Shooting stars: when there's no such thing as bad publicity.

Paparazzi may be the scourge of Hollywood A-listers, but Fraser Ross has few qualms about the mob of photographers.

Ross, owner of the celebrity-friendly L.A. boutique Kitson, said paparazzi shots of stars like Halle Berry shopping at his Robertson Boulevard store have helped to triple sales in the past year.

"Obviously, the pictures of the store help our business," said Ross, whose shop is near one of Hollywood's prime watering holes, the Ivy. "Now, we are at the level where Kitson has become the celebrity."

The perennially blackened image of paparazzi has gotten a renewed soiling in the past few weeks when photographers got into a traffic accident with Lindsey Lohan, cornered Reese Witherspoon outside a gym, and scuffled with Cameron Diaz and her boyfriend Justin Timberlake as they left a hotel. The Lohan and Witherspoon incidents have triggered criminal investigations into paparazzi behavior.

But to Ross and other L.A. business owners, the paparazzi are less a nuisance than a sales tool. Celebrity-friendly businesses go out of their way to accommodate swarms of photographers by setting up paparazzi zones and turning a blind eye to employees who phone in celebrity sightings.

Business owners, celebrity publicists, photographers, magazine publishers and even valets and busboys all are part of what one paparazzi author calls the "celebrity-industrial complex"--and all profit from paparazzi behavior even as some decry it.

"Restaurants need to have their pictures in the paper as much as the celebrities do," said Peter Howe, a former photographer and photo editor who wrote the 2005 tell-all "Paparazzi." "People want to eat at restaurants where they see celebrities hanging out because of the off chance of sitting down next to Cameron Diaz."

Diaz, like many A-list celebrities, is no fan of the paparazzi. Celebrities and their publicists often denounce them as reckless stalkers who hide in bushes and scream obscenities to get a reaction. A newer breed is becoming even more unruly, driven by the lure of six-figure checks from an increasingly competitive flock of glossy celebrity magazines.

"It's gotten a lot worse in the last couple of years," said Ken Sunshine, a publicist who represents Timberlake, among others. "There's a lot of money to be made. If the lunatics who do this didn't have a financial incentive to do it, they'd find another way to make money."

Green all around

Photographed businesses profit less directly but no less significantly.

If the Vine Street Lounge, one of Hollywood's latest additions to the bar scene, wants to build a reputation as the place to be, it helps when Jamie Foxx hits the dance floor. A paparazzi shot in publications that hit newsstands around the world can cement a club's "hot spot" status.

"If you have any venue that attracts celebrities or known people, you are going to attract the paparazzi," said Scott Shuttleworth, chief executive of the Hollywood & Vine restaurant and the Vine Street Lounge, which opened in February. "We try to have a professional relationship."

That relationship includes roping off an area for photographers. Shuttleworth tries to set up angles for photos and, in exchange, the paparazzi back off the stars when they step from the red carpet into the club. "As long as they stay in line, it will be very enjoyable for everyone," he said.

Businesses aren't alone in working out deals. Celebrity publicists often broker implied agreements with photographers--tipping them off on the locations of A-list clients in exchange for the paparazzi agreeing to photograph less-sought-after clients.

Scott Downie, president of Celebrity Photo Agency Inc. in Beverly Hills, said paparazzi couldn't function without the complicity of agents and publicists who tip them off on the locations of their clients. The agents are willing to sacrifice their clients' privacy for the sake of exposure. "Their main goal is to make these people incredibly popular," he said.

Cowboys or criminals?

Although most photographers rely on a network of informants, others fall back on their own aggressiveness and derring-do. Reckless paparazzi behavior is often cited in the 1997 death of Princess Diana and in the recent non-injury crash involving Lohan and photographer Galo Cesar Ramirez in L.A.'s Fairfax district. After the incident, Los Angeles police arrested the 24-year-old Ramirez on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon--namely the van he was driving in pursuit of the "Mean Girls" star.

The Lohan incident, coming in the wake of more risky paparazzi behavior, has triggered an inquiry by Los Angeles police and prosecutors into whether photo agencies are liable for the conduct of their lensmen.

Prosecutors could charge agency owners or managers with conspiracy, a felony, if they can show that illegal paparazzi behavior is encouraged by theft bosses, according to Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Paul Vernon.

Fame Pictures Inc., the agency that employed Ramirez, does not encourage photographers to take needless risks, said Alan Croll, an attorney for the firm. "Their photographers understand that they are reporters with a camera and their job is not to create stories, provoke celebrities or initiate physical contact," Croll said.

For the most part, photographers operate within the law in Los Angeles, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, according to police spokesmen in the three celebrity-infested cities.

Paparazzi are allowed to take pictures from all public sidewalks and streets. In general, they also may snap shots at private businesses where the public is allowed, such as restaurants and grocery stores, as long as they aren't being intrusive.

What's less clear is whether photographers using zoom lenses can take pictures into private homes from public vantage points. Celebrity lawyer Neil Papiano said he won a case establishing that a photographer may not climb a tree in order to take photos inside someone's bedroom, although Papiano said a gag order in the case prevents him from offering details.

Vernon said the LAPD does not recognize the concept of visual trespass. His advice: "Buy drapes."

The rarest and most sought-after photos--typically ones showing secret relationships--fetch $100,000 or more. Photographers working for agencies typically make $50,000 to $100,000 a year, plus small commissions, while freelancers operate in a more feast-or-famine environment in which a single photo can be worth more than the average person earns in a year.

Seldom crossing the line

Enticed by the prospect of six-figure checks, photographers are becoming more daring, according to some L.A. business owners. Competition could become even more intense as novices wielding camera-equipped cell phones get in the game.

Celebrity hangouts Koi and the Ivy have security people on hand to deal with any incidents that come up. Savvy paparazzi pretend to patronize businesses for legitimate reasons, using cell phones that can take pictures.

"I can see something is going to happen before it happens," said Michelle Ritz, the assistant manager at Ago. The only real way to deal with cell phones that take pictures, she said, is to ask people to put them away or exit the restaurant if they won't part with the phones.

It's rare that the paparazzi cross the line. Typically, there are three photographers who idle by the doors of Spago waiting for a celebrity to come in or out. They don't want the police to be called because a money shot could be missed. "They are there to get their picture. They don't want to do anything that will get them into trouble," said Tracey Spillane, general manager of Spago Beverly Hills.

If paparazzi aggression escalates, restaurants and shops that court celebrities risk scaring away local customers who avoid the onslaught of cameras. But there are a crop of businesses, including hotels and charter jet companies that, at least indirectly, benefit from paparazzi belligerence.

The high-profile actress searching for a private enclave will stay at pricey hotels that pander to their guests' needs. The Peninsula Beverly Hills will place vehicles and personnel at the exits to shield a celebrity from cameras, and the Beverly Hills Hotel will guide high-profile guests through a network of private hallways.

"We are very much there for them," said Sarah Cairns, a spokeswoman for the Four Seasons Hotel. "Guests stay here because they know they feel comfortable. You don't feel like you are in a zoo."