Wow, it takes me close to an hour to put on makeup to look half fem but, it's me! I feel that's what CD-ing is.
Using FaceApp, why bother putting up posts, Sorry
It's like having someone taking your school exams.
Wow you look great, Not!
How about a little more effort!
I'm with you 100% on this. FaceApp can be fun, I've tried it, and there are people here who are up front about using it when they haven't had time to do makeup and want to post photos of new outfits. Nothing wrong with that but when you use it and pretend it's really you and accept a bunch of compliments that's in my opinion simply being deceptive. Thankfully those people are relatively rare on this forum but on places like Flickr I have seen many individuals who post entirely FaceApp or photoshopped images as true representations of what they look like in person. I often wonder if they realise they are only fooling themselves.
There's no difference between acting as if you're the person on FaceApp and that you act as if you're actually Lara Croft and play Tomb Raider.
Simple fact is, it's fake. The makeup filter is not just makeup, it adjusts the angles of all of your features, like lifting your eyes and brows etc. Real makeup can change your features, but it can't physically alter your face like FaceApp does.
I also think it's really bad for dysphoria and self image.
I have mixed feelings about this. I personally don't mind people using FaceApp as long as they don't try to pretend otherwise. But when 90% of the members will become Victoria Secret models in the pictures they post, the FaceApp-unaware minority will think they're really bad at the game and get very frustrated and depressed, so, yes, using FaceApp and not mentioning it can be cruel to some extent.
The other problem with FaceApp is that members using it all have the same, generic, stereotyped female face (chances are that the AI network was trained on Instagram selfies), so looking at the avatars I may sometimes get the weird feeling of being in a Frank Oz movie from 2004 :)
This is a conversation that's been held several times before.
I understand why folks do it but I do believe that if used, any pictures posted should say so. Why? Because there will be those here who unaware they're seeing an altered image will think I'll never look that good, better stay indoors.
In order to help others spread their wings, to gain the confidence to follow others out into the wide world, they need to know that you don't need to look magazine cover perfect.
With practice it's possible to achieve amazing transformations with a bit of foundation, lippy and eye shadow, just look in the Boy v Girl section. Seeing Mr. Manly transform into Miss Lovely just using brushes and powder is a far more truthful way to show just what all of us are capable of and a better way to help our sisters here looking to take their CD'ing further.
Things like Faceapp can be fun to play with, as long as you remember that it's all in the realm of "let's pretend" and not trying to make yourself or others think it's real.
I've played with it a little, and I'll admit I liked the results, but CharlotteCD had it right when she said:
I know it was for me. The first time I saw the "after" pictures, I had to fight off a bad case of the "why can't I REALLY look like that????" blues. I even started to wonder if, with enough money, maybe the doctors out there could achieve that look for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by CharlotteCD
Fortunately, sanity prevailed and I had to admit that fantasy is fun, but it's just that - FANTASY!
I wounder myself about faceapp is it wrong ? I mean I have to add make up. breast forms, wig and sometimes hip pads and corset for my pictures. If I could spary somethng on my face to make it look more femme i would. Everyday I come to this site to look at the picture and the open forum section to help me get better at my persentation. So I always wounder is the picture faceapp or not, I could never get my make up skills to look like the girls that use faceapp.
Judy, I agree 100%..... When y'all my pics, it's 100% ME. I did use FaceApp once and if memory serves, I posted the pic that I got from the result. When I took the pic that I ran through FaceApp, I was already en femme and had my makeup done. And the woman that came out of the FaceApp results, looked a LOT better than what I can do on my own and in all honesty, I only wish that I could make myself that pretty without the use of FaceApp! LOL
But other than that one picture, I've never used FaceApp, then posted the resulted pics. What everyone sees in my pics is the way I dolled myself up and the result of after I'd done my makeup and gotten dressed, NO use of FaceApp, or Photo Shop, or whatever else is out out there. The only editing to my pics that I do, I enhance them a little bit and I crop out a lot of the background.
But, no judgment from me to the folks here who do use FaceApp.... I mean, if that's what they wanna do, let them do it, to each her own I say. LOL
People have been using software to enhance their photos since computers were invented. Now it is just a lot easier. I do not think I would ever trust anyone?s photo, except mine! Lol. It a few of my photos were photoshopped by a friend online a few years ago. She did an amazing job but you can tell which ones vs the thousands of real photos I have posted out there. If FaceApp were free and not controlled by a foreign company I would probably use it too! Not getting any younger ya know. Makeup is just old school FaceApp! And I am not going to bash someone for using it as I will not bashing Sherry for using a mask. We all just want to look prettier than we are.
