Reality, very depressing .

[DianneRoberts]

I bought a camera yesterday, and kind of wish I didn't.

Reality is, and cameras don't lie, I'm BUTT UGLY.
I was going to build an album, but no way, I'd scare most of you away.

Good thing the closet isn't so bad.
And I'll save money not buying "going out" clothes.

You girls that look good are so lucky.
Now I know how the not so good looking girls in school felt.

Oh well at least I'm healthy.

I'll have to "go out" by reading your successes, not the worst thing in the world.

:sad:

[Chrissie P]

NOT TRUE !!

I take horrible pictures, period. Don't judge yourself by a pic, it is only a moment in time. I took a video to a professional studio to get the exact frame I wanted for a sailing picture to be blown up and framed. If you scroll thru the frames you will see some God awful facial expressions that make up for instance, a smile. I was surprised. Models know how to get the right pose perfectly at the right time. That's why they are models. We are not.

[MichelleSanders]

lol....If you want ugly I can show you ugly! Actually that's why I have never posted an avatar.

Your avatar looks just fine to me. The few times I have used my camera was just to be able to get an objective look at myself and hopefully use what I see to make improvements.

btw...Hi from another NE Ohio CD.

[Lorileah]

Give yourself a break. You should realize that most of us who do post pictures have taken literally hundreds. You don't get to see them all. Also, at least in my case, I have the advantage of having someone tell me where to look or hold my head. There are a lot of tricks to making yourself look better. Certain poses will always make you look like a guy. Try and relax and above all SMILE!. Practice practice practice. and erase the bad ones :)

[Joni Marie Cruz]

Oh knock it off. Really. Your current avatar looks great, girl. We are our own worst enemies and harsher on ourselves than anyone else. To me, us girls, tgirls, are like real girls. We look better than some and worse than others, just like ggirls do. We are all unique and all pretty, no matter what.

Hugs...Joni Mari

[Elsa Larson]

My camera has a "pretty" setting with a little flower on it. When I use that setting and shoot from a distance, everything is nicely fuzzy.

Some people say that flower is for macro mode.

All I know is that It makes me look great in the distance, at twilight, with the light behind me.

[Alice B]

Ugly, like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. From what I see you are not ugly at all. Practice makes perfect and taking good shots is a lot more then pointing a camera and tripping the shutter. Study the poses and facial expressions you like an this site and give them a try. Experiment with camera angles and lighting Plus, with time you get better and better at make-up, etc.

[celeste26]

Believe me when I tell you I've seen many "butt ugly" GG's its not the look its what's behind it, your heart, that matters anyway.

The rest is all techniques that maybe you've not learned. Unless you go around with full facial hair there is some GG out there that looks as "Bad" or worse than you. At this time it seems impossible but its true.

[JaytoJillian]

I could paper ten billboards with the FUGLY pix I've taken. Lighting can be your best friend AND worst enemy. Keep playing with the camera and figure out what works. If you like what you see in the mirror, you can reproduce it in a photo given the right lighting and angles. Don't beat yourself up about it!

[DianneRoberts]

The avatar is tiny. So it's not so bad.
The 5M originals were SCAREY.

I simply can't shave due to "guy life" and my biceps are way too big to pass, but they have to be for the "guy thing".

I think I live in three conflicting worlds.
My wife moved out partially because all I care about is the "guy thing"
I can't "femm-up" due top the "guy thing"
My wife would hold CDing against me as power if we divorce, so she doesn't know.

I wanted to PM and add a picture or two to a trusted friend or two, but haven't figured it out. I think a lot of times responses to posts are sugar-coated. If I'm a 1 on a 10 scale, then so be it.

[Rebecca Jayne]

I see a beautiful woman yearning for acceptance. I accept you as you are. By the way cameras almost always lie, mine almost always does.
It takes a lot to do what you did and you did it very well!

[PaulaJaneThomas]

Dianne,

Don't be so hard on yourself. First of all unless you're an experienced photographer you're unlikely to be able to show yourself at your best. The camera does lie given half a chance. Secondly, choose clothes which hide you bad points and emphasise your goo points. Loose, long sleeves are ideal for hiding big arms.

[Nicole Erin]

OK look, I don't know if you are how pretty, but here is the thing -

you would not believe how many photos you see on sites like this make the person look way better than what they really are.

Some people are not photogenic, I am one. I look better real life than in a photo. I think cameras DO lie. Or at the very least cameras, old and new, can be tricked.

Now here is something else - OK so you are feeling ugly. What ytou should do is look in the mirror and look for things you can change. Think about lifestyle changes you coud make that would improve your external beauty and internal health.
Think you are too heavy? Start exercising more and watch the diet. Don;t like your own style? LEarn what women of your age and build wear normally and you can blend in better. Face too masculine? find a hairstyle that shapes your face a little nicer. Beard too thick? Get some electro or laser to at least reduce it, or if money is an issue, do like me and tweeze the black, thick hairs (time consuming but worth it.)

