now defunct entertainment magazine when she suggested they start covering more movie premieres and celebrity parties. Suddenly she was fighting for a spot with the rest of the paparazzi.
"It was just a few years ago when celebrities were just starting to be hunted," she said.
It's the sort of profession where you truly are baptized by fire. She said you're forced to yell at the celebs to get their attention.
"I once yelled at Matthew Broderick, calling him Andy on accident," she said. "At least it got his attention. He thought it was funny" The rest of the paparazzi weren't so amused, telling her to 'Get it together!' She learned to use her wit and sense of humor. "They do respond to jokes," she said.
While she doesn't mind packing in with the press on the red carpet, she gets butterflies when she goes undercover. But that didn't stop her from photographing a well-known recovering alcoholic at a party with her girlfriend in the Hampton's.
"I was jumping over tables to get a good shot," she said.
The picture is still circulating more than a year after it was taken. Smith gets a check every time it's used, about $50-$100 each month She admits it's not a flattering photo. "It makes her look like she's wasted. But I'm not sure she was even drinking," she said.
Smith said it was once easy for paparazzi to make a living at the profession, simply following the big names around. "It's much harder now. So many kids go out to LA and get into it. There's so many more people following the stars," she said.
So Smith has just taken a nobler job as a photographer at a magazine. She says she may sell photos again, but for now she'll sleeps better at night.
What do photographers make?
Freelance photographer -- $35,728
Photojournalist -- $37,403
News photographer -- $43,001
Fashion photographer -- $48,710
Sports photographer -- $44,686
*Salary data is from PayScale.com. Salaries listed are for full time workers with 5-8 years of experience and include any bonuses or profit sharing.
Next: 20 Jobs That Pay $20 Per Hour
May 20th 2009 @ 7:15AM Andy
What a noble profession - and here I thought there would never be anything lower than a lawyer.
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May 20th 2009 @ 8:41AM rikstik71664
Not ALL lawyers... it's that 99% of them that give the rest a bad name.
May 20th 2009 @ 9:20AM Gregg
Andy-it has been my experience that people like you who insult lawyers are usually people whose lawyer was not as good as the other guy's lawyer. People hate lawyers until they need one, and then they want the best one available.
May 20th 2009 @ 2:02PM Lydia
Lawyers are a noble profession. Don't lump everyone in the same category based on a few bad apples. If you ever need an advocate .. you call a lawyer.
May 20th 2009 @ 10:59AM D. Goldman
Andy, you forgot New/Used Car salespeople and Mortgage Brokers.
May 20th 2009 @ 7:45PM lawmiss
what are you a car salesman? there are many professions lower than the practice of law.
May 20th 2009 @ 1:00PM Jim
Lawyers are STILL the scum of the earth.
May 20th 2009 @ 3:21PM afimedia
There is nothing lower than a politician. Examine every politician on Capitol Hill and you will find a combination of lawyer, liar, tax cheat, murderer, sexual deviant, thief, con man (person), skunk, and seasoned with a whole bunch of bullshit.
May 22nd 2009 @ 12:57PM loretta
ON accident? ON accident?? The correct way to write that is BY accident. If you are going to write, PLEASE at least TRY to not butcher the English language too much.
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May 20th 2009 @ 8:16AM KC
Gee, and I thought Italian nouns were gender specific - - - like, how can a female be a paparazzo? How can one person be paparazzi? How do people who write such sloppy articles keep a job?
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May 20th 2009 @ 9:28AM Jackster
Paparazzo is the singular form of paprazzi
May 20th 2009 @ 10:57AM Michelle
I agree. I also caught "on accident" instead of "by accident". This got past an editor? Also it was no confession, it was a lot of talking but saying nothing.
May 20th 2009 @ 10:54AM Amy
KC,
That was funny.
May 20th 2009 @ 11:18AM Rick
KC,
A very good point. I struggle with this nearly everyday online.
It could very well be the 'pay scale' involved in these 'social studies' on vapid topics.
Why would they pay Tiffany Miller anything for what is, evidently, filler..?
Cheers!
May 20th 2009 @ 11:19AM Rick
KC,
A very good point. I struggle with this nearly everyday online.
It could very well be the 'pay scale' involved in these 'social
studies' on vapid topics.
Why would they pay Tiffany Miller anything for what is, evidently,
filler..?
Cheers!
May 22nd 2009 @ 9:39AM smokey
Yeah, that caught my attention too.
May 20th 2009 @ 8:36AM Joel
Photography is a fine profession, real photojournalism is a perfectly legitimate branch of photography. The paparazzi, on the other hand, are nothing but leeches and parasites who stalk and prey on people to get the most unflattering pictures they can for publication in the supermarket rags. They are deserving only of our contempt.
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May 20th 2009 @ 8:27AM Tanya
It's a terrible way to make a living but can you blame anyone? The "readers" want it.. supply and demand. The only way to change it is to change everyone's perception of how they see "stars" and that will never happen. People glorify these actors and actresses but I personally see no reason why they are treated the way they are. They are not special and they certainly do nothing more than provide entertainment. Who cares what they do and who they do it with out in their life. Show me a good movie, television show or news broadcast and let me move on with my life.
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May 20th 2009 @ 11:10AM norgermish
The people might want it, but they DON'T need it. It is all about money NOT the people. Some jobs help people, some jobs hurt people, and some jobs are just jobs. But this type of work is destructive in every way. Instant gratification, it is a fast food society (I'm not only talking only about what we eat), that will end up devoring itself into unrecognizable proportions, and we are in it!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 20th 2009 @ 12:12PM ed
The "readers" want it. Supply and demand make it ok? You need a reality check. There's another job where HUGE demand from yhe public and the ability to make great profits don't make the job acceptable. Drug dealers just get locked up.