Boudoir photo session....

[Sarah C.]

So I'm taking the plunge and going for a boudior photo session next Thursday! I had made some inquiries at local photo studios, and found www.glamourphotoshop.com. The owner/photographer Mariana is totally open to a crossdressing photo session, and in fact has done several in the past (anyone here???). Through our conversations, she's made me feel at ease about it, but I'm still nervous (and excited) as heck about doing it. We'll be doing several outfits, so I'm taking a choice of 5 of my favorite nightgowns, and 2 bra/panty/stocking sets. I'll be sure to report on how it went afterwards!

Would love to hear from anyone who's done this already. The thought of posing in skimpy lingerie in front of a stranger is both terrifying and exhilerating at the same time! How do you deal with the nerves so that you can just relax, enjoy the process and get great pictures?

Cheers!
Sarah C.

[girltoy]

The one place that I know of here in San Diego states specifically on their website that they only shoot women and transsexuals, no crossdressers ... which makes me wonder how they qualify the difference...

[Cheryl T]

Wow, wish there was somewhere around here like that....that's a great deal!!
For $29 I'd book 3 or 4 sessions.

[Confetti]

I think they are trying to say they are ok with the breast implants most TS I have met out west seem to be extreme vs. the cross dressers who may not have the implanted bosom.

[Victoria StJohn]

Sarah, I'm so happy that you're doing something that many of us wish we could do. I wish you the best feminine day you ever had and will be looking forward to hearing about your experience. Isn't it fun being a girl?

[Janet77]

You will have a great time. I did the full makeover at Phoebe's, in Georgia http://www.phoebesgetaway.com/ , and had an awesome time. She provides the makeup, clothes, wigs, etc. Total cost: $125 for makeup, pictures, everything. I hope to do it again in the next month or two.

[Kate T]

Sarah let me preface this by saying I do genuinely hope you have a nice time.

Can I however ask a question? I must admit I don't quite get the "budiour" photo thing for GG or TG. I mean what are the photos for? I certainly would not want anyone other than my Wife seeing me like that in male or female mode and she is the same. If she or I want that then there is real life to do it. If it is for your own "consumption" so to speak then Why not just a mirror?

[Sarah C.]

Girltoy - that's seems a bit discriminatory. Keep looking, there's lots of places that are willing to help us CDs!

Cheryl T - The deal showing on their homepage is just their regular glamour session, not a boudoir shoot. However, I got mine through Groupon for only $60, so that's a pretty sweet deal too! It includes full make-up as well.

Victoria - I can't wait till Thursday! If I can just get my nerves under control, I'll be fine! :-)

Janet - I checked your post and say your pics from your makeover - looking good! Can you share with me how your session went? How did you deal with your nerves?

Adina - Fair question. Boudoir photos certainly aren't for everyone. As you said, these photos will be just for my wife and me. For me though, there's more to it than just that. In the last few years, I've fully accepted and embaced the CD aspect of my life. Doing this session is one more way for me to "own" that part of me. Also, as I'm approaching my mid-40's, I'm starting to see age-related changes showing up. A little less firm here, a touch of weight-gain there, some wrinkles other places. This session is going to be a way for me to capture what little bit of youth I have left, so I can have that for the rest of my life. Isn't that what all photos are for anyways - to capture a point in time for fond recollection later? Plus, professional photographers are able to create images that simply can't be done "live". Techniques with lighting, exposure, etc, can all contribute to make beautiful and captivating images.

[Kate T]

Understood Sarah. My wife and I are not real "photo" people, we tend to be so wrapped up and excited in the experience that we forget to take photo's. Good luck.

[Janet77]

Janet - I checked your post and say your pics from your makeover - looking good! Can you share with me how your session went? How did you deal with your nerves?

No nerves on my part. Phoebe is a sweet, older Southern lady who makes you feel like a welcome friend, and it was just me and her in her studio. She is a national treasure.

[Sarah C.]

No nerves on my part. Phoebe is a sweet, older Southern lady who makes you feel like a welcome friend, and it was just me and her in her studio. She is a national treasure.

Well, not sure you you managed to be so calm, even with your photographer being so welcoming, but hopefully I'll be the same!

Cheers,
Sarah C.

[Sarah C.]

Well, today's the day! I'm all freshly shaved and lotioned, my suitcase is packed with my forms, shoes, jewellery and outfits for the shoot, and I'm actually not as nervous as I thought I would be (yet!).

I'll be sure to post some pics when I get them. Wish me luck!

