Pia and Ray’s gorgeous destination wedding was held in beautiful Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  This was an incredible wedding made even better by the fact that a good friend of mine- Stacey Doyle- made the trip down to Mexico to second shoot for me.  (In case you don’t know, Stacey will be presenting with me at Mystic5 in just a few weeks!  Scroll down a few posts to read about Mystic 5.)  The ocean was absolutely wild on the day of Pia and Ray’s wedding, so I was really happy that we were doing a True Romance session the next day so we didn’t have to risk getting drenched in order to get some cool ocean shots.  The True Romance shoot also gave us the opportunity to hit some fabulous places in and around Vallarta and we had a blast!

There were so many funny moments at this wedding (and at the post shoot)- from Pia’s sister’s impromptu virgin dance, to the crazy Texas pride (let me tell you guys- Pia and Raymond are the proudest Texans I’ve ever met), to the bucket of beers at the downtown bar and the stray dog that wanted to follow us home.  So many fabulous moments, made even funnier by the great personalities and loving vibe that both Pia and Ray put off when they are around one another.  Here are a few of my faves from their wedding and their post shoot:

Post by Michelle Turner, Maine Wedding Photographer and Puerto Vallarta Wedding Photographer
Tags: Maine Wedding Photography, Puerto Vallarta Wedding Photography, Destination Wedding Photographers

One of my favorite Photoshop add-ons is Dirty Pictures from Totally Rad Actions.   I am a big fan of adding textures and overlays to my images- some are obvious, others are subtle (the average viewer would not know that there was a texture/overlay involved) and add a three dimensional feeling to a pop of color to the images.  Dirty Pictures comes with 21 custom textures, but it isn’t the textures themselves that make this one of my favorite Photoshop filters.  Frankly, it is the interface which is brilliant (and you can add your own textures to the interface, so if you are like me and you already have favorite textures that you have shot or purchased, no worries- you can add them in).

In the past, if in the course of editing you decided that your image might benefit from a texture, then you used to have to open the texture, copy it to the image, reposition it, select the layer blending mode and opacity, create a layer mask and then edit the texture to taste.  Really, the only bit that I found tedious was actually CHOOSING the texture.  I have shot a lot of textures, and I usually know which textures I want on which images.  However, there was no easy interface to test different textures out on the image before committing to the best texture.  If you chose poorly, you would have to delete the layer and go find another texture in your personal library, repeating the above process.

Enter Dirty Pictures.  Now, if you want to add a texture to an image the interface is much easier.  Simply open Dirty Pictures (Filter>Totally Rad- Dirty Pictures).  A screen will pop up asking you to choose your texture.  This is nothing new, although you can now scroll through your textures visually right in Photoshop through Dirty Pictures.  Where Dirty Pictures really shines, though, is in the texture selection.  Dirty Pictures will take your image (the one you have open in Photoshop), create a thumbnail of that image, and add EACH TEXTURE in your Dirty Pictures library to that thumbnail in order to give you a basic preview of what your image might look like with the texture applied.  Then, once you have selected the texture that you want, it automatically applies the texture according to the presets that you have for that particular texture.  For example, there are some textures that work best when blended in multiply mode.  Dirty Pictures saves your preferences for each texture and will automatically apply the blending mode and opacity that you like best for that texture.

Here is a screen shot of the slick interface:

And here are a few images with those textures applied:

Post by Michelle Turner, Maine Wedding Photographer and Maine Portrait Photographer
Tags: Maine Wedding Photography, Totally Rad Actions, Dirty Pictures Review, Photoshop Actions and Textures

Just a reminder that if you haven’t done so already, you should sign up for Mystic 5!  For the third year in a row I will be speaking at this awesome seminar- this year I am teaming up with the fabulous Stacey Doyle for the presentation.  Mystic is always a good time with some fantastic presenters, and even Nikon will be on hand this year with demo equipment!  A big thanks to my sponsors- my presentation is being sponsored by ProDPI, Iris Book, and Shootstyle.  I hope to see a lot of new faces there this year!

Post by Michelle Turner, Maine Wedding Photographer and Maine Portrait Photographer
Tags: Maine Wedding Photography, New England Wedding Photography, Mystic 5

I photographed Reve a few days ago- she was born last Wednesday to proud parents Rex and Erika.  This beautiful little girl slept most of the session and was so easy to work with!  Here are a few of my faves:

Post by Michelle Turner, Maine Wedding Photographer and Maine Portrait Photographer
Tags: Maine Baby Photography, Maine Portrait Photography, Maine Baby Plan, Maine Newborn Photography