vocabulary

paparazzo
plural paparazzi
Etymology: Italian, from Paparazzo, surname of such a photographer in the film La dolce vita (1959)
: a freelance photographer who aggressively pursues celebrities for the purpose of taking candid photographs

I found the etymology here quite interesting, but my real motivation is a bit of friendly enlightenment. It just gets old being referred to as paparazzi (insert a big SIGH here), particularly because it's rare that I find myself among a pack. Also because, to date, very few of the people I have photographed are famous (well, maybe for 15 minutes). And though I sometimes work on a freelance basis, I usually don't have to pursue subjects aggressively. ; ) Basically, I'm saying that the majority of photographers (press or otherwise) are not paparazzo.