Phun with Photos

It was the day after Thanksgiving, and I was bored. Even though I had filled myself the day before, I was still feeling pretty thin. My mind wandered to some of my older clothing, and I remembered a Frederick’s of Hollywood corset that I had put aside, but couldn’t bear to toss. Would it fit again?

I didn’t want to go to the trouble of shaving and painting, so I figured I’d just take the corset on a test-drive, to see if it was still wearable, or if I’d have to lose another 10 pounds.

Well, it fit, but it wasn’t easy. And once I got it on, I stood before the full-length mirror, and was thrown for a loop. It had been a long time since I’d squeezed into a corset, and had forgotten what one will do to my waist-to-hip curve.

That’s when it crossed my mind to try on a dress I bought over the summer, thinking it would look really good with that simulated hourglass shape. And with no makeup, wig or accessories, it did look good. So good, I had to take a few photos, just to make sure the mirror wasn’t lying.

It wasn’t. But now I had these photos of a fairly decent feminine figure, with a hairy guy’s head stuck on top. I did a quick and dirty photo edit, (See left), but was still unsatisfied. So, the next step was to plan a photo session.

I called my friend Emma, and planned a date at her place. (She has a marvelous house that really lends itself well to photos. That’s her stained glass window to the left) We’d done it once before: took an entire day just shooting, and changing and shooting some more. Once we were exhausted, we sat around talking. All in all, I think we were there for about 14 hours. That was two years ago.

But the day before the event, I called her to see what time she wanted me, only to learn she wasn’t feeling well. She offered to let me come over, but she wasn’t going to be dressing. What fun would that be?

I normally don’t like just taking photos of myself. It’s more fun to do with friends, and you get someone else’s eye to tell you what works, and what doesn’t. Besides, if I wanted to dress and photograph, I could do that by myself any time.

So, Friday rolled around, and I was moping, until I though, “what the hell. Nothing else going on. Might as well take a few shots.”

I got ready, even though my heart wasn’t really into it. I moved some furniture around, put on some tunes, poured a drink, squeezed back into the corset, and yelled at my false eyelashes. (They refused to apply correctly.) I took a few shots using the standard crossdresser pose: standing in front of the wall, trying to look sexy.

Yawn. My heart was even less into it. I mean, how many times can I essentially take the same photo? The same pose? The same expression? Sure, there are things I know will work halfway decently, but c’mon!

I was just about to give up, when I realized I had recently acquired an animal-print microskirt, but was without a decent picture. And with as much running as I did over the summer, I was pretty confident my legs were looking good.

So, as I pulled it out of the closet, I tried to match it with a top. That’s when my eyes fell upon a sleeveless animal print. “Ha! I’ll bet they look awful together!” I said aloud. But a little voice in the back of my head asked, “why not? Try it. It might be good for a gag photo, if nothing else.”

As I put them on, certain the clash of colors and designs might start a fire, I remembered a cheap purple wig, picked up after Halloween. “Might as well go big,” that little voice offered. Joining the ensemble was snake-skin print boots. Yeah, I know. Headache on heels.

But, voila! Ronnie the Riot Grrl! And with a couple of Halloween props, Ronnie the Vampire Killer! Hey, this was getting to be somewhat interesting.

What else could I do? Tearing through the closet looking for inspiration, I found my Dorothy wig from Halloween. Put that beneath another wig, short shorts and suddenly, I’m Daisy Mae Clampett’s cousin. Or at least the direct link between Daisy Mae and Jethro.

Another gag dress, and a wig I haven’t touched in seven years, and there’s a rockabilly princess coming out. And as these different characters materialize, I find the poses becoming more animated. Instead of just standing there, I’m dancing, jumping up and down, getting caught in mid-twirl when the camera goes off. The expressions on my face change too.

And then, the unthinkable happens: the batteries in the camera are wearing down. Come to think of it, so am I.

Before it ends, I remember that dress that started it all. Gotta get some shots with that. And of the 200+ pictures I take that night, they’re among the best. Why? Because while I’m not dancing around as much as before, there were still some of the characters flowing through the blood.

So, what did I learn? While it’s fun to have a friend to take photos with, it’s also fun to create your own friends, to inject some art, some life into the process. Need proof? Typically, I’ve said I get ten good pictures out of every 100 taken. This little shoot netted 43!

I learned that a prop can give the photo some focus, and give you something to do with your hands. I learned that what you wear doesn’t have to be limited to your girl wardrobe. (I grabbed a slightly-too big man shirt and wore it as a nightie.)

I also learned that while you can have fun with photography by yourself, it’s much easier to get into a corset, if someone is there to cinch it up in the back.

Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment, Transgender How To