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Hey girls, I could use your help. My wife asked me last night, why do you take pictures when you dress? I had never given it to much thought but she got me wondering, she wasn’t being critical but just curious. It is true that often when I dress I have been driven to capture it in a photo. I came up with 1). To be able to see what I did well and where I needed to work on still. 2). To capture my progress over time as I try to improve my look.
I think it’s a pretty common thing with cross dresser, are there some here that don’t feel the need to capture their dressing in a photo. It’s funny my wife ask this now because I have been dressing more lately and actually have not been taking many photos. I was wondering if others have found that happened to them as well. It would be great to hear others thoughts and experiences.
Hi Kate
I take photos every time I dress. I do it to see my creation and my alter self. The pictures are beneficial for other things though. Sometime I take some I really really like. I’m like “Yup gotta wear that again”. Then I have one every now and then I go “woooaaa. “that dont match” or that’s not your style Chelly”. As my male self, I guess i could care less if something matches, but as Chelly, I have to be dressed to the max!!Chelly
Taking photos of myself dressed was at one point something I never thought I’d do out of fear of being discovered that way. Well I’m still not out to that many people but my confidence has gone up and I figure if anyone discovers this side of me through my photos, it will mean they went on a CDing website themselves so it will be someone I won’t mind finding out.
I take way more photos than I ever share I have to admit. sometimes I just love how I look and need to take some photos. I take them just about every time I dress now actually… if they don’t turn out well, then at least I know what not to try again!
Photos, like a mirror, don’t lie.
Sometimes I remark to myself, I have seen prettier rear ends on a cow. Other times I think I scrub up pretty good. And other times think I’m actually passable.
It’s through photos I learned which makeup works, and doesn’t work. Which clothes hang like a burlap sack, and others fit perfect. ( I don’t wear padding, or fake boobs. I do have some bra inserts I made from old padded bras.)
I’m not in a position to take pics these days, but back in the day before we retired, I’d be able to grab a couple of hours here and there, and I took photos partly so I’d have memories to keep me warm during the drought (mixed metaphor, sorry) and partly to get a bit of distance so I could critique my outfits and makeup.
Connie
xxxOh my gosh, I love to take photos when I’m dressed! For every reason mentioned above!
Haley
Photo graphs for analysis ( hope she likes them….. Anna Lysis). Come on, keep up!
The other bonus is that I always have one fan!!
Hee Hee.
I’m like a moth to a flame when it comes to being in front of a camera when I’m all dressed. In male mode I will run from a camera.
Isn’t part of our femininity, wanting to be seen and get attention? It is for me. I love the way I look when I’m dressed up. Taking pictures and or videos of my feminine self and sharing them where I can is very exciting to me.
My wife has seen some of my pictures and I know she approved but at the same time I think she’s a little jealous because I have a very petite body and shes gained a lot of weight. I look better in a dress than she does.
I think my wife would be a little upset if she saw my videos where I’m out in the yard and by the pool dressed and often times just in lingerie. If she saw the ones where I go for walks dressed she would have a heart attack. She even worries about my panties showing if I bend over, let alone knowing how often I prance around the yard wearing only my lingerie.
Paragraph 3 – I think that is a common problem ( apart from the “ shock” that may occur when they realise.) what is so important is that you know how she might feel, and then the talk is likely to be fruitful.
I agree with you- the moth/ candle. A good analogy. Same here.
Of course, some of our family here only have one fan- the camera.
So, why do we do it? Maybe it is because we love it and it’s part of the celebration. After all, we take photos at birthdays, weddings, parties, graduations, etc. Using a camera is quite normal , I believe. But not all feel obliged, not all dare the risk, not all seek the look and the feel is probably all that is needed. We are all aware of our own thoughts. It’s good that you are also aware of your wife’ s thoughts too.
Happy clicking!!
How about the moment she sees you
but doesn’t recognise you?????
Anya xox
Videos?? Never thought of that… Another outlet for our egos.
Say, is it possible to Photoshop a video?
“By the pool in lingerie…” You Go Girl!!
Barb 🙂
Hi Kate,
I’ll spend quite a bit of time, setting up the tripod and camera, checking the settings and the backdrop, then spend a happy hour snapping away.
Vanity, thy name is woman! I would never do that in drab mode.Anyway, I’ve found that the mirror lies to me but my Nikon is brutally honest.
I AM GORGEOUS! LOL!Hugs, Jillian
I used to take oodles of photos when I first started dressing and going out. I had to take them to the photo shop to be developed. I wanted to see how I looked and keep a record of every outfit and every trip. It was almost obsessional. Once digital cameras came in I was doing all the editing and storing them on discs.
Once I was really getting out and about a couple of friends pointed out that I was taking far too many. They were right of course so I started to take only ones of scenery and the occasional one of me.
Nowadays I might take a couple here and there if out at venues and what is considered normal. The oddity is that these days the mobile phone is everywhere and people are taking loads of photos of anything that moves including loads of themselves for social media.
There are a lot of reasons why but the main one is that I have a photographic chronology of how I have evolved which I can dip into to make me feel soooo good.
Hi Angela, thanks for your input. I would say my photo taking was rather obsessive for quite a while. Pictures certainly last longer than a quick look in a mirror and later you can take a better look on a larger screen. What I found interesting is that the obsession, or need isn’t very strong since I have been dressing more. It is a hassle to setup the camera and tripod, could it be just not wanting the hassle or no longer needing the validation? If your friends hadn’t pointed out your going overboard would you have throttled back on your own at some point?
