The Camera NEVER lies......or does it?

[SallyS]

I, like many others here, keep a photo record of my time en-femme.

It's not about vanity, merely curiosity at what my cross-dressing peers might think about how I look or comment on what I'm wearing?

I do not concern myself with such things in my male role, as I feel a much stronger connection to my female self (although I was born male and I will die male), and my time en-femme, is always special to me.

On the subject of photographing oneself whilst in female mode; I sometimes have to sit back and say to myself 'is that REALLY me?'

Do I really see myself in the same way as others do on this site, or are we just ALL very polite people?

To be totally honest, I think I look much better as a woman, than I do as man......but then I would:battingeyelashes:

Are we truly subjective to ourselves or is it just a wonderful illusion!

[Kate Simmons]

I'm not usually concerned with the appearance part myself Hon. If it works, it works. If not, I figure someone will let me know. Basically I just go about my business when en femme and things usually seem to flow pretty well. How I function as a feminine person is my main concern.:)

[Rondawants]

Sally honey I wish I looked as good as you. I did once when I was younger. I could wear short skirts and look fantastic! Now! Not so much! I would love to look like you and I don't think you have a thing to worry about!!!! Loves Ronda!

[Janet77]

Are we truly subjective to ourselves or is it just a wonderful illusion!

I think it is a little of both. When I dress up and take pictures, I might take literally 100 pictures with a digital camera, and save only 6 or 7. I could show you two pictures from the same shoot: One that looks just like a woman and one that looks like an old man, depending on the lighting, angles, etc. We all want to be passable but I think most of us, in reality, are not.

[Beverley Sims]

I think I take photos to convince myself I still look as good as when I was younger.
Nope! Doesn't work.:)

[Karren H]

My camera has always lied..... Or the people who compliment me on the photos it takes lie. Or both! Lol. In my mind I don't look like that..... I see the wrinkles... And lines. And skin defects. Getting old sucks!!

[Lyric]

Well, I don't know how you look otherwise, but your avatar pic looks great, Sally.

You remind me of an odd phenom I've experienced. You would think the mirror would give you the best idea of how you look, but I find photos are much better at delivering the cruel truth. I suppose because we look at ourselves in the mirror so often, it's easy to overlook certain details about oneself. But when I look at a photo of myself I a very different person, really. I suppose it's easier to compare a photo of yourself to those of others. If you really want to fine tune your look, just take a few pics.

~ Lyric ~

[Billiebluenose1878 GG]

The camera never lies ... i ssen loadsa pics and i can say you girls look good .... :)) :)

[NicoleScott]

No, the camera never lies. But it takes some powerful photo editing software to make it reveal the truth.

[Melissa_59]

In my case, they say the camera adds 5 pounds, which means I have about 732 cameras aimed at me when a picture is taken...

-- Melissa

[Melissa_59]

I do want to say that SallyS looks amazing in her avatar picture though. Wish I looked half as good, I might actually post a picture sometime.

[Thera Home]

I, like many others here, keep a photo record of my time en-femme.


I do not concern myself with such things in my male role, as I feel a much stronger connection to my female self (although I was born male and I will die male), and my time en-femme, is always special to me.


or is it just a wonderful illusion!

My Dear Sally

I agree wholeheartedly with you, I also keep some pictures ( 2 or 3 ) out of a million, and my time in femme and those pictures are special too me and those pictures I sometimes share on this site. For me it's a time of wonderous euphoria. Its no illusion too me.

Love it

Thera

[Kathi Lake]

Of course my camera lies! I've noticed that in about one shot in thirty, my camera seems to capture something that almost looks good and passable and feminine. :)

Of course, I then compound that lie by posting that picture, therefore I lie.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we hit that shutter release button!

:)

Kathi

[Loveday]

My camera lied alot last Thankgiving, it made me look like I gained 30 lbs after dinner. I was down to 172 lbs and it made me look like I weighed 192 lbs. I just put those pics away in the yuk file on the computer.

[Stephanie47]

I haven't taken pictures of myself en femme since the late 1970's. I'm sure I looked better then than now. I know from looking at pictures of myself en homme the mirror is a better friend than pictures. I should get a separate memory chip for our digital camera and keep a visual record of my dresses and slips. If I ever can figure out how to upload pictures without leaving a trace on the family computer, I would post some pictures. I would also start selling on eBay. We old ladies sometimes are not as computer literate as our grandchildren.

[Lorileah]

I am my worst critic. I usually hate something about me, the make up , the clothes my attitude whatever. The camera lies usually to make me feel better but recently we had a falling out. Now it makes me look round and frumpy. I think I will get a new camera one that subtracts 10 pounds.

Actually the person running the camera makes all the difference. The timer is NOT my friend. The man who poses me knows his job.

[Alice B]

The camera has no emotions and the lens sees all in it's field of view. The reading of the image is up to the viewer and what their mind sees or wants to see. The photographer can control the depth of field, amount of light to be exposed and subject position to try and control the feeling of the image, but it still becomes a subjective decision of the viewer. I have often taken images of myself and ended up with images that were not at all like I thought they would be.

[AllieSF]

I believe that we see ourselves dressed and notice the difference from what we started with and are pleased with the results. However, we do have those moments of clarity and then see that we may be far from what we normally see. It is a type of self acceptance where the final look only has to be almost good enough and then we are on our way out the door. I know that I sometimes scare myself when I get home and just before removing the makeup take a tired but real look at myself in the mirror and just think I really do not look as good as I thought. Fortunately, those moments of honesty are not too common, thus I can retain my sanity and mental good looks so that I can go out again as soon as the next opportunity and/or reasons pops up.

