“You realize that the whole world is yours, as your femme self, and that you are living it.” That is how Amanda described moving beyond my MtF makeover studio walls and going out en femme in public at Fort Washington Park in Maryland. She displayed her newfound confidence during her first public photoshoot, and the photos I captured show it.
Amanda has been coming to my studio near Washington, DC for her MtF transformation services since February 2025. In that time we have enjoyed seven accompanied outings en femme together, including nail salon visits, a screening of remastered Fleischer cartoons, concerts, a Nationals vs. Cubs baseball game, and a fantasy outing to The Crucible. Our day at Fort Washington felt different. This was Amanda’s first public photoshoot, set at a historic 19th century fort on the Maryland shore of the Potomac River, a departure from the event-driven outings that Amanda typically plans.
An En Femme Outing to Fort Washington Park near Washington, DC
We started the day with Amanda’s MtF makeover in my studio. I created a daytime makeup look that was soft but dramatic enough to look good for the camera. For eye makeup, I used brown eyeshadows to bring out the blue in her eyes and black gel eyeliner for definition. To tie in with both dresses, I painted her lips with A Little Tamed, a coral lipstick from MAC. Amanda wore her Jon Renau Angelique wig in Caramel Ribbon.
For her first outfit, Amanda stepped into a coral floral Lane Bryant sundress from my studio wardrobe. It was her first time wearing this dress, and I had been looking forward to shooting her in it outdoors for some time.
Amanda has loved having her nails professionally polished ever since I took her to get her nails done at our very first outing together. Just a few blocks from my studio at Azalea City Nails, Lizi created Amanda’s nail art for today’s shoot. Amanda plans her nail art carefully, working in small details from the things she loves most, from Weird Al concerts to Cubs games to Psych conventions. These nails featured Psych.
By the time we pulled into the parking lot at Fort Washington, it had started to rain. We looked at each other and wondered if the whole day was about to fall apart. Five minutes later the showers passed, leaving us a partly cloudy day and some of the softest light we could have asked for.
Exploring Fort Washington Park in Maryland En Femme
Fort Washington is a sprawling masonry fortification built to guard the Potomac approach to Washington, DC, complete with a dry moat, a wooden drawbridge, thick brick ramparts, and an old jail cell tucked inside its walls. Amanda treated the whole place like her own stage. She crossed the drawbridge at the fort’s entrance, stopped halfway across and posed confidently for the camera.
Inside the fort, we explored the magazines and then moved on to the jail cell, one of my favorite parts of the inner fort. Inside the cell, she peered through a window, framed in a shaft of light. Amanda gripped the bars and grinned through them like she was pretending to struggle to be free. Then she changed her demeanor and looked sultry while placing a heeled leg through the bars.
Posing with this level of confidence in public was new for Amanda. In our earlier posed photo sessions together, she would generally stand for her photos and be finished within five minutes, comfortable but reserved. At Fort Washington, she was completely relaxed.
Feeling Confident En Femme on the Ramparts of Fort Washington
Amanda keeps coming back to the photo of her seated on the fort’s rampart wall, the Potomac River stretching out behind her and the Washington, DC skyline just visible through the summer haze. This was the upper landing of the fort, wide open and in full view of anyone walking the grounds below.
“I knew that the location we were occupying put myself on full display, and that the people who just entered could see me,” Amanda said. “I was not worried. I was confident in Amanda. I knew who I was, and that I was proud of being Amanda. Therefore, it did not matter that they could see me. It felt phenomenal!”
A Sultry Look in a Little Black Dress at Battery Humphrey
After exploring the main fort, we moved to Battery Humphrey, one of the fort’s later concrete gun emplacements, where Amanda changed into a little black dress with lace cap sleeves and a triple strand of pearls. I have always loved how this dress looks on Amanda, so I knew from the start we needed to include it as her second outfit for the day.
The weathered green and tan concrete columns gave us a moodier backdrop than the fort had while the black dress and pumps made it more elegant. Amanda leaned into it fully, working the wall with a classic heel-up pose and holding her expression steady through shot after shot.
