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New York-based culture journalist, book author and photographer Nadja Sayej recently launched her latest photo book, Paparazzi Bitch in Miami during the star-studded Art Basel Miami Beach in December. The book features over 100 celebrity photographs shot over the past 10 years from Berlin to New York, Miami and Venice – and it’s a celebration of celebs shot from the female gaze, and a tribute to women photographers everywhere. And with International Women’s Day upcoming on March 8, it’s a conversation that’s more relevant, as ever. “I’m not a paparazzi photographer, but I use visual trademarks we see in the style and legacy of paparazzi photography; bright flash, action shots and spontaneous moments,” says Sayej. Paparazzi Bitch features stars like French actress Catherine Deneuve, New York film director Spike Lee, German fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld (shot three months before he passed away in 2019), award-winning actress Tilda Swinton, and more. It’s a testament to how close one woman can get to these celebrities, art stars and fashion luminaries, beyond the red tape, the gatekeepers and the screaming fans. This book is like a backstage pass into the lives who dominate our everyday headlines, up close and personal—or at least, captured candidly everywhere from the Venice Film Festival to the Oscars, Paris Fashion Week, and beyond. The back story: Sayej has been writing about pop culture for publications like The New York Times, The Guardian and Forbes, since 2003, having interviewed over 1,000 celebrities. But it wasn’t until 2011 that she was given a Nikon camera from a friend (Christo Mitov), which changed her life forever. She worked as a party photographer in Berlin, a nightlife-driven city, for over seven years. It wasn’t until her first trip to Art Basel Miami Beach in 2016 that changed her perspective on photography - and her access to celebrities. It became an annual pilgrimage to shoot stars and build her portfolio of celebrity photographs, as she shoots for photo agency Backgrid, and has had her photos published in Vanity Fair London, V Magazine, New York Post, and more. Since she started shooting stars in Miami during Art Basel Miami Beach, the rest is history. “Why in Miami?” she asks. “I have gotten some of my best shots, be it Paris Hilton DJing at the W Hotel in South Beach, Fat Joe captured at a party at the PAMM Museum, or even Chance the Rapper in the VIP booth at a concert,” she says.