Ron Galella had an enormous impact on photojournalism and the role and perception of the paparazzi. His methods for obtaining quality photographs were uncanny, intrusive, and different from what anyone else was doing before him. Some people claimed that he was a nuisance and a creep, while others praise him because of the magnificent moments he captured, like his very famous photo of Jackie Kennedy Onassis with her hair blowing in the wind. So was it wrong for Galella to stalk these celebrities and invade their lives just to get candid pictures of them and sell them to magazines? Or was what he did actually okay?
Back in the 1960s, Ron Galella was one of a kind. There wasn’t an entire paparazzi culture that stalked the streets of New York and Los Angeles yet. He was known as they crazy guy who followed people around, which made him a target for criticism. His pictures got a lot of heat because of when he took them. Photos like the Falling Man from September 11th or the fireman holding the dying baby are seen as unethical and revealing because they show people when they are very vulnerable and can be openly identified and judged. While Galella’s photos weren’t graphic or disturbing, they were still controversial because he would sneak into venues or hide in places just to snap a “money shot”.
Many celebrities felt as if they were harassed by Galella. He would stake out in front of their houses, follow them in cars, and hide behind bushes and corners. While most of his pictures were taken in public, he was taking pictures of people in times that they felt like should be private, such as Jackie O playing with her son or Audrey Hepburn walking to a car in her driveway. The SPJ Code of Ethics states that we should “balance the public’s need for information against potential harm or discomfort.” The frequency of his actions made his subjects uneasy. He intentionally was pushing the boundaries of private and public for newsworthy pictures and it made people uncomfortable.
While what he did was unconventional and disruptive, Galella actually snapped hundreds upon thousands of great pictures. He felt as if he was just entertaining the public by showing them how celebrities lived. Andy Warhol was quoted saying “My idea of a good picture is one that’s in focus and of a famous person doing something unfamous…That’s why my favorite photographer is Ron Galella”. He helped show the world that celebrities were people too, and the only way to capture their true selves was to catch them off guard or in a place they felt safe. He thought he was doing us all a favor and acted very innocent.
I don’t think that Ron Galella’s style of photojournalism is very acceptable. Getting a great picture is not as important as respecting the privacy and comfort of people, whether they be in the public eye or not. The Code of Ethics says to minimize harm, and that means that you must try to be as least obtrusive as you possibly can, which he never did. His style is an extreme form of photojournalism and it really turned people off to the idea of the paparazzi. Those kinds of photographers are not and will never be as respected as other kinds of journalists or photojournalists because of Galella.
Sources
Smash His Camera
http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
https://storify.com/nicole_kraft/media-law-and-ethics-in-film-comm-3404 (Lecture Slides)