How each of us defines, and practices, CDing is up to the individual. But, I do appreciate when someone states they used the apps. I have used them, and wow what a difference. I have never posted one of those augmented photos though.
I get it, and yet I don’t. The part I get is wanting to create the most feminine and attractive appearance possible for oneself, and maybe using photos to capture the most convincing perspective and lighting possible. Its a matter of degree to further enhance the pictures iwth an ap.
I don’t quite understand why some someone posts a heavily Face-app’d picture and asks if they passed.
I agree it is so deceiving, I used to never alter my pictures other than lighting. But I must admit that now that time has caught up with me I (just started playing with it and haven't posted any of them yet) might alter my face a bit to blur some of my wrinkles out. I have not been able to get rid of them with make up "yet" but working on it. I really don't like seeing the "face app" all the time.
I agree with CharlotteCD that using FaceApp and similar stuff is not only kind of a cheat, but it's also a terribly unhelpful trigger for increasing one's dysphoria. One can develop makeup skills, but not even the greatest plastic surgeon on Earth can do what those filters do to one's face, like relocating and enlarging eyes. Factor in the ability shave decades off one's face, and it's a recipe for misery.
But I do get that for a lot of people, especially the younger ones today, these apps are probably their first introduction to what they might look like as a different gender. It's starting off with incredibly strong medicine -- far removed from the furtive first-attempts with makeup that most of us experienced. I wouldn't want to shame people for exploring the easiest (and perhaps only) path available, but it's setting up impossible expectations.
Great thread, Judy. I agree with you and others that using a tool like FaceApp or even doing a lot of touch up of a photo using editing tools in Photoshop can be deceptive. It modifies the face in a way that cannot happen in nature because the underlying bone structure limits the changes that are really possible. That said, a good makeup artist can do some incredible things in producing illusions. The computer versions makes changes as if your face is a hunk of clay that can just be dealt with like a sculptor.
I suppose my own big question is whether anybody has taken a print of them after FaceApp has created an image and tried to recreate that look on your real face? I suspect it is possible to get an approximation, but a more careful look at the result will show you failed. I wonder if a professional makeup artist could duplicate the look? So, perhaps FaceApp and the like may still be a bit useful in that it gives us some ideas that might work in specific areas.
Judy is clearly very good at makeup; even masterful. I have always admired her talent. But here is an experiment. So, Judy, have you ever taken a photo of yourself with your best, self-done makeup which is almost always quite passable as a female and run that through FaceApp to see how much FaceApp changes your best makeup job? Would FaceApp change it a little or a lot?
I haven't tried face app. I simply go thru photos and pick those that turned out the best. I always crop photos and usually do a bit of color correction. I took a photoshop class long ago so I do more if I wanted like putting my face on a voluptuous body. :daydreaming: FaceApp would be easier I'm sure!
Yes, I think those of us who would dare to put up a "modified" picture of their face, without telling us it is a "face App" tend to demean the results of our own real makeup work, which we may take pride in.-------Saying that I will admit to using the Snapchat App as a TOOL to copy a celebrity's makeup style I like. THIS app looks sorta like a "rubber mask" of HER stretched across the contours of my face. I can take a picture of her and put it OVER a picture of my own without makeup-----THEN I can use the resultant image to copy putting similar real makeup on MY real face. And sometimes, using the right celebrity's Pic, I can achieve a definite resemblance----I was particular successful with Sophia Loren. While not looking exactly like her, but definitely related. I wouldn't try to pass off the modified Picture off as myself, but the RL photo using my own makeup skills I am quite proud of.
I have never used face app. I already have a desire to have an eyelid and or face lift to try to improve my looks. Seeing an altered version of myself would just exaggerate the disconnect between what I really look like vs what I desire to look.
Besides faceapp will not do anything to help me out in the real world - the bar and club scene that is, which is my thing ; )
Sandi
Personally I see some shots that IMO face app is not needed. Still others the image has changed so drastic.
I'd rather people use it less, but we might also consider face app vs forms & padding......