[Cheryl123]

As a former photo professional, I can assure you the camera never lies (which is why they invented wrinkle removing software -- high recommended!). Seriously, we all see what we want to see. If we have a good self-image we over-look our flaws. If we are overly critical we see every wart. The same is true of people who view us. Regardless of our innate beauty -- which you radiate in huge amounts Sally -- haters will always find reasons to hate. This is why we must collect our friends and hold them close.

[reb.femme]

If I ever can figure out how to upload pictures without leaving a trace on the family computer, I would post some pictures. I would also start selling on eBay. We old ladies sometimes are not as computer literate as our grandchildren.

Hi Stephanie,

Ask and thou shalt receive. :)

Linux on a USB stick or on a DVD. Disc version is very easy to do and just loads straight up from the disc with nothing showing on the computer's normal operating system of your activity. I work in IT and would recommend this to you.
There are other systems out there but this link gives all the info you need in one place. Happy shopping, posting and a lovely way to stay anonymous. :heehee:

http://www.gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/technology/gadgetbox/browse-bond-use-any-computer-without-leaving-trace-tails-820868

Rebecca x

[reb.femme]

Hi Sally,

Sorry for posting my info to Stephanie in your thread.

Anyway,back to your thread ......CHRIST!, pardon the blasphemy, if your camera is lying, which bl**dy model are you using? :)
I want one!

If you've got problems Miss Femme 2012, then there's no hope for some of us.

Yes, we do tend to post our best shots but is trying to show ourselves in the best light such a crime? Lock me up....guilty as charged! :devil:

Rebecca x

[Kaz]

I agree with most posts here. I also take hundreds and only show a few. I have loads in which I look terrible - some I have deleted, others I have kept to 'keep me real'!

The shots of me where I think I look okay I post for some sort of validation I guess. After all, many of us are trying to create an illusion of being 'femme'. Sally the pics I have seen of you look fabulous and you do look great - a role model in many ways, and these pics and those of others help me get better at my 'illusion'. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder though! So when looking at me I am easily fooled when I want to be!

In real life I have more wrinkles and bumps than are picked up by the camera. Make up helps a lot, but as Karen has pointed out, getting old is no joke!

So, I like the lies my camera tells... it makes me feel good... and as for the crap photos... 'delete'!

[Jill Devine]

My camera lies all the time. I'd say out of 100 shots, 50 are downright ugly with another 40 bordering on scary. Maybe 9 look ok (meaning nobody will call 911). And then magically, one shot looks good!

I always wonder why the camera made 99 mistakes just to take one decent picture.
;-)

[NZ_Dawn]

Im thinking along the same lines as Sally. I also take many photos but screen those that are not clear. In my case at the moment Im trying to refine my femme side before I exit into the world as Dawn. Apart from this site I have little in the way of support I can call on. I figure if I can at least convince myself tithe image on photo I would be just that much closer android confident when I do leap! I gasp sometimes at the deference of two pics taken moments apart.

[Lori B]

oh boy....:heehee: :doh:....I enjoy taking pictures of myself when dressed and out and about...it`s sorta evolved into a side hobby,experimenting with angles,lighting,poses,,,alot wind up on the cutting room floor ,but some I`m really happy with...can`t believe that`s me,,,and I like to share them with all my friends here,,,like a photo history .........and then,one day,in band camp,:blah::wine::heehee:

[April_Ligeia]

I suppose that objectively the camera never lies but it does tend to capture the most unflattering light, the most awkward expression, all shot from angles of view that would never occur to anyone who was not holding a camera. So, then, in it's way, the camera does lie. I actually like the fact that it lies because I try to keep the photos that lie in a way that makes me look better and delete the photos that lie in a way that makes me look worse. I usually delete the honest photos and look for the flattering lies.

[SallyS]

I Guess what I'm trying to say is 'who am I......is THIS really me?'

The photo's that I take allow me to step outside of myself and see what others might see!

I know I have often stated that I accept who I am, but the truth is maybe not quite fully yet, as I am always seeking acceptance from my peers.

I shouldn't wait for other's to tell me who I am, I need to do that for myself:)

[Nicole Erin]

Some people take good pics and some do not.
I have seen cases both ways. The person looks good in person but photos always look horrid.
Then there are some who look horrid in in person but the pics look good. I am not even talking about photo editors being used, but just honest photos.

Consider this -
You see pics of some young women, in person they look pretty but then all their pics make it look like their lips are stuck out awkwardly. Looks like a duck

[gender_blender]

On the subject of photographing oneself whilst in female mode; I sometimes have to sit back and say to myself 'is that REALLY me?'

Do I really see myself in the same way as others do on this site, or are we just ALL very polite people?

To be totally honest, I think I look much better as a woman, than I do as man......but then I would:battingeyelashes:

Are we truly subjective to ourselves or is it just a wonderful illusion!

That depends on the quality of the makeup artist's work and the photographer's post production skill.

[kimdl93]

Here's my thought. If you receive thoughtful compliments on your pics, then accept them at face value. Generally, people do say what they mean...or at least something pretty close to what they mean.

As for the camera - we all know that certain angles andd lighting can be more flattering than others. But if you like what you seein in a wide variety of poses, in varying lighting / environments, then its probably safe to say that what your seeing is a realistic image of your appearance.

[Dawn cd]

As I have said elsewhere, we CDs are in the business of illusion—the practice of deceiving the eye—and I think we sometimes come to believe our own illusions.

[Cheryl T]

No, the camera doesn't lie. PHOTOSHOP LIES....LOL.

I don't put that much emphasis on what I see when I take my pictures. I use it to refine my appearance, to see what clothes I thought looked good and determine if they are right for me. I use it to see how my makeup looks in closeups and distant shots so that I can become better at it's application.
I'm not using my pics to delude myself that I will ever be a VS Angel or anything. I just want to see myself in some way as others see me.