It doesn’t take long to figure out that NY based photographer Steve Prue (founder of Team Rockstar Images) walks to the beat of his own drum. When people add the title Rockstar anywhere in the vicinity of their name, they’re either a cocky son-of a-bitch or a wannabe. Not Steve. His instrument of choice is the camera and his rockstar status is earned. With all the numerous interviews we’ve conducted, interviewing Steve was hands down the most fun we’ve had. Not only did we feel like we were interviewing three different people at once, we came out of there like we just downed a fifth of Jack Daniels and snorted a line of coke. For those about to rock… here’s Steve Prue.

Alt girls, exotic dancers, high fashion models… you’ve shot them all. Which do you like to sleep with the most? Just joking. Which do you prefer to shoot and why?

Well, in the interests of self-preservation, I do have to point out that my wife is a 4th degree black belt martial arts instructor. Yep, I sleep scared. So, the first part of this question is moot, but I prefer to grab coffee with the High Fashion models. Lord, those 6ft tall/110lb girls can slam a triple espresso and go back for more without blinking an eye. Those who know me or shoot with me are very aware I’m a coffee fiend - 2 coffee tattoos and a firm belief that if coffee had boobs, I would have married it. Back to the real question, I enjoy it all. It’s all a challenge… fashion requires a different eye and massive attention to detail; glamour/erotic is all about making the model look awesome and trying to show some model connection with the viewer (or it’s just GWC porn); and dancers/sideshow people are just fun because they will do all sorts of neat shit i.e. “can you swallow the sword and then bend over and smile as you take it out?” “Sure.” “AWESOME!” My goal is to have fun shooting, because if I’m not having fun during a shoot, no one is gonna be having fun, and it will show in the images.

Team Rockstar Images is the name of your website. Which rock stars did you idolize growing up and why?

I was a weird kid growing up. My favorite bands were Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Hanoi Rocks and Adam Ant. I liked KISS, but felt if you were gonna listen to someone singing about the Devil, might as well go straight to Sabbath (who I was convinced, was on Hell’s guestlist). I like rockstars. I think we need more of them. Grunge was cool. I love Soundgarden, but I was bummed to go to a show and realize I just paid $10 to see 4 guys on stage who looked exactly like me. Screw that! I want ROCKSTARS. Gimme the drug habits, gimme me the sunglasses, gimme me the glitter. I tend to ascribe to the Motley Crue theory of talent…When you don’t have as much as you want, boobs, backlighting and bright colors make up for a lot. Throw in some big hair (I’m from the South… “Bigger the hair, Closer to God” as my mom would say) and the fact that naked girls are fun to shoot and Team Rockstar is born.

Does music influence your work as a photographer?

Shit, music influences about everything I do. I left Raleigh to move to NYC to work in the music industry. I’ve sang on stage with Iron Maiden; I’ve been to a bachelor party with members of WASP, Iron Maiden and Megadeth; I’m thanked on the last 7 Motorhead albums and spent time in stripclubs with Lemmy; I’ve played phone pranks on Marilyn Manson when he was in my office doing radio interviews for “Portrait”; I’ve had drinks with Radiohead not having any idea who they were other than some nice British guys; and I showed Slayer and Judas Priest “Heavy Metal Parking Lot” when they were visiting our office. A shoot isn’t a shoot unless music is playing. How else can one get in touch with their inner rockstar?

Alright, we’re sold that you have a rockstar trapped deep in your soul. What else inspires you?

Pop Culture, Hot Rod Culture and other photographers. I have a full wall of framed prints and bookcases of books from photographers/artists that rock my world: Picnic, Kern, Christine Kessler, Ellen Stagg, LaChappelle, Molly Crabapple, Bob Coulter, Glenn Friedman, Newton, Bunny Yeager, Vance, Kroll. Movies and Magazines - I love fashion mags like S, No.ise, Purple, Zink, V… hmm, what else? Oh! Home Depot and Michaels. I like getting my crafty on. Oh, man… I can’t believe I almost forgot - the models. A rocking model on top of her game just brings a photo shoot onto another level. Ideas and vision just start falling out of the sky. Someone like a Darenzia, Raquel Reed or Mosh make me a better photographer by the virtue of being so good at what they do.

Speaking of Darenzia and Raquel Reed who are both NY based models, you currently reside in Brooklyn and your work definitely resonates a NY feel about it. How has NY played a part of defining you as an artist?

I’m originally from North Carolina and moved up here to work in the music industry. I love this city. You can get good sushi or shoot a game of pool at 4am. I love the energy and the attitude. One thing about NYC is that if you stop moving, you will sink. So, I always feel like I need to be doing something - shooting, prepping, planning, connecting, shaking babies and kissing hands. Keeps my ass from getting wide from sittin’ on the couch.

Take us back to when you first starting working with alt models - especially the SuicideGirls.

