Her neighbors have noted the shrinking number of lenses camped outside the guardhouse.
"At the peak, there were 25, but now it's down to three or four," said Jim DeBoard, a resident of the Summit.
He said it had been about six months since he saw paparazzi breaking traffic laws to get behind Spears' vehicle.
"We are still all amazed at how crazy it was," DeBoard said.
The paparazzi's presence may never again reach the levels that preceded Spears' hospitalizations, but neither is it likely to remain as low as it is now, those in the industry say.
Eventually, she will resume a more public life, they say, and when she does, the cameras will be waiting.
"If Britney were to walk out tonight with a new boyfriend, we could still command high prices for those photos," Doherty said.
Frank Griffin, a partner in the Bauer-Griffin photo agency, said the reduced coverage of Spears was proof that the safe money is in happy stories.
"At the end of the day, people don't want to see train wrecks. Yes, they might want to see the mighty fall, but they don't want to kick dirt in their faces," Griffin said.
In the long run, he said, flattering photos of babies, new romances and weight loss trump even the most unflinching views of scandal.
"I guarantee if Britney were lying on the beach with Brad Pitt in a skinny bikini, it would be absolutely crazy," Griffin said.
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harriet.ryan@latimes.com