Cheers!
Sarah C.

[serinalynn]

I haven't looked for a photographer to take shot of me rolling around on a bed, but, I reciently ordered a Logitech model C920 1080P HD Pro Webcam. With the aid of a wireless mouse, I took a few bra and shoe shots, the pics have been photoshopped by me. The webcam and the wireless mouse, I ordered from www.tigerdirect.com The Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 I purchased at a Staples store.
see the link

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76795368@N07/

[Kayla C]

Sarah,
I'm so excited for you... looking forward to seeing the results!
And I agree that boudoir photos are the best way to capture a special moment in time.
Good luck...
Kayla C

[Sarah C.]

Well, my photo session has come and gone now, and all I can say is that everyone MUST do this as some point in their lives! OMG, what an incedible experience! The owner/make-up artist/photographer Mariana was so nice, and welcoming and accepting right from the get-go. I arrived at 10:00 in a casual mode, women's t-shirt and yoga pants - nothing too tight to leave any red marks on the body.

We started out by doing my make-up and chit-chatting the whole time. She actually air-brushed the foundation on, which turned out great and covered my face very nicely. Then falsh eyelashes, eye make-up, lipstick and powder to finish everthing off. Next was the hair. I've just got a cheap ebay wig, but she managed somehow to turn it into a thing of beauty! Then, on to the clothes! I took several nightgowns and chemises, and 2 bra & panty sets. We started with 2 different chemises with stockings, elbow length gloves (since I can't shave my arms) and high heels, doing all kinds of different poses. She had me working pretty hard for a few poses - now I know what models go through!

As I said, she made me feel so comfortable and good about myself, that it was no trouble moving on to just the pink bra (with my forms) & panties after that. Again, so many different poses! After countless pic's I added my pink robe for more.

Close to the end now! We had spoke earlier about try to get a pic that somehow captured both the male and female sides of my personality, so she had me pose just in some little ruffle panties, with the wig and make-up still on, but no bra, so it was obvious that I'm a male. It was pretty exhilerating doing those ones!

She showed me a few pic's on the camera screen as we went on, and if I may say, they were incredible. It's amazing what a good photographer can do! So now I just need to be really patient! I go back in a week or two and we'll go through all the pics and choose 10 that she does full re-touching on. Another week or two after that, I'll get the disc with all the final pics.

When I got back to my car, I saw that it was after 1:00. I had been there for 3 full hours! It was only suppose to be a 90 minute session, but both of us were wrapped up in the experience we didn't even notice!

Anyways, all I can say is that doing this was such a great thing - proving to myself that I'm comfortable with who I am, proving that the world won't end by being a crossdresser, proving that there are people out there who have no problem at all working with crossdressers, and proving to myself that I AM a beautiful person.

Cheers!
Sarah C.

[Sarah C.]

serinalynn - nice pics! Is that all natual cleavage? Impressive!

[Leslie Langford]

Great, isn't it, Sarah? I'm so happy for you that this photography session went so well and not only met - but actually exceeded - your expectations!

I can totally relate to your experience, and while I have yet to have a full-on photo shoot done of the type you organized, I did contact a number of female photographers last year to see if they would be willing to do a series of glamour shots/portraits with me, and I was surprised by the overwhelmingly positive response. Right now, finances and my personal availability preclude pursuing this, but doing a photo shoot of this nature in due course is certainly on my Bucket List.

I also contacted a number of male photographers with the same query, and as expected, most were lukewarm at best at the prospect. No surprise there, and the only ones who did respond favourably revealed that they were gay as the conversation progressed. Again, pretty much in line with what I expected.

As for the female photographers, two were downright enthusiastic about the prospect of working with me from an artistic, "pushing the envelope" perspective. One of them actually did a no charge mini-shoot with me at a yoga studio where she occasionally does pictorials with other clients as a way of breaking the ice and encouraging me to do a full-on photo session with her some day. She left me with a number of pictures from this sampler as souvenirs, and most of them turned out quite nicely. I actually used one of them for my avatar here.

We have since kept in touch and become Facebook friends, and not long ago, she invited me visit her at the mid-town Toronto lingerie/sexy clothing boutique where she works part-time to try on some new selections that had just arrived. When I got there, I received the full-on VIP treatment, and since it was a slow day with few other customers, I had the opportunity to try on (and model for her) a number of the outfits that she had selected for me. I think that we were both surprised at how good some of those items looked on me. But the highlight for me was when she helped lace me into a corset that I had wanted to try on just for fun, and which gave me the most incredible hourglass figure. If the cost hadn't been over $100 (too rich for my blood- LOL!), I would have bought it on the spot. Still, I did make my visit worth my photographer friend's time, and I ended up buying a pretty shrug from her that goes nicely with a number of formal sleeveless dresses that I have accumulated over time. As for that professional photo shoot with her - the offer is still on, and the ball is strictly in my court now.

