Oh, baby! Celeb photos deliver bundles of cash

Turning it into something charitable
Publicist C, who has spent the better part of a decade handling celebrities but hasn’t brokered a baby-photo deal, disagreed. “I think turning it into something charitable is a good idea. Most celebrities are wealthy, but their finances aren’t so liquid they can make out a check to a charity for $15 million.”

The concept of controlling the situation picks up where the issue of finances trails off. “No one really understands the level to which these celebrities are hounded,” said Publicist C. “Your choices are basically keep your kid under a bed sheet like Michael Jackson did, or work out a way to get the photos out there. The kid is going to get photographed one way or another, you might as well find a way to make it work.”

And some believe that celebrities’ personal lives are personal, and paparazzi or not, the stars and their families deserve to be left alone. “A celebrity’s personal life is their business and not for public consumption,” said Pubicist D, who has a roster of A-list clients. “Unless they conceived the baby on the street, it’s no one’s business. That’s why people are starting to stop confirming when they’re pregnant even when they’re showing. There is so little to hang on to that is personal.”

There’s a more cynical view out there, too. “I think people forget that one of the things that motivate celebrities is greed. Celebrities like free s--- and will walk off a photo shoot wearing a $10,000 mink coat like it’s theirs,” said a person who has extensive experience in brokering deals between celebrities and magazines. “They feel like part of the payback for being harassed (by the paparazzi) should be cash. It’s only a select few who are motivated by charity and charitable things.”

The $20 million glass ceiling
Obviously, the case of the Jolie-Pitt children is a special one. Their family ties represent a brand of celebrity that isn’t just rare, it’s downright abnormal. Their perfect storm of fabulousness involves beauty, good deeds and now, twins. “You couldn’t write a better scenario if you tried,” said Shuter of OK! magazine. “There are no unknowns here — they have a baby together and she (Shiloh) is perfect, so you can only expect the same from the twins.”

But will magazines keep paying for photos? There are some “bargains” to be had. “An of-the-moment reality star, or maybe an actor with a nostalgic appeal can be had for a more manageable six-figure sum,” said an editor of a magazine who has been privy to recent negotiations.

Another point to consider is precedent. “How do you turn back? As long as somebody else is competing for the same photos, they’re going to keep paying more and more,” said Publicist D.

True, but that kind of supply and demand can only happen as long as there’s money in the checking account. “Baby photos don’t necessarily translate into more magazine sales,” said the magazine editor. “It’s about projecting the image that you are an authority. Hopefully down the road (it) will lead to sales, and advertisers will want to come to you. But you’ve got to sell millions more magazines in a given week to offset the cost of an A-lister’s baby.”

The sentiment of this magazine editor is generally accepted. According to a recent New York Times piece that addressed the escalating price of baby photos, the author Richard Perez-Pena says that an extra 300,000 to 500,000 extra copies sold provides less than $1 million in added earnings. Even if the cost of the photos often isn’t as high as is rumored, it still takes a great deal of sales to turn a profit on the deal.

When will the bubble burst?
Can the current frenzy be topped, or will the arrival of the chosen twins mark a waning in interest in celebrity baby photos? It’s hard to say. Everyone is excited about Jamie Lynn Spears, but for different reasons. People are curious as to how the 17-year-old “Zoey 101” star will handle a new baby and what will happen to her career. (Spears gave birth to a daughter, reportedly named Maddie Briann, on June 19.) Not to mention, older sister Britney’s child-rearing experience begs the question of how Jamie Lynn will handle the pressure of parenting.

People are also excited for Matthew McConaughey’s baby, but mostly because the actor — who seems to thrive in a state of perpetual bachelorhood — will make one good-looking dad. Will the baby appear tan and gorgeous too? In other words, the other celebrity babies draw the same sort of excitement, but the genesis of that excitement is just different circumstances.

“The bubble is going to explode, it just has to,” said Publicist E, who has good knowledge of the baby-photo brokering process. Why? Not only has the money involved climbed to ridiculous heights, but there is nothing left to be surprised about when everyone from the teen star of a children’s show to the most powerful couple in showbiz is having kids.

After this current spate of spawn, it appears there will be little cache to what another celebrity baby can bring to the table.

“What else is out there? Is someone going to light themselves on fire? Because that’s essentially what it’s going to take to get this kind of attention and money again,” Publicist E said. “There’s nothing left to be over-the-top about now. Interest has to begin to shift.”