Paparazzi are always on standby at LAX

• Posted By: Bryan Chan
• On: 11:16 a.m. | September 27, 2010

It’s back to business as usual for the LAX paparazzi after the altercation between actor Russell Brand and a photographer as a group tried to photograph Brand and his fiancee, singer Katy Perry, a week and a half ago.

The core group of paparazzi who regularly roam the terminals at Los Angeles International Airport in search of celebrity prey rely on luck, instinct and tips to catch them. They say the trouble was started by outsiders. The veteran LAX paparazzi say the airport beat is not as chaotic as chasing celebrities on the streets of Los Angeles.

“You get 20 or 30 seconds to talk to them, and usually they are friendly and in good spirits,” says one.

Their work is like going to the office, says another, because of the flight schedules and familiar turf.

But the payoff is less for these shots or footage. Read Harriet Ryan’s story “LAX paparazzi regulars frown on the Russell Brand incident.”

Photo: Veteran paparazzo Joseph Recinos and Edwin Blanco wait outside the American Airlines terminal at LAX after receiving a tip about a celebrity arrival there. Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times