There’s been a kerfuffle over topless pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge (the link goes to a Wikipedia section about the controversy. Not the images themselves. We have boundaries!) The Economist looked at what this tells us about the economics of shooting such photos:

• On the one hand recent developments in lens technology and the rise of camera phones have made the job of the paparazzi easier than ever.
• On the other hand these technologies are now widely available to the public and anybody can publish photos of celebrities.
• This surge in competing supply combined with the dropping demand for gossip magazines means that it’s harder than ever to make a living as a paparazzi photographer.
• The right images can still make some serious money though. The topless photos of Kate Middleton could be worth as much as $1.6 million.

Read more about how Prince Harry fits into this, the increasingly harsh regulatory environment, and why Britain isn’t the haven that it used to be over here.

Source: The Economist