Some photographers even illegally tint the windows of their cars and remove the licence plates so they won't get caught. But others are right out there in the open: Recently, TMZ.com set up a camera on a tripod across the street from the Urth Caffe, an establishment stars are known to frequent. The cafe's founder, Shallom Berkman, was shocked: "They did it without permission," he says. Berkman also notes that some photographers do anything to get the shot. "They run right through the cafe. It's like we're invisible. It hurts our business and makes it uncomfortable for celebrities and patrons to enjoy." Except people do enjoy pictures of celebrities. A few years ago, tabloid magazines were the only place you could see Lindsay Lohan getting coffee. Now, web sites (including this one!) report up-to-the-minute details on the stars personal lives, and even MSNBC.com has a gossip column. And not only do people want to see photographs of stars, they want the same treatment: "Personal paparazzi" services are springing up across the country, according to Time magazine. Celeb 4 A Day provides clients with their own cameraman stalkers — and cool shots of them living their lives, (having a birthday party, going bar-hopping) if they want. "The goal isn't to produce a product," University Of Pennsylvania sociologist David Grazian says. "It's to heighten the experience of the event. In that sense, there doesn't even need to be any film in the camera."

Chronicling the lives of idols — and ourselves — is nothing new. But the sheer volume and intense scrutiny we've come to think of as normal, really isn't. We're barrelling down a "what's yours is mine" road at breakneck speed and assuming that because we once saw someone's movie that we deserve to see them without makeup in a drug store. (Or menstruating through their underwear.) Does anyone feel like eventually something's gotta give?

Paparazzi Are Their Focus [LA Times]
Your Own Personal Paparazzi [Time]
Disturbing Trend of the Day: Personal Paparazzi [Portƒolio]

Hear that, Mrs. Beckham? The city that is home to the Playboy Mansion and the highest concentration of plastic surgeons and tanning salons in the Western world thinks you're too thin, too tan and your boobs are too big. What's more, you're surrounded by women who want to shag your husband! Maybe you, Pamela Anderson and Jessica Simpson can start some sort of safe haven for glamourbots!

What L.A. Women Think Of Posh [Mirror]