We’ve all come across art that inspires us. Finding it is usually not difficult. However, if you’re an artist, knowing how to emulate similar techniques takes learning, practice and patience. Below, I have compiled some of the top photography and art tutorials online. This list is in no way exhaustive, as I know there are many more out there.

Most of these were shared with me from our member artists via Facebook and Twitter. If you have a favorite online tutorial site not listed, be sure to drop me the URL! You can leave it in the comments, or share it on Facebook or Twitter. I will try and get it added as they come.

Quick note: Though many of the blogs below contain tutorials on several different techniques, I have tried to point directly to a post that corresponds to the particular technique listed.

Photo Manipulation

abduzeedo.com – Manipulation Basics: Illumination and Coloration

psd.tutsplus.com – All about PhotoShop tutorials

HDR Photography

stuckincustoms.com – Imagekind artist Trey Ratcliff, one of the premier HDR photographers, breaks down the technique on his blog

gizmodo.com

hdrcreme.com – The reference website for HDR photos

Macro Photography

On YouTube – Macro Photography Video Tutorial

photo.net – How To: Create Stunningly Realistic High Dynamic Range Photographs

Oil Painting

Hal Groat on YouTube – Imagekind artist shares tips to oil painting on YouTube

Panorama Photography

yanikphotoschool.com – How to Create a Panorama in Photoshop – Video Tutorial

earthseaimagery.wordpress.com – Imagekind artist shares several tips and tutorials on his blog

Illustration

noupe.com – 60+ Vector Illustration Tutorials

smashingmagazine.com – 40+ Cartoon Character Illustration Tutorials

EmptyEasel published a very interesting article today about discovering your artistic niche and style. Emily referenced it in one of our forum discussions. I found it particularly insightful for all artists to consider.

It got me thinking, do most artists even consider having a particular niche or style? How do these two ideas correlate with an artistic brand?

The author, Aggie Villanueva, defines them in a very concise way. She mentions how finding her niche was relatively easy but that finding her style was a bit more challenging. However, as she contemplated her photos one day, a moment of inspiration struck her and she was able to discover her own particular style as well. With that she concludes:

Your niche is what you know

but…

Your style is what you love

With your artwork, what’s been easier for you to discover, your niche or your style?

We’ve all seen it. Heck, whether an amateur or professional, we’ve all probably fallen victim to it ourselves. That’s right, the PSHS – Photographer’s Shaky Hand Syndrome.

Natalie Norton, over at dps, shares How to Reduce Camera Shake – 6 Techniques and end those unintentionally blurry photographs. You don’t need a tripod or other special equipment to pull off her techniques, just some trusty appendages.

I thought it would be a helpful resource for all the photography artists here at Imagekind and wanted to share it.

- Nate

Emily, our print and color specialist here at Imagekind shares five tips to make sure your giclee prints produce perfectly. We are constantly hearing about how amazing our print quality is and it is in large part due to Emily, Will and our fantastic production team taking care of all the order details. They go through painstaking measures to make sure each print sent from Imagekind is top-notch, museum quality.

Image: DREAMING AGAIN by [ METROFADER ]

BLJAT

1. The Highest is Best

Be sure that you have the highest quality file possible. This means taking a picture of your painting with the very best camera that you have available, or taking your pieces to be scanned or photographed by a professional. A poorly photographed or scanned piece is going to print poorly. If you do not have the resources to do this yourself, many wonderful companies can do digital capture for a reasonable price. This is the MOST important part of preparing your work, and the number one reason that customers return prints. If your digital file is not high quality, then no matter how wonderful the original photograph or painting is, it will not reproduce well.

Image: Cloud Shop by Matasaburo Kazeno

2. Do Not Resize

Do NOT resize your digital file to increase the size. If your image is not large enough to print at the size that you would like, then you must re-photograph or re-scan it. Resizing it in Photoshop to make it bigger will cause it to become pixilated and obscured with artifacts. Many beginners to giclee printing make this mistake.

3. Make it Sparkle

Be sure your image is print-ready! Remove any dust spots, boost contrast if you need it, sharpen, or add any additional borders before uploading it or sending it to the printer. Giclee prints are very detailed high-resolution reproductions and small flaws have the potential of being visible.

Image: Alone by Brenda Anderson

4. Color it Up

Once you have prepared your image to print, apply a color profile to your image. In layman’s terms, color profiling is how different computers in different environments can talk to each other to reproduce and display images correctly. Choose what profile will work best for your image – a popular one is sRGB. Any profile you choose will be utilized in the color managed giclee print production environment.

Image: Catch the Light by Kelly Cheng

5. Detail Shows

When choosing images to reproduce as prints, almost anything goes! Subtle details and gradations can print wonderfully if you choose the right paper. As long as the piece is photographed and scanned correctly, images with a variety of textures can make incredible prints. We have many very successful prints made from oil paintings and other mediums that include a lot of texture, printed onto fine art canvas or other fine art paper options.