Since the time for the annual Miss TGF contest is near, I am reminded of the picture that I used to enter the contest two years ago. It was also my first trip to Glamour Shots(tm). Of course I was scared to death about even calling Glamour Shots(tm) but somehow I found the strength. It was worth it!

I didn't think I could pass throughout the photo session so I decided to make sure that the employees I would be involved with would be comfortable with me. I finally got up the courage to call the local Glamour Shots(tm) and the conversation went like this:

Hello, Glamour Shots

Hi, do you take appointments?

Sure, when would you like to come in?

Not so fast, this would be for me

No problem, when would you like to come in?

Not so fast, I would like to be made up as a girl

No problem, when would you like to come in?

It turns out I was talking to the manager of several of the studios in my area and he assured me that this would be no problem. He said this has happened several times in his stores although primarily in South Beach, Florida. Since I didn't need a wig or any other special arrangements, he told me to just show up Friday at 3. (If I had needed anything, I am not sure how that would have worked.) He also took my credit card and phone number, so this was it!

When Friday came, I was pretty nervous and shaking quite a bit. I left work early and headed for the mall. It was anticlimactic when I showed up and was given a clipboard and told to take a seat. I filled out the questionnaire about how I wished to look which gave me even more time to shake! Finally a young girl named Robin took me back and started talking to me about my makeover. She very quickly put me at ease and had some good ideas about how I should look. I asked Robin if I was the first guy she had made over and she said, "The first one here, but I grew up in New York and my mom ran a drag club and I made them up all the time." Robin did a great job in picking out colors for my makeup and even gave me several makeup tips for every day wear. My hair was the next big challenge. What better way to meet the challenge than with big hair! We curled my hair and after using what seemed like a whole can of hair spray, I was made over. I really liked my new look. Finally Robin helped me choose my four outfits. We chose a red sequin top, a black fur coat, a zebra jacket, and an elegant green outfit. I changed into the green outfit and waited for my photo shoot.

Robin handed me off to the photographer, Scott, and started on her next customer. Scott also seemed completely at ease with me and had me pose for my first four pictures. He left the booth while I changed into the black fur coat. Scott came back in and helped me choose earrings and we started the second set. This was repeated twice more for the other outfits. During the shoot, I asked Scott if I was the first guy he had photographed like that and he said, "The first one here, but I am from New York ..." After we finished the photo shoot, we went out front and viewed the digital proofs. My big fear was that the pictures would make me look like a guy (and that would have crushed me) but they turned out great! We went through each of the poses where he would mark the pictures we thought were the best. I ended up buying a package that included 11 of the 16 pictures! I also got a gift certificate that I used for a return visit. I paid for my photos and was told they would be ready in about 2 weeks.

In retrospect I ordered too many pictures. I have none of them hanging up, and have only given away a few. However I scanned all of them and have used them frequently online. Even though it was expensive, I really enjoyed the experience and would do it again in a heartbeat (in fact I have, twice!). There is a limit to the miracles that Glamour Shots(tm) can perform, for example with beard cover, but I would recommend anybody that wants to give it a try. I even tried it recently as a boy for a picture for my wife, Brenda's, office.

I would like to take the rest of my column to talk about the upcoming Miss TGF '99 contest. I think everyone should try it at least once. There can be only one official winner, but I think that everyone that has fun with it also wins. I made a special effort to take the right pictures the year I entered and had a blast doing it! But, that is the subject of next month's column.