Paparazzi battle over footballers' wives

It's mid-afternoon and there's something rather odd going on by the river in Baden-Baden.

Several England football fans are star spotting. Below them on the bank are four men looking through cameras with long lenses.

Those taking an afternoon stroll in the sunshine are baffled.

One American man tells me: "We thought it was a movie star, someone like Jennifer Aniston, but not just the wife of a football player."

'Not a great shot'

Yanni is a professional photographer working for a London photo agency.

"I'm just going to get a shoe shot, and a handbag shot. She's doing a little bit of shopping and that's it"
Paparazzo

He's on the opposite side of the river to Brenner's Park Hotel and Spa, where most of the wives and girlfriends of the England football team are staying.

Some of them are sunbathing in full view of all of those on this side of the river - and today, some of the players have the afternoon off.

Soon, we are all running as Frank Lampard is seen walking towards the hotel.

"Did you get that Yanni?" I ask.

"Yes, I just got him in the back, not a great shot," he says.

"He's holding the baby though isn't he?" I reply.

Long lens

While Yanni stayed by the river bank, other snappers from another agency were in the town centre.

"Joe Cole's girlfriend's is in there with... I think she's with Joe Cole's brother," one tells me.

"I'm just going to get a shoe shot, and a handbag shot. She's doing a little bit of shopping and that's it."

"And your colleague is standing in the entrance by the door there with a long lens. Is he happy about that? Have they said anything?" I enquire.

"The owner of the shop has tried to put pieces of paper up to block it," he says. "But she's cool, she doesn't mind her picture being taken."

"We are just kind of relaxed, and let them do what they've gotta do and they are happy with us taking pictures, you know as long as we are not right in their face"
Paparazzo

Then the woman they were interested in left the shop and started walking down the street.

The photographer was running frantically trying to get enough distance for a shot, taking pictures from the front and from behind.

I caught up with him later. He didn't want me to use his name.

'In their face'

"I saw you with Theo Walcott before and you were sort of sitting down with them, having a drink with them. Is that the way you got the picture?"

He replies: "Um, no, I've just been talking to them all week really, they are a really nice family.

"There's obviously some photographers out there who are in their face and annoying them. We are just kind of relaxed, and let them do what they've gotta do and they are happy with us taking pictures, you know as long as we are not right in their face."

"But then after that you were chasing Joe Cole's girlfriend - you were chasing her in and out of shops," I say.

"I wasn't in and out of shops," he says. "I was just taking pictures of her walking around as she was going into shops, and just getting a couple of frames of her shopping."

I press on, asking: "Isn't that the sort of thing that's really going to bother them?"

But he tells me: "Look I don't want to talk about stuff like that... I don't want to answer questions like that."

Wives 'very competitive'

Meanwhile Yanni's colleague David, and another snapper, George, have secured an exclusive.

"I'm not going to say it was the parents' consent, but it was with the bodyguards' consent"
David

"The Beckham's children, playing in a zoo in some water fountains and stuff and we had it all to ourselves, which was rather nice out here," David says.

"They were fine about it, you know, we held off, we didn't get in their faces."

I ask whether it was with the parents' consent.

"Yeah well it was with... I'm not going to say it was the parents' consent, but it was with the bodyguards' consent.

"They were fine with it and told us what we could and couldn't do. But David's mum was there, it wasn't a problem. It was just a nice set of pictures of the children enjoying themselves in the park."

George adds: "All the wives are together and they are all very competitive.

"I mean we were walking down doing some shots of them the other day and two of the wives were really put out that we weren't taking any pictures of them...

"They asked if we'd take them round the corner and do a few shots, so I did."

'They've had enough'

As George was sending the pictures to London from his laptop in his car, guess who walked by? The security guards and David Beckham's mother.

"By evening, thousands of shots later, Yanni had sent his work to London and was left admiring what he called his "money shot""

One of the security guards walks up to the car and asks the men if they will leave them alone now.

Shortly afterwards, George is on the phone to a colleague.

"They are turning right towards the bridge. They've just said they have had enough today so leave them to it. So I've just said no problem, don't worry about it.

"They are obviously going to get picked up by someone, but get Yanni on it.

"Stu, Stu, if you are going to do them, just stay off them, 80 yards or 70 yards past - they were really good with us. Don't tell them you're with me, or don't let them see you talking to me because I told them we are not going to do them, we are going to leave them alone."

'Money shot'

Later, I catch up with Stuart and ask him whether he felt any guilt about taking pictures of children.

"Hmm, yeah it is a bit of an unusual one I suppose, but sometimes your bosses ask for it, you know, so you have to do it, you know."

By evening, thousands of shots later, Yanni had sent his work to London and was left admiring what he called his "money shot".

It is a young lady who's adjusting the bottom part of her bikini. Does he really think someone might publish that?

He grins. "Definitely. You see how I said it? Definitely."