Like I said - even the prettiest photos you see here, I bet $100 if you saw most of them in person you would be saying "THIS is the person I was so jealous/envious of?"
The camera's eye -
I could take some photos of my crummy apartment and it would give the idea that this place is a mansion. Photography is an art my friend. Ever been to graceland in Tennessee? Not nearly as fab as the brochures make things look.

[Ruth]

Trust me, I'm a photographer: the camera always lies. The trick is to make it tell the particular lie that you want.
It takes time and effort, and as the others have said, you throw away a lot of nearly-good shots.
And regarding your comments that you can't look feminine because of your "guy life", well, that's ultimately your choice. You can do a lot to look more feminine (see above) but some of it will be apparent while you're in drab. That's the way of it.

[Maxi]

Add a little more gut & I would think I'm looking in a mirror.

[Sandygal]

When you look at woman, are they all beautiful? I bet not. We all have a look that is our own. Try different clothes. I have large biceps also. I found that a short sleeve sweater hides them some and the sweater feels awesome.

[Shari]

Thanks for the laugh. The "butt ugly" was too much.

Seriously, it only really matters what you feel like when dressed. At least that's what it is for me and I'd venture to say, so too for a great many on this site.

Just enjoy dressing and what it does for you and quit thinking you can look like a movie star, or like some of the lucky select few here who actually do look good and can pass.

[DaphneGrey]

dont let a couple of well chosen photos fool you! No one has providence over the way they look and no one is every one hundred percent happy with the way they look.

[crusadergirl]

I feel the same way sometimes most of the pictures i take aren't very good. Some may look ok on the camera but when u upload them they don't look as good. I know how u feel but it gets better.

[Miranda09]

Dianne...we're all our own worst critics. Don't be shy and just practice and you'd be surprised what you can accomplish...If I can do it...you certainly can!! :)

[MsJanessa]

good photo taking is an art---even the prettiest of us have taken hundreds of photos and only the few exceptional ones see the light of day---and I've seen real pretty photos where the gurl didn't look any where near as nice in real life and seen photos that didn't look so good when the gurl was quite attractive in the flesh----my advice is to concentrate on hair makeup, foundation garments and clothes---get some advice from another well put togather CD or GG if you can and then when you master those skills go to a professional photographer who specializes in gurls like us and have him put togather an alubm for you---you will be amazed at the results

[Barbara Dugan]

there is always tricks to make you look better all the girls have gave you great advice and Ithink attitude and confidence comes ahead of beauty and besides beauty is only skinn deep:hugs:

[sherri52]

Dianne don't blamt the camera or yourself. We each have a way to beautify ourselves. Dressing our age helps. Of course I would rather dress 30 years younger. We look better as women when we dress the part (makeup included)

[Angie G]

Take loads of pics and you mat be surprised that some will be fair to good don't give up girl.:hugs:
Angie

[Misty is Kindafem]

Reality is, and cameras don't lie, I'm BUTT UGLY.


Oh honey, I know how you feel but I know for a fact that you're dealing with issues of how you feel versus how you look and it has nothing to do with what you actually look like.

I feel so pretty when I'm made up and then I pass a mirror and see that I'm just a stupid boy in a wig. Oh sure people say otherwise but I know the truth so I continue to work on it.

That's the key isn't it? Practice makes perfect, or at least a heck of a lot better. Every single week I get more confident because I get a little bit better at my presentation.

You are in a tough spot because you're hanging on to the "guy" look but if you're willing to make some compromises, I've seen some total dudes transform into some pretty hot chicks so I know it can be done. One Tgirl I know doesn't even shave her legs but she's still very convincing anyway.

You just gotta believe baby, and keep working at it.

Just between you and me, my last three albums were taken with a digital video camera. That means I had literally HUNDREDS of frames to choose from and the few pics you see are the best of them. That means what? One in fifty? If you like how I look now, I promise you I looked totally different a few months ago when I got started. If you don't like how I look, I promise you I'll look better in a few months. ;-)

Hang in there sweetie,

-Misty

[Jean Ann S]

I used to take great pictures when I used a "throw away" camera
when I first got my digital the pictures of me got really bad in a hurry
the reason too many dots per inch or what ever
try going back to not quite so sharp clear picture
did wonders for me lots of little problems disappeared

Jean Ann :daydreaming:

[patricia 402]

please dont cut yourself short. i look werse in the mirror than you do but at least i can say my undies are BEAUTIFUL!! lol dont feel bad your better than you think were all to critical on our selves.:battingeyelashes:

[TSchapes]

Most of the issues that the girls have on this board are related to their clothing and makeup choices. It has nothing to do with their actual physical bodies.

I can't tell you how many times that I have seen drag queens of all shapes and sizes look absolutely fabulous. It has to do with camouflage.

Watch "What Not to Wear" or "How Do I Look" or my favorite "Making Over America". You will get some great tips.

We TG girls all suffer body issues just like real girls do. In guy mode, we don't care.