About 5 years ago, a friend turned me on to SG. The fact that it featured hot naked tattooed girls was RAD! Most porn on the web was your standard blond with fake boobs and a tan. Dude, I’m from the East Coast. I have very little connection with that sort of girl, so SuicideGirls was the perfect place for me. After a bit, I decided that shooting for SG could be fun. So, I sent in samples and got asked for references that I wasn’t a serial killer or anything. I figured that dealing with models is like dealing with rockstars. If I email 10 models, maybe 3 will get back to me in 24 hours. So, all 10 of my models email SG within a day to vouch for me and my lack of creepiness. My first set involved shoes… like 20 pairs of them. It’s been 5 years shooting for SG and I have 250+ live sets, lots of fun stories to tell and some awesome images to show. I can’t help enjoy shooting alt models. I’m tattooed and like shooting tattooed people. It’s kinda natural to fall into it. Also, as an emerging photographer without formal photography education, it’s very hard to start shooting high-end fashion models with no book to show. Most of my friends are either rockstars or tattooed people and it’s always fun and easy to shoot friends. Hell, they work for beer! LOL!

I’ve asked a few photographers this same question. Is the alt scene a fad or will it sustain its popularity within erotic culture?

Seems like the yardstick would be porn. Joanna Angel, Eon McKai, and Sasha Grey are doing quite well supporting and furthering Alt.Porn. Several well-known alt.glamour photographers have gone on to direct - Winkytiki and Dave Naz for example are making movies for Vivid-Alt. I think it’s gained its foothold in the mainstream. Other “alt” activities - roller derby and burlesque, are starting to appear in the mainstream pop culture consciousness more and more. Drew Barrymore’s roller derby movie Whip It opens next month. I think pictures of hot tattooed girls won’t be going out of style anytime soon.

I think the difficult thing is the looseness of the definition of alt. Any girl who sports tattoos seems to be automatically thrown into this category. Should we define alt with clear parameters or should it continue to be loosely defined in order for the genre to grow?

Well, in my head when booking models, I tend to categorize “Alt” as someone who isn’t mainstream looking. I have more issues with the idea that if you are tattooed, have colored hair and own a corset; you are an “Alt Model.” The latex world is just as bad. Just because your closet is deep, doesn’t mean you can connect with the camera. Honestly, I would book a great model who isn’t as “Alt” before booking the most alternative person out there who doesn’t model well. Jazz hands fueled awkward backbends and blank looks don’t make a model Alt or otherwise. Eh, regarding the parameters… man, once you start putting labels and rules on things, they cease to exist except how they are defined by the people making the rules. It’s like anything else, the good models will continue to grow and move the scene forward.

Give us a little history on how you first found your way into the world of erotic photography.

Since I discovered stacks Playboy and Penthouse in my uncle Donald’s cellar during a family trip to Rhode Island, my path was pretty much set. When I started shooting, I did the usual model mayhem/OMP thing and shot various models - nude and fashion. I realized this was cool and all, but expensive and not really productive. I was shooting images to post on one or two websites for other photographers to look at. I would rather figure out a way to get paid to do something fun and awesome. Oh, hai SG! Now, I’m starting to test for more porn outlets and starting to shoot in that direction. I am the house photographer for the EXXXOTICA shows (NYC and Miami) and that opens doors that I wouldn’t have access to normally. Oh, by the by - LOVED your shots of porn star Sunny Leone. Those were AWESOME! (especially the styling and lighting).

Many compliments to you as well. Besides beautiful and delicious women, what other subject matter do you like to capture with the camera?

Oh my, you have found my weakness. I’m a gearhead, so anything that goes “Vroom” makes my shutter finger itchy. Hot rods, muscle cars, choppers, sport bikes… hell, even a souped up lawn mower gets me excited. LOL! The funniest part? I’ve shot at El Mirage (the home of the So Cal Timing Association) several times and never shot a car/bike there. But, I have found out that most of my rental cars will not hit 100 mph before I run out of dry lakebed. If Avis ever found out about the amount of abuse and naked models I have had in their cars in the course of shooting out in the desert… “gee sir, I have NO idea where that moon shaped dust spot in the passenger seat came from, I swear.” Oh! Sorry, yep - I like taking shots of cars, bikes and the people who own them.

Any interest in video and are you currently experimenting with moving images?

I put myself through college doing TV and video production and love it. I would like to get back into it, but I’ve been shooting stills for the last 5 years and it’s tough to switch into a video mindset. I’m excited about the new trend of HD video on DSLR’s and played around with one for a bit. The possibilities are awesome! But, I think if I were going to get back into it, I would want to use a real camera - variable frame rate, better ergonomics and controls. Trying to do a smooth pan with a decent focus pull on a 5D Mark II just sucks without a lot of extra gear. I was looking at Vince Laforet’s site. He’s talking about the rig he uses for the 5D Mark II to make it useful. It’s more than the camera!

Tell us what’s in the cards for Steve Prue and where we can taste more of your work.

Shooting, shooting, shooting… more ideas, more naked girls, more tear sheets. I’ve been in both Zink and Playboy in the last year, so the first steps to world domination have been taken. I have pieces in a couple of gallery shows coming up, prepping and planning more involved fashion magazine submissions, trying to pull together another book (my 669 Polaroid book sold out the first run of 25 in 5 days.) Actually, I’m sitting in holding for background extras for The Beautiful Life where I am playing a background photographer… I know, it’s a stretch. LOL! Look for the tall gawky heavily tattooed shooter in the background during the modeling agency scenes. That would be me.

Taste it:
teamrockstarimages.com