| 1. | Background Information | |||
| 1.1. | What is “Stiff Shots Wrestling Photography?” | |||
| Stiff Shots is a photography business that specializes in shooting pro wrestling events in the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania areas. (Our running joke is “We don’t do babies, weddings, or sunsets - we just do big, sweaty guys ‘n’ gals beating the snot out of each other.”) | ||||
| 1.2. | How long have you been in business? | |||
| Since October of 2002. | ||||
| 1.3. | Personnel | |||
| 1.3.1. | Robert Payes (founder, primary photographer) | |||
| 1.4. | Is there a “secret meaning” to the name “Stiff Shots Wrestling Photography?” | |||
| Yes. In pro wrestling parlance, a “stiff shot” is a punch, kick, or other type of blow that actually connects with an opponent (as opposed to one that is “pulled,” i.e. made to look real a la Hollywood stunt work). | ||||
| 1.5. | Is there a “secret meaning” to your catchphrase “When We Shoot, We Work”? | |||
| Yes again. In pro wrestling parlance, a “work” is anything that’s predetermined or scripted, while a “shoot” is anything that’s spontaneous or unscripted. | ||||
| 2. |
Why should I hire Stiff Shots? |
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| 2.1. | Professional | |||
| Stiff Shots arrives on time, touches base with the promoter to verify access and/or restrictions, and doesn’t go anywhere or shoot anything they’re not allowed to. Scheduling conflicts are communicated to the promoters in a timely fashion. | ||||
| 2.2. | Courteous | |||
| Stiff Shots knows how to work alongside all event personnel. That includes the wrestlers, referees, and/or managers both inside and outside of the ring, video crew (both hard camera and ringside), and other photographers. We're not paparazzi; no picture is worth interfering in a match or antagonizing other staff members. Equally importantly, Stiff Shots works hard not to obstruct the view of audience members who paid good money to see the show. | ||||
| 2.3. | Enthusiastic | |||
| Stiff Shots believes that you cannot be a successful wrestling photographer unless you genuinely enjoy and understand the pro wrestling business (see below). We also know that you may already have a staff photographer that you’re happy with; all we ask is that you try us out and “let the photos do the talking.” | ||||
| 2.4. | Action-Packed, High Quality Results | |||
| Because we at Stiff Shots are wrestling fans first and foremost, we know how to “read” a match and can anticipate the moments that make for compelling photos (i.e. entrances and exits, high spots, big bumps, dramatic holds, and wrestlers “selling” their pain). | ||||
| 3. |
Who have you worked for? |
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| 3.1. | Wrestling Federations | |||
| 3.1.1. | 3PW (Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling) | |||
| 3.1.2. | Jersey All-Pro Wrestling | |||
| 3.1.3. | CyberSpace Wrestling Federation | |||
| 3.1.4. | Bodyslam Wrestling Organization | |||
| 3.1.5. | Jersey Championship Wrestling | |||
| 3.1.6 | JWA Wrestling | |||
| 3.1.7 | Great Wrestling Federation | |||
| 3.1.8. | Dangerous Women of Wrestling | |||
| 3.1.9. | USA-Pro Wrestling | |||
| 3.2. | Wrestlers (Active contributor to official web site) | |||
| 3.2.1. | Alexis Laree | |||
| 3.2.2 | Ariel | |||
| 3.2.3 | Tara Charisma | |||
| 3.2.4 | Disturbed Damian Dragon & Foxxy Dreams | |||
| 3.2.5 | "Sure Thing" John Shane | |||
| 3.2.6 | Alere Little Feather | |||
| 3.2.7 | Dana Dameson | |||
| 3.2.8 | Matt Striker | |||
| 4. | What equipment do you use? | |||
| 4.1. | 35mm | |||
| 4.1.1. | Camera Bodies | |||
| 4.1.1.1. | Canon EOS 10D | |||
| 4.1.1.2. | Canon EOS 3 | |||
| 4.1.2. | Lenses | |||
| 4.1.2.1. | Canon 24-70mm f2.8L zoom lens | |||
| 4.1`.2.2 | Canon 70-200mm f2.8L zoom lens | |||
| 4.1.2.3. | Canon 50mm f1.8 prime lens | |||
| 4.1.2.4. | Canon 85mm f1.8 prime lens | |||
| 4.1.3. | Flashes | |||
| 4.1.3.1. | Canon 550EZ flash | |||
| 4.1.4. | Film | |||
| 4.1.4.1. | Kodak Portra 160 & 400 (prints) | |||
| 4.1.4.2. | Kodak Supra 400 (prints) | |||
| 4.1.4.3. | Fujichrome Sensia or Provia 100 (slides) | |||
| 4.1.4.4. | Kodak CN400 or Ilford XP-2 (B&W) | |||
| 4.2 | Medium Format (120/220) | |||
| 4.2.1. | Camera | |||
| 4.2.1.1. | Yashica-Mat 124G TLR | |||
| 4.3. | Misc. | |||
| 4.3.1. | "Portable Portrait
Studio:" PC/optically synched photoflashes with soft box & umbrella diffusion, backdrops, flash meters, radio triggers (Available to other event photographers as a professional courtesy) |
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| 5. |
How much does it cost to hire Stiff Shots? |
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| Contact me at (973) 632-4074 or at robert@stiffshots.com for a price quote. | ||||
| 6. | What else can Stiff Shots do? | |||
| 6.1. | Web site design | |||
| 6.2. | Promotional Polaroids | |||
| 7. | Revision History | |||
| 7.1. | Version 1.0 - 06/19/2003 | |||
| 7.2. | Version 1.1 - 07/20/2003 | |||
| 7.3 | Version 1.2 - 08/28/2003 | |||
| 7.4 | Version 1.3 - 10/17/2003 | |||
| 7.5 | Version 1.4 - 12/09/2003 | |||
| 7.6 | Version 1.5 - 01/09/2004 | |||
| 7.7 | Version 1.6 - 03/26/2004 | |||
| 7.8 | Version 1.7 - 09/29/2004 | |||