The Fantasy Feminization Survey That Shaped the Whole Day
Between locations, and especially when we were waiting for a cloud to pass in front of the sun for our perfect, soft light, Amanda and I worked through a detailed fantasy survey I had put together, starting in the car on the drive down and continuing on-and-off throughout the afternoon. These were questions I had never felt I could simply ask Amanda in conversation, but framed inside a structured survey, it felt completely natural for both of us.
“It felt like two girls just having fun girl talk conversation about fun topics,” Amanda said. “I think this relaxed me and made me feel even more like a woman.”
I was thrilled with her answers. As she agreed that idea after idea on my list sounded like something she wanted to explore, an entire vision for our bridal fantasy day together started to take shape in my mind.
But I think something else shifted in Amanda over the course of that day too. She had taken the posing guidance I gave her, both in advance and on the spot, fully to heart, and she embraced the femme vision for the day completely. I think she also wanted to make me proud of her, and she did. Taking beautiful photos was part of what we accomplished that day, but feeling relaxed and comfortable in a mainstream, public setting en femme mattered even more.
“The Whole Essence of Amanda is Glowing”
When Amanda looked through her finished photos from Fort Washington, she noticed something she hadn’t seen in her earlier sessions. “In earlier photos, this still felt new to me, so I was nervous in my look,” she said. “In the Fort Washington photos, there wasn’t any of that. I had fully become Amanda, and I was posing as the woman that I always wanted to be.”
In her favorite photo on the ramparts, “the whole essence of Amanda is glowing,” she said. “I feel like this photo truly shows who I am as Amanda.”
A Custom Three-Day MtF Transformation Experience
Fort Washington was only the first day of a custom three-day MtF makeover experience Amanda and I planned together, running from Thursday through Saturday. The following day brought a bridal fantasy session built directly from everything we had talked through on the drive to the fort and in the sunny moments between photos. The day after that, Amanda and I attended an evening performance by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
Book Your MtF Makeover, Photoshoot, and Outing near Washington, DC
Are you ready for your own day of transformation and confidence? At Makeovers with Elizabeth Taylor, I offer MtF makeovers, male-to-female transformation services, professional photography, and accompanied outings for transgender women, MtF crossdressers, and genderfluid people with a femme presentation. Whether you are picturing a private day in my discreet MtF makeover studio, your first time out in public en femme, or a full immersion day en femme like Amanda’s, I would love to help bring your vision to life.
Some clients want to go out en femme with me as part of their very first makeover experience. Others see me privately for years and never want to leave the studio. There’s no pressure either way. Regarding privacy, know that I never share your photos without your written permission, and I’ll keep you exactly as closeted as you want to be.
Book your MtF makeover and outing online anytime, or contact me by email, phone, or text at 202-803-3231 to plan your experience.
My private studio is located in LGBTQ+-friendly Takoma Park, Maryland, one mile from Washington, DC, near the I-495 and I-95 interchange and within easy reach of three international airports: DCA, IAD, and BWI. I regularly see clients from Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Read More About Building Confidence with Accompanied Outings En Femme
Lauren’s Crossdresser Outing to Downtown Takoma Park
Lauren took her femme confidence out into the world with an accompanied outing right in the heart of Takoma Park, Maryland. A great example of how a familiar setting can be the perfect place to start.
Elegance among the Ruins: Allison’s Transgender Makeover Adventure
Like Amanda, Allison chose a historic outdoor setting for her makeover and photoshoot, an abandoned mill in Seneca Creek State Park with two completely different looks. Golden hour light and a graffiti-covered backdrop made for a day as memorable as Amanda’s at the fort.
Winter Wonderland Confidence: Jenna Steps Outside
Jenna’s first en femme outing came just a week after a major snowstorm blanketed the DC area. Like Amanda, she found that stepping outside as herself was far less frightening, and far more rewarding, than she expected.
Take it from Misty
Misty shares how crossdressing makeovers at my Maryland studio gave her the courage to go out en femme, first on a short accompanied outing, then entirely on her own. Like Amanda, her confidence built one outing at a time.
“Major Turning Point”: Roberta Joan’s Crossdresser Makeover
Roberta Joan describes her first makeover experience as a major turning point in her journey. She later ventured into downtown Takoma Park in girl mode, another example of how one confident outing leads to the next.
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