Although forms & padding are real world, while face app isn't something that can be used out in public.
I guess it is a fun 'tool' that now many are becoming addicted too.
Is using digital apps cross dressing? I suppose it depends on the individual. If someone dresses up and feels they look awful (eye of the beholder and all) but then use a app to change their look and are then satisfied, even to the point of believing they look like that, it may be cross dressing (they are dressed, after all) but it isn't a good thing. They are basically lying to themselves, and possibly others. If they feel they look acceptable, but use the app to see how to look better and use it as a guide, they are cross dressing. Unless they are trying to pass themselves off as the enhanced look, no harm done. There may be some, like myself, who aren't in a position to fully transform their look and want to know what they could look like, again, no harm done. I look at it as a source of encouragement, and have shared a couple examples. For the most part, the enhancements are beyond what I could actually do, and I disregard them.
I get concerned about a certain elitism that may be felt on the site. The notion that you have to all out dress and make up to be a cross dresser may be setting the bar too high. I often felt second rate for not showing my face or head, but wanting to share how I enjoyed the look I managed. If a little technical trickery would let me feel more included, no problem, as long as I was open about it. For someone completely closeted, never going out, is there really a problem?
I'm amused by the idea that the app is a fantasy, rather than reality. For me, cross dressing is a fantasy from the ground up. It isn't really who I am, just someone I have fun pretending to be. I do often photo shop myself onto a backdrop to make a better picture of it -- is that a violation? I just want to make a nice pic, not deceive people to think I get out like that.
I?ve never even thought about using face app, even out of curiosity. I enjoy putting on my own moisturizer and makeup. We all know you have good days and bad days, but it?s so enjoyable.
For me, Face App is a time and effort saver. I love the feel of women's clothes on my body. I love the bounce of boobs. The swish of a skirt. The tap of heels. But I don't love spending time doing my makeup only to have to take it off a few hours later.
I totally agree using FaceApp may be deceiving if the usage of it is not stated. Full disclosure, please. I am an in-home cross dresser who is 74 years old. That makes me a "grandma" as well as the grandpa I am. Not too many grandmas are going to enter a beauty pageant when at an advanced age. Basically, I do not wear makeup any more at home, and, very little if I am going to take an evening stroll. The only reason I even put any makeup on is the feminine scent of the makeup. Anyway, it's nice when using FaceApp that the fact is disclosed. However, if not disclosed it really does not bother me. Having lived 74 years I am well aware many people say they did this or that, when they really haven't done crap.
This topic makes me chuckle about similar happenings in the past. Decades ago my family went to Olin Mills to have a family picture taken. We were explicit that we only wanted a neutral color background. Nothing else. What was thrown out there is the photo package? Backgrounds of us coming down the non-existent staircase in our single story ramble and pictures of us in the woods. I also cannot understand why someone chooses to use his or her high school year book picture when he or she dies at 101. I guess everyone is watching too many reality television shows.
Be proud of who you are and your accomplishments.
Come on, guys.
If some of us here have the privilege of defining what is "real" crossdressing, would you accept some other people defining what is "real" women?
Is crossdressing deceiving by definition? Do you disclose the fact that you have a penis underneath the panty when you go out? Do you have to do it in the "hard and right way" to do an SRS and get a vigina? Or only the real XY counts?
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Nothing wrong with FaceApp, provided it's not used for deception (that includes deceiving yourself). Frankly, as steeped in hi-tech as I am, I'm still amazed that software can do things that, barely a decade ago, required a skill Photoshop artist to accomplish. A bit further back, and it required skilled air-brush artists.
But then I am still amazed that I have in my purse a device that connect me to pretty much all of the world's knowledge at a moment's notice. :)
Isn't crossdressing deceiving yourself? If you use faceapp to help your brain with that deception so what.
Not that any of my photos use faceapp.. (joke here) But I have been out and about but that has nothing to do with faceapp. Have anyone ever gone on a on line date? Has any of those folks look like the photo on line? Sure 20 years ago.
So, what the heck lets have fun and use the app for its intended purposes, to fool peoples brain, including yours.
Here is a faceapp photo I took that is so far away from what I really look like it is incredible. I did not post it here or anywhere but I saved it. Attachment 323835
Do I or anyone think I look like this? Totally delusional.