The changing face of the paparazzi trade, an Internet-fueled industry that feeds on the public's seemingly insatiable interest in entertainment news. Photo agencies are increasingly relying on submissions from regular folk who either happen to bump into celebrities while carrying digital cameras, or who have injected themselves into the cat-and-mouse game of celebrity snapshots, despite any formal training.
This has led to an explosion in the number of photographs available to magazines and Web sites like TMZ or Perez Hilton. And it has created friction with the old-guard paparazzi, who often find themselves navigating throngs of amateurs at red-carpet events. The pros complain that the newcomers are partly to blame for depressed prices, since they sometimes agree to sell shots for $25 or $50 that could have commanded several hundred dollars before. What's more, they gripe about rude and particularly aggressive behavior from some of the amateurs – no small allegation in an industry long known for its anything-goes tactics. [...] the most successful contributors are people who find themselves in the right place at the right time, such as a guest who is staying in the same Maui hotel as Nicole Richie. 'They can break the story before anybody else,' he said. 'That is the future, without a doubt.' [...]
One of his stars is Justin Campbell, an 18-year-old college student in New York whose first big break was snagging a shot of Kirstie Alley eating pie -- 'right when she was doing the Jenny Craig thing,' Mr. Campbell said. The photo ended up in the National Enquirer, and Mr. Campbell made $600. Many days, he goes on the prowl for celebrities as soon as he finishes classes in the afternoon, often staying out until 2 a.m. 'He reminds me of me when I was a kid,' Mr. Elterman said.
On a single evening last month, Mr. Campbell photographed Paris Hilton in four different locations, as well as Bruce Willis, Rosanna Arquette and Hollywood stylist Rachel Zoe. He sends his photos to Buzz Foto's site, where Mr. Elterman then tries to sell them to magazines, newspapers and Web sites. When photos sell, Buzz Foto pays photographers 60% of the sales price. Scoopt, which operates in a similar way, pays 40%.
The services generally prohibit contributors from submitting photos to more than one agency and some ask that contributors refrain from posting submissions on personal blogs. Photographers also must affirm that their pictures weren't altered or taken in violation of privacy laws. [...] shooting celebrities on the street means 'fighting off the cellphones.' [...]
The reason these services are thriving [...] is that the general public is more likely to come across a million-dollar sighting than a photographer dispatched to capture an image. [...] But only one in 10 photos he receives is saleable, Mr. Lyons said, and only 1% will earn 'good money' – several thousand dollars or more. "
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
These techniques are of interest to law-enforcement officials and defense attorneys because photographic evidence can make or break cases. News organizations also have been increasingly exploring ways to spot hoaxes. [...]
The key [...] is to use tools in combination. A criminal or hoaxer might be sophisticated enough to defeat one technique, but not all at once.
Fridrich's research takes advantage of the fact that all cameras have tiny flaws, so small they don't affect what the eye can see. For example, her software could analyze a set of photographs taken by the same camera and notice that a certain, defective pixel is always dark. Seeing that pixel light up would suggest an alteration.
Dartmouth College professor Hany Farid, meanwhile, has developed a set of software tools he collectively calls Q-IF. He sells the programs for up to $25,000 a year.
One tool looks for the use of clone stamp, a feature for duplicating or erasing objects in an image. Two cloned flowers would appear identical and lack expected blemishes.
Another exploits how cameras capture color images. Color is a mixture of red, green and blue. Rather than have sensors that detect all three for each pixel, they generally alternate in a specific pattern. That pattern gets disrupted with airbrushing.
Other techniques include looking for inconsistencies in lighting and shadows. [...]
Photoshop already has a logging feature, which can track and record every change made along the way - standard procedure these days in law enforcement. [...]
Adobe has no specific release schedule, though, on tamper-detection tools. The worry is that these same tools can help hoaxers test whether their changes escape notice."
