"[Conde Nast house photographer Annie Leibovitz] is the subject of two lawsuits over unpaid bills totaling more than $778,000 for photography-related services. The suits offer a rare glimpse into the big budgets behind Leibovitz’s celebrity portraits, which are surely among the most expensive shoots in the industry. A wardrobe stylist who worked on a Disney campaign with Leibovitz claims the photographer owes her $386,467 – including $109,960 for one shot alone. And a lighting rental house says Leibovitz owes $392,036 — $221,715 for rental services, over $5,094 for damaged equipment and $165,227 for failing to deliver enough business to justify the discount rates she was getting." [PDN]

This isn't the first time Leibovitz has run afoul on her payments, though it's the first time charges have been brought against her.

Earlier this summer, the entire staff of a Leibovitz shoot for an Italian espresso company didn't see their paychecks for nearly 2 months: an ungodly amount of time, as anyone who's ever freelanced will attest. But the blame might not rest entirely on the famed photog: after all, she is essentially a "hired hand" for Disney and all her other clients, and is not responsible for the payroll. The fact that she's a celebrity photographer means that more attention is paid to her than to the companies that finance her shoots, which means that the stylist hired by Disney to work on their shoot with Leibovitz's doesn't have a leg to stand on in her ambulance-chasing.

The lighting rental house has a better shot, since Annie most likely put the charges in her name, expecting to get reimbursed by Disney. But if Disney isn't forking over the dough, it's well within the rental house's rights to demand the money from whoever's name is on the sign-out sheet, which in this case would be Annie Leibovitz.