COVID-19 cases are rising in LA County, but film and television industries still got the green light to resume production. Extra precautions must be taken on set. That’s especially tough when you’re shooting pornography.
Erotic photographer Holly Randall restarted production two weeks ago. Crew members all wear masks, don gloves, and use hand sanitizer.
“It’s impossible to make the sets 100% safe, but everyone who comes to set knows they’re running the risk to contract the virus,” she says.
It’s not the first time the industry has dealt with a pandemic. Holly’s mother Suze Randall has been in the industry since the 1970s. She was the first female photographer for Playboy and Hustler.
Suze Randall moved to the United States in the 1970s. She became a photographer after starting her pornography career as a model. Photo courtesy of Holly Randall.
“We had actually a truck outside our house that did all the testing, taking blood and everything. It was really scary,” she says. “Everybody was tested. And in fact, adult entertainers were the safest people to have sex with because they were the only people getting tested. You’d go to a bar and meet somebody and they wouldn’t be tested.
Holly says the added safer-at-home orders have been good for business, but it’s much more challenging to figure out how to create new content safely.
“Before, the crew never had to be tested for HIV when we were shooting scenes, only the performers did. And it’s still a disease that we don’t know all that much about. It’s new and in an interesting way, we’re just as naive about COVID at this point in our time as they were about HIV back when it first started in my mom’s day.”
Holly Randall (right) and the rest of her crew wear masks during a shoot of model Jenna Foxx. Photo courtesy of Holly Randall.
Erotic photograher Holly Randall (left) says models like Jenna Foxx (right) take their masks off only while being shot. Photo courtesy of Holly Randall.
Holly Randall helped build sets and take photos, all while wearing a mask … and six months pregnant. Photo courtesy of Holly Randall.
Suze Randall (left) was a veteran erotic photographer by the time the AIDS pandemic hit. Now her daughter Holly (right) has a business of her own while she tackles the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo courtesy of Holly Randall.