"Hello, I'm Stiff Shots Photography, and I'll be your paparazzo for the day."

In the fall of 2002, Robert Payes came into possession of his late father's 35mm camera equipment, and (after years of on-and-off dabbling) decided to explore photography as a full-time hobby.  Starting as a ringside and backstage photographer for various independent pro wrestling companies in the NY/NJ/PA area, he soon switched to professional-grade digital camera gear, and branched out into fashion/glamour/pinup work and general-purpose portrait, performance, and event photography.  Over the years, his pictures have been featured in publications ranging from PRO WRESTLING ILLUSTRATED to HUSTLER (PG-rated, ironically!) to the New York Times and Daily News.

A decade-plus later, photography remains his passion - less a mere "job" than an adventure - and has become his avenue to explore, experiment, and create.  The joke of the above title not withstanding, he has no desire to ambush his subjects, much less show them at their worst; a more apt introduction line might be "Hello, I'm Stiff Shots Photography; allow me to make you look like a million bucks."

On this site, you can browse a sample of his work, check out several video documentaries of his photo shoots (the MODEL BEHAVIOR DVD series), even jump to external portfolios to enjoy some of his more...[ahem]..."work unsafe" images. 

Come on in and find out why "there's no shot like a Stiff Shot."