America Runs on Ben
A handful of stories about our collective obsession with J.
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Then as now, the couple has galvanized a full complement of aggressive paparazzi to document their every move.
Then as now, their images are splashed across guilty-pleasure reads such as theDailyMailand TMZ.
But some things are different this time around.
We call it the golden era of the celebrity candids business.
As a photographer, you have certain things youre looking for: new relationships, babies, kids.
The go-to shots are new romances.
But two celebrities together?
At the top of their game?
That was a time that will be etched into everyones minds.
We call it the golden era of the celebrity candids business.
The early pictures of them were going for low- to mid-six figures.
And then the ongoing relationship it was $100,000, $200,000.
Compared to now, thats unheard of.
Every day, $5,000, $10,000 on single-image pictures.
Generally speaking, Ben and Jen are both fairly accessible even in the beginning.
They would drive around in a convertible Bentley in the middle of the day.
Youre not exactly trying to hide.
But then our industry began to change.
People who werent trained as photographers started coming in.
It was just people who knew how to push the shutter on a camera.
Whenever theres a high dollar amount, theres always infighting.
There was a lot of tension.
A lot of competitiveness.
Would the photographers take a stab at kill each other?
They were pap fodder pretty much from day one.
And all of them were competing.
It wouldnt be uncommon to have five, six, ten cars of paparazzi following Jennifer and Ben around.
Carloads of people chasing them, sometimes at high rates of speed.
If you were shooting them, it was still very much considered an invasion of privacy.
It was a lot more intrusive than it is now.
Youd want pictures of them doing anything.
Youd want it to be story-based.ensure you get the two-shot of them in the car.
confirm you get the cop.
ensure you get the cop talking to them.
Whether the story is true or not is irrelevant.
Hes probably asking the cop to tell five carloads of guys to stop.
But this time around, the money isnt nearly as good.
I havent bothered to work on them for a number of reasons.
Theres people on them every single day, so getting an exclusive isnt going to happen.
Theres still demand with TMZ, theDailyMail but the dollar amount has lessened.
Photo sets of them go for three to four figures, depending on what theyre doing.
A shot of them having dinner, nonexclusive, thats probably a couple of grand.
The thing about Ben, before he was with Jennifer Lopez, nobody cared.
Ever since that, hes been tabloid fodder every single day of his life.
He came up to me and yelled at me a couple of times for taking photos of him.
Im sitting there thinking,Why are you yelling at me?
If you didnt want to get shot, you wouldnt.
I think you like the attention to an extent.
You may not like the constant throng of it.
Ive gotten cussed out by Elton John.
(He called me a stupid cunt.)
Ive been cussed out by David Beckham more times than I can count.
But Ive never had Ben say one negative thing to me ever.
Same with Jennifer Lopez.
Ben and Jen are a great story.
Theyve got previous history together.
The funny thing is, when you look at Ben with Jen Garner, he wasnt really so flashy.
Theres just something when he gets around Jennifer Lopez, thats when you start seeing yachts.
Last time I saw him, he was wearing a fur coat like a rapper.
Theres a team of guys that work on both Ben and Jennifer Lopez.
I was up in Bel Air recently and saw the guys outside Jennifers house waiting to catch them.
Ive never been the best at doorstepping.
But those guys, theyre in it for the long haul.
But just them walking around?
Once its old news, youre talking maybe a couple hundred bucks here or there.
I need something to get millions of views before I start to see good money on it.
I think they will sustain interest as a celebrity couple.
But as far as the intensity of people trying to get them, its going down.
He knows people want pictures.
I used to work JenniferGarnerand Ben a lot, and Ben when he was single.
He pulled up next to my car and said, Lets go.
If you could keep up with me, Ill give you pictures.
My last experience with him and Ana de Armas, they came out and they walked the dog.
They went three blocks down the road, and it took roughly an hour because they walked so slow.
There must have been ten photographers scattered all over the road.
There was construction everywhere, food deliveries.
And those two are in the middle of it.
It was surreal to see.
Ben knows how to play the game.
He knows that people want pictures.
Hes not going to run and avoid the pictures at least not every day.
He knows hes got to feed the beast.
Sometimes hell say, Is that good for today guys?
Because I want the rest of the day to myself.
Mark Karloff, working paparazzo and co-host ofPaparazzi Podcast
Its like theyre kind of flaunting their relationship.
He knows how it works.
That old-school mentality is brilliant.
Youve seen the pictures of them house hunting, getting off private jets together.
And again, it seems like the slow-motion, make-sure-everybody-gets-their-shot thing.
Its like theyre kind of flaunting their relationship.
Even when she was with A-Rod, she wasnt giving it up to the amount that she is now.
It was tough to get her and A-Rod together, and it was a big-money picture when it happened.
I dont see this Bennifer relationship lasting.
I dont see it being marriage.
I dont see it even lasting into next year.
I mean, its great for photographers because theyre making money off it.
But its almost like theyre taunting.
Jedi,working paparazzo and co-host ofPaparazzi Podcast
