Celebrities aren’t as elusive as they were about 10 years ago. Thanks to all the technological advances like camera phones and wireless Internet, it’s easy to find out where your favorite star hangs out. But sometimes they are still unattainable. It’s time to grab your pocket-sized digital camera and declare yourself a self-certified paparazzo.

See, Spot, Run

The first step to meeting a celebrity, or getting in arm-length of him or her, is to locate them. If you don’t know where they are, how can you become enamored with their physical presence? A popular blogging website like justjared.buzznet.com keeps tabs on celebrities in New York City and Los Angeles. Constant viewing will give you a feel for where a popular TV show or movie is filming on location or where Rihanna likes to dine out when she’s in the Big Apple.

But don’t get your hopes up just yet ‘ just because someone was there yesterday doesn’t mean they will be there tomorrow.

If you’re in the New York area, check out the websites of your favorite morning or late-night TV talk shows. Shows like ‘Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’ and ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ post a schedule of their guests a week in advance.

‘Live with Regis and Kelly’ is one of the best spots for a celeb sighting because all the points of entry into the studio are visible, and the ABC studio where this show is taped is sort of secluded, unlike NBC shows, which are taped at a studio smack in the center of Rockefeller Plaza. ‘Live’ is taped live so it’s easier to deduce what time a celeb will arrive to the studio.

Lights ‘ Camera ‘ Action!

If you really want to get a taste of the limelight, head on out to a red carpet movie premiere. They’re not always easy to find, but with a little ingenuity and a computer you can make it happen.

Premieres usually happen on a Monday or Tuesday night prior to the Friday nationwide release. Once again, check the schedules of local TV talk shows during the week in which the movie might premiere and see if a cluster of the movie’s actors are all appearing on any of the talk shows in a specific city. There’s a chance that they’re all in town for another reason.

So for instance, if Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes and Aly Michalka are all in NYC making the press rounds during the week of the ‘Easy A’ premiere, odds are that the red carpet premiere is happening somewhere in the city. Go online and search the terms ‘Easy A red carpet NYC premiere’ and see what the results show. If the premiere is actually happening, you’ll get a time, a date and a place within a few search results.

Once you know where you’re going, arrive early and make like a cop on a stakeout. Get a prime position so that you’re the first person up against a barricade and stand firm. Sometimes, if you’re lucky enough, there may be leftover tickets to the premiere, so the earlier you get there, the better your chances are.

‘I was with my four friends at the ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2′ premiere and was lucky enough to get a hold of a ticket to go inside the premiere. But since we only had one we had to give it up,’ said Danielle Bartolome, a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience.

Be Aggressive, B-E-Aggressive!

Here’s a reality check: You will not be the only person at any of these events. You have to make yourself known and stand out because each celebrity doesn’t always have time for everyone. Gabrielle Ciaccia, a senior majoring in sociology, knows all too well that not being aggressive doesn’t pay off in this type of situation.

‘Patiently waiting for your moment is not going to get you that autograph or picture,’ Ciaccia said. ‘I missed my chance once and regret that I wasn’t more forward and aggressive.’