These pleas for "Do It Yourself" advice don't usually come from wanna-be portrait photographers, but usually from cross-dressers. Not surprising. Cross dressing is a performance art. Initially practiced before the privacy of a mirror, the hopeful, the daring, the well-skilled, take this act to a public forum. I admire the dedication and courage it takes to face so tough an audience This is a visual performance. What better way to rehearse than before the objective scrutiny of the camera?

Though less threatening then a "live" performance, the camera is in fact a harsh mistress. Lacking the very subjective viewpoint of the human nervous system, it records images in a manner very different from the way our brain interprets what our eyes perceive. The behavior one must practice before the camera, in order to achieve a desirable result, is very different than that before a mirror, or at large in public.

When a cross dressers seeks to obtain an appealing photograph, this desire can not satisfied merely by following helpful hints that address only the technical side of photography. There is a complex interplay between the behavior of the subject before the camera with the technical and esthetic considerations of "recording light" in a manner alien to human perception.

Imagine trying to capture a butterfly with a four inch net. There is more to this feat than meets the eye.

Tip #1: Be persistent.

Don't allow the disappointing results of failed photo sessions to crush your ego. The most eloquent communication of a photographic portrait results from facial expression and body language.

As most inevitably will, photographs that fail to positively express your feminine nature are reflections of the photographer, not of you.

All a portrait photographer EVER succeeds in doing is capturing the subject's reaction to the photographer! If the photographer fails to make you feel comfortable enough to be your best before the camera, this is NOT your fault.

Tip #2: Don't expect much of self-portraiture

I can't do It to my satisfaction, and neither can you, and I've had 23 years of practice on over a quarter of a million other people. Take it from me, you may as well limit yourself to the mirror, rather than perform your cross dressing in public, if you only do self-portraits.

I'll share a little secret.

My masthead photo is NOT a self portrait, and yet it is. This is because it is not a montage, but rather a collage -- a still-life, actually. Because I felt it best expressed my scrutinous, yet sensitive nature, I took a black and white photo of me, taken by another individual I regard as a master portrait artist, and surrounded it, in color, with an array of velvet, pearls, spandex and feathers, with a little hardware thrown in, then re-photographed it, to make a visual statement about what I do, as well as who I am.

I couldn't have done this alone. Neither should you.

Tip #3: Tip #1 plus Tip #2 = Tip #3.

Find a photographer. Keep trying.

An empathetic, but technically challenged friend is better than either self-portraiture, or than an otherwise clueless "professional" who can't make sense of who you are.

Don't give up.

The rewards are worth the effort, much like those heels you're wearing.