\n<\/p>\n
But of course, there are exceptions. Another female photographer, who has been working carpets for about 10 years, says that gender parity doesn\u2019t always lead to a healthier environment; the photographer Roan yelled at at the VMAs was a woman. \u201cIt\u2019s a little more balanced,\u201d she says. \u201cBut unfortunately, some of the most toxic people are women.\u201d<\/p>\n
As in other industries, some women may feel like they have to replicate the behavior of their male predecessors to fit in or get a leg up. \u201cThat\u2019s residual of just women having to adapt and be seen as equal\u2014and that includes being equally, and more, offensive,\u201d the photographer says.<\/p>\n
Along with COVID, the rise of social media dramatically shifted the photography environment. Longtime photographer Jeff Kravitz points out that the Grammys photo pit used to pen in around 75 photographers. This year, it only housed around 14 of them by his count\u2014and the back rows were used instead for social media reps from various publications, many of whom were taking video. Those social media reporters have a very different approach than traditional photographers, often supplying a more fly-on-the-wall perspective rather than jostling for the talent\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n
The talent themselves also have more control over their photos and videos now, thanks to social media. It used to be that you\u2019d have to wait until a celebrity hit the carpet to see what they were wearing; now talent can post their looks on their own social media before they head out. \u201cOur whole world has changed,\u201d says Kravitz. \u201cThe first time I saw someone\u2019s cell phone picture run instead of my photograph, I was like, \u2018Here\u2019s the beginning of the end.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, there\u2019s value to official red-carpet photos\u2014especially for the fashion and jewelry brands that dress the stars. \u201cThe designers that are loaning and the jewelers that are loaning and all of those things, they care more about the red-carpet shot because that is still the thing that carries internationally,\u201d says the publicist. \u201cThey care about those red-carpet shots, so that\u2019s still important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thanks to social media, a photographer\u2019s bad behavior can also be caught on camera\u2014and broadcast for all the internet to see. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to be shouting at people in their faces and then going viral,\u201d says another veteran photographer based in Los Angeles. \u201cWe have now become the target of social media attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the 2024 Met Gala, several photographers were caught on a livestream talking about the K-Pop group Stray Kids in a mocking tone, saying, \u201cI\u2019ve never seen so many unemotional faces in my life\u201d and \u201cthey\u2019re like robots.\u201d The video went viral, leading the group\u2019s passionate fans to hunt down the photographers\u2019 names, spam their social media accounts, and even hack<\/a> one of their websites, replacing the content with a blank page containing only the message \u201cApologize to Stray Kids.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou really have to watch your Ps and Qs out there. Nobody\u2019s irreplaceable\u2014everybody\u2019s expendable,\u201d says Kravitz. \u201cIf you like your job, you like what you\u2019re doing, just shut your mouth and do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n