We have to wear things that minimize our shoulders and large chests. We have to wear belts and A-line skirts to help "balance out" our bodies.

You need to use your camera as a tool. Take pictures, be objective, change your clothes and try again.

Chin up girl, you can do it. This is not something you will get right the first time. Like a number of girls on this board have told you, we have taken thousands, and I do mean thousands of pictures of ourselves. It pays off, trust me.

-Tracy

P.S. If you want any specific coaching, please PM me. I'm here to help! :hugs:

[DianneRoberts]

I am thankful, that although I'm a giant, that I am proportioned OK.

It's the "Soviet Politician" eyebrows and droopy eyes.
If I was a GG the guys back at school would have said that I could scare the crap out of a toilet. ( Cruel guys I know, sorry )
I cannot thin the eyebrows any more than what the woman that cuts my hair does for me, it's for the guy world part of me, also cannot shave body/legs, but that can be hidden, at least for now.

I've got to get the brows under control. They do have a mind of their own.

I never knew they were so bad until I got that camera.
Truth hurts. I don't know why I'm so sensitive about it ???

[KateSpade83]

Why don't you post some pics in the Picture Section and ask for HONEST feedback to see if you look good enough or are ugly?

ME - flaws are big manly arms and legs that I overcome but not wearing anything sleeveless. Oh well about the legs. And I'm not photogenic so sometimes my pics are Ugly too! Especially in distance shots!

[joannemarie barker]

aawww you look nice hun.better than scaredy cat me with just a pic of my butt sticking in the air on my profile lol :)

[audreyinalbany]

You know, since I've been on this forum I've been more willing to go out dressed. As I do, I've spent more time paying attention to 'real women' out there in 'the real world." And, you know, there really aren't a lot of supermodels out there. You see some women who are really attractive, some who are really unattractive, but the vast majority fall somewhere in the middle. That's why they call it average. I'm certainly no stunner, but, on balance I figure there are a hell of a lot of gg's who are less feminine appearing. I know we all tend to be hard on ourselves and you're no different. Just accept who you are and go with it. YOu think a woman who is not a supermodel looks at herself and says, "okay that's it. I'm gonna stop being a woman because there are other women more attractive than I am."?

[Rhonda Jean]

You know, sometimes you've got to pick your poision. The same things that make us look like guys are the things that make us look less like girls. That's kinda the point. The things I can't change about myself that tend to make me look feminine, i.e., small bone structure, skinny, small hands, small feet, and now (dare I say) some inexplicably developing boobs, tend to make it a little less than fun as the typical guy (which most of us try to be most of the time). I don't think I have to detail those issues.

For many aspects of my life, I'd have loved to have a little bit more of a guy thing going on. But I don't and there's not much I can do about it. That may seem lucky, for the purposes of the persona I present on this board. It's hardly lucky in much of the rest of my life.

Along the way I've chosen to do some things that enhanced the feminine side to the further detriment of the male side. That's where picking your poision comes in. These are choices that we all make. We may come down on different sides of them, but we all make them. BTW, I fully understand that circumstance beyond our control may preclude some of these.

I have chosen to: Pluck my eyebrows (a lot), wear my hair long, and in a rather difficult to conceal feminine style, wear my fingernails long, and shave all over. I chose these things in order to present a more femine appearance during that small amount of time I get to do it. I really can't even defend that as a rational decision, but that's what I did. They're things I live with every day in order to satisfy that small part of my life. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but, I picked my poision.

There's no such thing as a free lunch (Although some of the male-and-female pics in the pictures section make me a liar!). All the BS I do to try to satisfy that little femmy part of me can make my "normal" life, ummmm... sometimes a little challenging. I can't undo it when I go to deer camp (for instance)!

I'm not a woman (despite what my ex thought), and there are guy things that I have to do as a guy and others that I enjoy doing as a guy. I'm not sure it's a good trade off to STILL end up with a very unsatisfactory feminine image having reduced even further the likelyhood of a satisfactory male image.

As an aside, I've GOT to say something about my own post (before I decide to not post it at all). As I read back through it, it come across as one of those, "Oh, it's hard to be so beautiful!" posts. Oh PULLEEEZE! It kinda pi$$ed me of just reading my own post, and I KNOW how I meant it! I get read like the New York Times, and no amount of doodleflippin' around with makeup and padding and cutesy hairdo's will change that. I've TRIED! I LOVE the compliments, but I also KNOW the truth! And I've screwed around with my everyday "male" appearance enough that if I posted my MALE avatar on some deer huntin' forum some redneck would shoot a hole in his computer screen! I've SEEN my driver's license photo! (Where's the Tylenol!)

[Alana Beaumont]

Dianne, I find it nearly impossible to get a picture of myself that looks acceptable. For example, my current profile picture was the only one of about 15 pictures that made the cut. Just took a picture that looks much better (1 shot of 10 or 15 again) and I want to replace my current profile pic (wish i knew how to do it. lol).