I have also found a female professional make up artist, Kelly, who I first went to about 3 years ago, and whom I have gone back to again and again ever since. I have another makeover booked with her for May 4th, and this will be my 6th or 7th visit. I've actually lost track of the number by now, but I wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't one of her best and most frequent repeat customers by now.

Kelly and I have developed an amazing rapport over time, and I actually consider her to be more of a friend now as opposed to strictly a service provider. Each session with her is a delight, we end up chatting and gossiping just like two old girlfriends. I totally "get" now why women so enjoy the pampering they receive when they have their hair done, get manicures and pedicures, or go for spa treatments.

It's actually gotten to the point where I have helped Kelly out in making contributions to her business website blog, among other things. She, in turn, has reciprocated by giving me the occasional "on the house" makeover. She was even good enough to take pictures of me when I was trying out a new look with a gray wig last year, and some of them turned out surprisingly well. I actually posted a few of the better ones to the Picture and Video Gallery here for comments at the time, and they are still buried there somewhere within the archives.

As you have discovered, Sarah, if one looks hard enough and is willing to come out of one's shell, it is surprisingly easy to find GG "allies" who are willing to accept (and even indulge us) in this pursuit of our own individual Holy Grails of crossdressing.

But that type of success often comes with an equal measure of heartbreak, especially when we realize that the strangers and/or casual acquaintances whom we interact with in those types of situations are often far more ready to help us indulge in this little "hobby" of ours than our alleged loved ones - especially those of us with unaccepting SO's, or else who are trapped in the infamous DADT twilight zone...

[serinalynn]

Thank You Sarah C. I'm happy you liked my pics.

[Sarah C.]

Hi Leslie,

I always enjoy reading your posts, you seem to have great insight into the CD world! That's awesome that you've developed your relationships with these GG's. Those are relationships to cherish! The picture you have for your avator is fantastic - you look very happy! I would highly encourage you to save up and do the photo shoot - it's such a wonderful experience!

Do you mind me asking the name of the lingerie store and your friend? I do get to Toronto from time to time, and would love to visit this store and tell her you sent me! I've found a lingerie store here in Kitchener (Vicanies) where I get the same kind of treatment. The owner, Linda, will make off-hours appointments for me, so I basically get the entire lingerie store to myself! She's helped me select and properly fit all sorts of beautiful under-things!

Make-overs can certainly be a lot of fun! My photographer is also a make-up artist, and I suspect that I will be going back to see her again to get some tips. Have fun at your next one!

Hope you have a great long weekend!

Cheers,
Sarah C.

[ReineD]

Anyways, all I can say is that doing this was such a great thing - proving to myself that I'm comfortable with who I am, proving that the world won't end by being a crossdresser, proving that there are people out there who have no problem at all working with crossdressers, and proving to myself that I AM a beautiful person.

And this says it all!

[serinalynn]

Yes they are, Sarah. Herbs, Herbal suppliments, The Plunge Bras (The Plunge Bras selected in a bra fitting)and Daily messaging and being patient took about 10 years for 44"D" naturally grown boobs. The Bras are Passion Lace Plunge Bras from Lane Bryant. I also have some Demi Underwire Push UP Bras I'll show later. All of my bras are from Lane Bryant. I'll post one bra a day till I get all of them up on my Flickr page.

[Heisthebride]

I did a boudior session back in December. It was so much fun, I loved every second of it. Have a great time! Take time to enjoy it, don't get too nervous and not have fun with it. They already know your a crossdresser. Be confident in who you are, it will come through on the pictures.

[Leslie Langford]

Thanks for the compliments, Sarah, and a Happy Easter to you as well!

No problem on providing the referral you're requesting - I'll PM you the info at my earliest opportunity...

[Sarah C.]

It's been so hard waiting to get my pictures - I've been feeling like a little kid on Christmas eve! But I picked up the CD yesterday! I'm so happy with how they turned out - here's a couple pic's from my session that I wanted to share!

Cheers!
Sarah C.

[Michaelasfun]

Really beautiful, Sarah!!