Mr. Skin Mr. Skin

What was it like growing up with your mother being who she was?
To me, it was normal, I guess. As a child you don't know what's appropriate or not, what's taboo and what's not, you just accept what's there. The only thing I knew in my simplistic childish thinking was that my mom had a job that was kind of secretive. I wasn't allowed to look because it was naked girls.

When was the first time you saw porn on screen?
The first time I ever saw porn, I must have been like seven. My parents were watching some weird porno movie in their bedroom, the door was open a crack, and I could see through it. This girl was supposed to be going on a date with some nerd, and her parents were downstairs waiting, and she was really bummed about it, and some stud crawled through her window and they started fuckin'. It was hot.

What was it like when you first saw porn your mother shot?
I remember when I found one of my mom's pornos, oh my god, that was funny. I thought it was the cheesiest, strangest thing I'd ever seen in my life. And it was. It was this thing called Too Naughty to Say No, and that's a weird porn movie. It's based on the Marquis de Sade. I was like, what the fuck is this? And all that pubic hair? God!

Did Suze push you toward a career choice?
All she pushed me to do was get good grades and ride horses. I decided to take a photography class when I was twelve, and the first time I saw the image materialize in the developing tray I was hooked. I think it was a headshot of my sister, some piece of shit that you take when you first start shooting. After that I continued taking photography classes, and in high school I became the yearbook photographer. All that kind of crap.

So what was your progression to erotic photography?
When I was in high school I wanted to become a fashion photographer. I'd always been obsessed with photographs, and I'd devour the fashion magazines my mom would bring home. It made me realize I just wanted to be part of that whole world of photography. Then my parents offered me a job, and I just kinda got sucked into the world of porn, as many of us do. Once I started shooting, that's when I really got hooked and found I really, really liked it. I enjoyed the freedom, and my mom had a name that was very well established so I could shoot almost any model in the industry, I could come up with my own concepts, dress them any way I wanted. It was like a kid in a candy store.

Have you had to deal with the Suze Randall reputation?
I get that all the time, especially when I first started. People were always saying, "Your mom's an icon. How're you gonna compete?" I realized there's never going to be another Suze Randall, and I will never be my mom and I don't want to be my mom. But she's thrown little tips to me over the years, and just looking at the way she frames stuff, her angles, there's been a lot of little things I've learned from her along the way.

Which leads us to hardcore ...
I had to convince my mom to do hardcore scenes now, because when she did it in the '70s, it was shot on film and it was this huge production with scripts and all that stuff; she wasn't interested. I told her, "You don't need all that crap. Just shoot hot sex scenes." So since I pushed it I had to direct it, and she didn't want to be there after shooting stills. She says that she feels she's too old to be there. Also, she can't keep her mouth shut, so she starts making comments or noise or she'll just walk around and move shit.

How well versed in sex were you when you started shooting?
I was a slut. Is that what you mean? I've always been very sexual. I didn't lose my virginity until I was sixteen, so it's not like I lost it incredibly early, but I've always been very sexual and a huge flirt. I had a lot of experience under my belt when I started. I'd had my affairs with professors and stuff.

What was shooting your first scene like?
When I shot my first scene, it was with really experienced performers, so they knew exactly what they were doing, especially the guy, Ben English. I knew the different positions I had to get, but I didn't know what I was doing. I was just like, "Okay, go for it!" I'd never shot video before; I wasn't a director. So it wasn't until I'd shot a few scenes that I became more aggressive with what I wanted.

What's the change?
Now I find that I really direct a lot more, there's a lot more interaction, especially when I do girl/girl scenes. With girls, often they don't know what they're doing. They're used to a guy throwing them around, taking charge of the scene. And unless they're really into each other, girl/girl scenes can lack a spark.

So what's your direction technique in those situations?
I'll have to prod a girl, especially if she's just so damn quiet. They don't know what to say. I tell them to say, you know, like, "Oh , baby, that feels good! Eat my pussy!" Just typical shit. I'll ask them, "What do you say when you're having sex with someone?" "Oh, I don't know ..." Jesus.

It seems like there's increasing brutality in hardcore. How do you feel about that?
We don't want to shoot that kind of destroy-the-girl, shove-three-dicks-up-her-ass kind of porno. That's not what my mom's known for, and that's not what she's spent three decades cultivating as an image, and that's why girls work with us. We don't shoot that. And our fan base doesn't look for that. Actually, our site members don't like more than one dick in a scene. They're into the girls. I don't even know what the next step is. Bestiality?

What's your favorite part of your job?
Making a girl look the best she can. Seeing the look on a girl's face when she sees how it comes out, her shots, her scenes, after she's had make-up and hair and her outfits done. Some of these girls, I mean who are new to the business, they can't believe it. I've seen girls cry before over their pictures. The fact that somebody would spend so much time working on them, they look and feel beautiful. It's nice.

All images of Holly Randall courtesy of HollyRandall.com