I think I would have reigned back as there is only so much storage on the computer!! I took the advice on board as it was getting obsessive. I had so many images. As I pointed out the irony is the new obsession with media now. I was out with a cousin and it was she that started to snap away to update her social media site as to what she was up to, and that isn’t the first time. It’s me who is the restrained one now.
We take photos so that we can share them on social media sites and get commentary and feedback, lol?
Interesting question!
My simplest explanations
1. That it’s far superior to just looking in the mirror.
2. I always hated having my picture taken (and looking in the mirror) as a male. Seeing Rei has become a form of reprogramming on how I think of myself.
3. Allows me to share my journey with others in various stages along their own journey.
4. Finally, there’s the occasional thrill to be had of being a little risqué (nudge nudge wink wink) Far far less now so as I’ve gotten older and more comfortable being out as trans, but every once in awhile……
Hi Kate,
I’ve always been a bit blase about photos – selfies or others – maybe because I’m rarely satisfied with the outcome, whether I’m m or f. I often just don’t see ‘me’ in them. I don’t feel natural at an intrusive lens pointing at me. But that’s just me – I understand the reasons and pleasures it could give others.
Marti xxx
I would love to have a professional photo shoot, the full thing start to finish.
I have taken thousands of pics over the years, unfortunately all the old film ones I threw out years ago. I thought about why so many. A record of how far I have come. So, I can share them (my wife, she says she isn’t ready yet LOL, (40 years of marriage) to see Jackie all dressed and made up but likes seeing my pictures) Those are some of the reasons I take them, but mostly it is to just look at them especially when I am not able to dress. It brings me great pleasure to open a picture of myself and seeing a woman staring back at me.
Jackie
Hi Kate,
As I get more into it, and try new outfits, I feel the need to take more pictures. It’s for the same reasons that you listed.
My male self was always volunteering to take the group photos, of just finding something that was “important to do” elsewhere when the camera came out. It’s a lot harder to hide these days with the smart phones.💕Lara🤗
Hi Kate,
Thanks for the post. As someone new to the site, but not CD, you got me thinking a bit. I have never really taken photos before, then decided it would be good to take one for a profile (at least an anonymous one). Straight away I just wanted to take more photos and now am thinking about what I can do for a little self-photoshoot asap. At the very least it will be a great excuse to try on heaps of outfits.
Sabine x
Why do I take pictures? Well, to me anyway there are several reasons, some of which are similar to what have already been mentioned.
First, I think the camera catches a side of you (well, me, anyway) that a mirror really doesn’t.
After a first look, I tend to file them away and come back in drab mode or even in dress and sort of critique them.
I do find out that in some outfits I think I look bordering on maybe just even possibly a little, oh, you know, attractive…or at least pretty good…and in others…well, time to toss those, pics and outfits!
Yes, in dress mode, I’m probably a little vainer than in drab mode.
I like to see what I look like from a reasonable distance, sort of how I present myself.
I keep hoping for that ‘perfect’ picture that captures exactly what I would ever hope to look like.
It’s a remembrance of the me that I know I’ll never be.I would guess that if I was ever able to fully transition, the camera would then be only used for group pictures or for somebody or something else as I would have moved beyond having the need to make the memories I’m now making.
I do it for the same reason I take pictures of what I paint.
1.) So I can see something that I may have missed and need to work on. I am always finding that in minis I painted, and I find things I miss and could improve on while dressing as well.
2.) So I can track my progression and see where I need to improve. My cat eye and Smokey eye game is getting stronger, but they still need work.
3.) *Bonus* I just like to, even if they are just for me and my wife to share together.
I wish I could take pictures. I only get to dress once or twice a month. And I never have the time or opportunity to fully dress. I have not come out to my wife and she’s not currently working so she is home all the time. My dressing currently consists of sneaking some leggings and a pretty top on either in the morning just for a few minutes while she is sleeping Or I will go to bed before her so I can slip into a skirt and a cami for a few minutes. I have to at least do that a couple times a week or I would go insane. I do wear panties under my drab clothes every day though. Lately I have been finding excuses to go run some errands so I can steal some time to try on clothes in stores. The sales women at Target and Lane Bryant are awesome. I go in drab and try on lots of things once or twice a week. Its not the same without the shoes bra or pantyhose but it’s fun. I think the sales women enjoy it also. They like helping me pick out matching tops and skirts or pants. The upsides are I get to try on a lot of clothes and I end up buying at least a few things every trip so my closet is expanding.
Hi Bethany, thanks for your reply, great tip about Target and Lane Bryant, I’m sure you make their day a little more interesting. I have yet to use a dressing room while shopping women’s clothes, I’m pretty sure of my size and use the buy and return what I don’t like method to avoid the dressing room. Nice to know you find them so accommodating
Kate , I started using the dressing room at Target a couple months ago. I was there shopping and was looking at a nice black dress with a flower pattern and one of the sales girls asked if I needed help. I told her I was shopping for myself but wasn’t sure what size I needed. She said “so take one of each in the dressing room and try them on to see which fits better”. And I ended up buying the dress plus tried on 4 or 5 other outfits that day. And now I use the dressing room anywhere. Just yesterday I was at TJ Maxx and tried on a few things (only bought one pretty black lace skirt though).
Hi Kate<br style=”box-sizing: border-box;” />Being in the closet the only way I can really feel Stephanie is a real person is by being here on CDH with all my wonderful girlfriends however if I wasn’t in the closet I would definitely be out socialising with my girlfriends with a coffee or shopping trip etc. for me taking photos and posting them on CDH is my way of further extending my presence, it gives me a face, a being, it shows what styles I like and I hope it shows a glimmer of Stephanie’s personality. I don’t regard my photos as selfies they are just a way of putting a face to a person.
love Stephanie ❤️
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