Paparazzi Set-Ups: A PR Lifeline or a Disaster Waiting to Happen?
The idea that paparazzi just happen to stumble upon celebrities going about their daily lives? Complete nonsense, for the most part. Sure, there are hotspots—places like London’s Chiltern Firehouse, LA’s Craig’s, or NYC’s Carbone—where public figures magically appear with surprising regularity. But let’s not kid ourselves: if you’re heading to one of these places, you’re not there for the privacy. You’re there to be seen, whether you’re aware of it or not. It’s a carefully curated part of the game, a little nod to the public saying, “Yes, I’m still here, and yes, I’m still relevant.”
The reality? Most paparazzi shots are prearranged.
Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I’ve coordinated quite a few of these so-called “candid” moments for clients myself when it made strategic sense. But there’s an art to it—knowing how to keep it subtle, ensuring it looks organic rather than orchestrated. The trick is to make it believable. If you’re doing it right, no one’s the wiser.
Why Paparazzi Moments are Staged
A well-placed paparazzi moment can serve a myriad of purposes:
Change the narrative. Facing bad press? A carefree stroll looking unbothered might shift the headlines.
Confirm or deny rumours. Seen holding hands with a co-star? Watch the tabloids explode. Appearing solo after a break-up rumour? Cue the “X puts on a brave face” stories.
Subtle product placement. Wearing your own fashion line or seen with a new endorsement? That’s press coverage without paying for an ad.
Keep your name in the mix. Sometimes, celebrities just need a little reminder to the world that they’re still around.
These set-ups, when done with finesse, are effective. The public doesn’t question them, and the intended message gets through.
When Things Go Too Far
But then there are the moments that are about as subtle as a five-minute paid placement in Times Square. Let’s take Ryan Reynolds, for instance.
He was recently spotted in what looked suspiciously like an orchestrated fan interaction—signing autographs in New York, surrounded by an oddly uniform selection of posters, all while Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal drama played out in the background.
Now, I can’t definitively say it was staged—allegedly, always allegedly—but the setup is questionable:
Identical posters? Not exactly a hallmark of spontaneity.
No one asking for selfies? Suspiciously calm for an encounter with Ryan Reynolds.
Perfect lighting and camera angles? Convenient, to say the least.
Whether it was meant to be a genuine moment or not, the timing couldn’t have been worse. If it was an attempt to steer attention away from the unfolding legal saga? Well, it looks a bit too much like damage control.
The Risks of a Bad Paparazzi Set-Up
When these staged moments are too obvious, they quickly spiral into PR disasters. The public isn’t as easily fooled as they used to be, and the backlash can be swift. Social media calls it out, memes are made, and suddenly, instead of shifting the narrative, you’re the butt of the joke.
Which is why I always tell my clients that if they’re going to use this strategy, it’s got to be subtle. And speaking of subtlety, fake set-ups worked much better before the internet. Back when magazines and newspapers were the only real sources of celebrity imagery, it was easy to stage photos and have them accepted as genuine. But now? Everyone has a phone with 4K video recording at their fingertips. These old-school tricks don’t work so easily anymore—because while a carefully framed pap shot might look authentic, all it takes is one bystander capturing the reality on video to expose the whole thing.
In fact, it’s quite hilarious that the general public has sort of become the real paparazzi—outing the actual paps in real-time. Instead of just consuming staged moments, people are now filming from across the street, zooming in, comparing timestamps, and basically doing forensic-level analysis before the tabloids even get a chance to run the story.
So, if you’re going to plan a set-up, you have to be so careful and strategic. If Ryan’s autograph session was indeed staged, I’m genuinely dumbfounded at how badly it was orchestrated, knowing full well it would be dissected from every possible angle. At this point, you’re better off just owning it—at least then you won’t get caught pretending.