A Time & Place for Paparazzi?

This post is not intended to celebrate the paparazzi subculture, but instead to pose the question: if they were relegated to a time and a place, along with some constraints and a sense of rule and order, would their contributions be welcome? (Disclaimer: I am sorry to admit that I have been known to buy tabloids -- blame it on the long lines at the grocery store.) If not for the orderly, respectful conduct of the paparazzi (and barricades and security!) we see at events like the Golden Globes, we would not have the pleasure of seeing Angelina in her Atelier Versace gown on the red carpet.

Photo Credit: Tumblr / Photographer Unknown

the power of a photograph

Immediately after Meghan McCain (daughter of Presidential hopeful, John McCain) posted a self portrait on Twitter, the nation went abuzz and a brouhaha ensued. I have to admit, the scandal (although I can't tell you exactly what the scandal is) prompted me to Google her and then immediately look up The Daily Beast where she is a columnist. The Daily Beast is now bookmarked on my computer.

FOLK ART

Snapshots are folk art and you can't discount folk art as an art form. Think of snapshots as today's Daguerreotypes to one day be collectibles of the future. (Okay -- not a great analogy since Polaroids would be a better one.)

Point is, with snapshots, families tend to create traditional styles of shooting. While growing up, my family was big on dinner table shots. I'm pretty sure this had to do with my parents always being dressed up fancy and my mother having had the table done up just so. If it was Thanksgiving, a turkey would grace the table, if a birthday, a birthday cake, but other than that, it was always sans food and seriously static.

Currently, the tradition with my kids is that my oldest winks in all the shots and my youngest intentionally closes his eyes.