BECKHAMS' PRESENCE BRINGS OUT STARS -- AND PAPARAZZI CELEB PHOTOGRAPHERS WANT THEIR EXCLUSIVES.

Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE 

Staff Writer

BEVERLY HILLS - They lined up early to stake their favorite spot, positioned their bags strategically on the ground to wall off a bit of personal space and dug in.

Once a celebrity steps out of his or her car and onto the red carpet, everyone starts yelling and you've got about 10 seconds to get their attention, two seconds to line up the shot and one chance to make sure it's money.

This is the image you think of when someone says "paparazzi," right?

It was definitely the scene at David Beckham's debut for the Galaxy Saturday afternoon at Home Depot Center in Carson.

All the A-list celebs -- Katie Holmes and her baby Suri, Kevin Garnett, Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Eva Longoria -- were there and the paparazzi weren't far behind, yelling their names, snapping away, jostling for position and all that uh ... other stuff.

If only it were that simple.

This was about the last place one of the 300 or so seasoned 'paps' who work in Los Angeles would normally waste a Saturday.

"I work for a living. Why would I bother with a red carpet and some $50photos everyone else is getting?" said a 20-something photographer who has been spending the past week tailing Becks and his wife, Victoria (better known as Posh Spice) to and from their $22million mansion in Beverly Hills.

It's not glamorous work. There are no velvet ropes or stretch limos. But it's work. Nine hours a day of tedious, mind-numbing standing around and waiting for something to happen, then three hours a day of fast-paced, drop-everything-in-10-seconds-or-less- and-hop-in-the-car chases through West L.A. to get a shot of Posh out to dinner with the kids or David buying a latte.

These are the real money shots.

"Every time they leave the house, we'll be there," said Gary Morgan, CEO of the photo agency Splashnews.com. "We've devoted four full-time photographers to cover every detail of Posh and Becks' arrival in America.

"So far, it's all been non-exclusive stuff because there are so many photographers out there. But there will be some exclusive stuff, and we'll be there for it. The great shot everyone is waiting for is David and Posh on the beach, her in a bikini, him in a Speedo. If it's exclusive, it'll literally make hundreds of thousands of dollars worldwide."

But to be there for that great shot, you've got to put the work in. Every day begins about 6a.m. outside the Beckhams' mansion. The best paparazzi already have inside information about the family's plans for the day, having developed the contacts with assistants, security guards and publicists months ago.

Depending on the day, there are 10-20 paps waiting outside the long, tree-lined private driveway leading to the Beckham's 13,000-square-foot, nine-bedroom Mediterranean style mansion. Their numbers swell in the mornings and before dinner time.

Almost every one of them drives a black SUV with heavily tinted windows. And any pap worth his zoom lens parks his car facing south on the Beckhams' narrow street so they won't have to make a 3-point turn before following the Beckhams' black Lincoln Navigator out onto the main road.

That's a lesson this reporter learned rather painfully in a futile attempt to observe and follow the paparazzi chasing Posh and Becks Friday night.

"So far, they've been very cooperative," Morgan said. "They're allowing us to follow them when they want to be followed. They're not driving fast or speeding through red lights. ... They're here for publicity, and they know how to play the media game. They're very good at it."

Still, just for good measure, Morgan decided to outfit the four photographers on the Posh and Becks beat, dubbed "Team Beckham" with yellow L.A.Galaxy jerseys to show the glamorous duo they were "friendlies" and stand out amongst the crowd.

"At first, it was supposed to be something to show we were cooperative and friendly, but it's kind of become a thing of its own," Morgan joked. "When Victoria first came to L.A., we told her about it and she thought it was so funny, she got on the cell phone and called David up in Madrid to tell him about it."

Splashnews.com and everyone else on the Beckham watch aren't the only ones having fun with Posh and Becks' arrival in L.A. Freelance photographer Jeff Rayner says that his business has been booming with everyone else occupied by the British invaders.

Rayner considers himself a bit old school compared to other L.A. paps. He prefers to troll Hollywood and West L.A. hot spots in his black SUV, then shoot photos from 100 feet away with his 300millimeter lens.

"People don't even know they're being photographed," he said. "I think that makes better photos."

Friday afternoon, on the same day a crowd gathered outside the Beckhams' mansion in Beverly Hills, Rayner happened upon a huge scoop -- photos of another hot celebrity that will be seen in glossy print in tabloids across the country this week.

"I'm not a Team Beckham guy," he says. "But as a single freelance photographer, it's been great for me because it's taking so many other photographers off the streets and given me a chance to get more exclusive stuff.

"(Posh and Becks) are very hot at the moment. Everyone wants photos of them. But it's all a bit of a dog-and-pony show at the moment. The agencies have to cover it, because everyone wants it. But it's not worth it for a single freelancer."

Rayner used to work for Splashnews.com when he first came to L.A. in 1998. After a few years, he branched out on his own and only moonlights as a celebrity photographer. Most of the time, he works on a contract basis for British newspapers doing news or features.

He's a cheery guy who makes no apologies for joining in the paparazzi game.

"It's a game," he said. "Sometimes people act like they're mad at the paparazzi. But come on, you can't be pissed off if someone takes your picture when you come outside the ivy. If you want a salad, there are a million other restaurants you can go to. If you want to avoid us, it's really not that hard."

Among English photographers, the Beckhams have always had a pretty good reputation, which generally earns them good treatment in exchange. They smile for the cameras, drive slowly and usually allow themselves to be followed. In England, they even had a few favorite photographers they'd work with and tip off, Rayner said.

In turn, when they really want to be left alone, the paparazzi are more sympathetic.

"When Britney Spears was really happy and married to Kevin (Federline), she was always nice to the photographers," Morgan said. "She'd take the same route every day, go into Starbucks and buy 10 coffees and give them to the guys. Sometimes she'd say, 'I'm going to do A, B, C and D. Can you guys just let me do D by myself today?'

"People don't always think of (the paparazzi) that way, but we'd really rather cooperate with the celebrities."

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) English soccer star David Beckham was besieged by photographers when he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on July 12.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

(2) This group of photographers, who work for Splashnews.com and have been assigned to follow the Beckhams around while wearing Galaxy jerseys, are known as Team Beckham.

Splashnews.com

(3) David and Victoria Beckham have been surrounded by paparazzi since his arrival on July 7 to play for the Galaxy.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press