I'm a celebrity snapper - get out a camera and send me pictures

Paparazzi supremo Darryn Lyons tells James Robinson over at The Guardian about his plan to use the public to shoot the stars - even if it's with a mobile phone.

... "With his brightly coloured hair and ostentatious clothes, Lyons has become the public face of celebrity photographers. ... His shots of Princess Diana holidaying with Dodi Fayed made his reputation - and quite possibly his first fortune. They were sold around the world and made millions.

Lyons has made more money from celebrities than anyone else - he estimates that his company Big Pictures handles about 5,000 photos a day.

With MrPaparazzi.com, Lyons provides yet another revenue stream by giving members of the public an easy way to sell shots taken on digital cameras or mobile phones.

He concedes that 'punters' could approach newspapers themselves, but says his relationship with 5,000 or so titles guarantees he will get a better price - and contributors' anonymity is guaranteed.

He claims to have made £200,000 for punters in the three months since he set it up.

The site also pays for tips of possible stories or information about celebrities' whereabouts.

MrPaparazzi.com is currently getting about 300,000 hits a week, and Lyons wants to turn it into a 'social networking' site in the MySpace vein. It will provide news, text alerts and possibly even video footage before long."

emily | 9:56 AM | Citizens as Camera Phone Reporters |
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