You’ve finally talked Claude, Auguste, and Vincent into coming by to check out your vacation photos. You break out the slide show after crudités, and they break out the critiques. When Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh offer advice on recoloring your photos, do you listen?

We’d say yes. And with Photoshop’s “Match Color” tool, giving your photos the color sense of your favorite painter is a snap!

Step 1: Find your painting
To get started, find a painting you’d like to emulate. We had good luck with the images at Wikipedia, and Google’s Image Search is another fine option. Look for paintings that match the feel of your own work. A moody street scene, for example, would be a natural for Hopper-ization, gardens and lakes are Monet territory, and naked ladies in tropical locales are ideal candidates for a bit of Gauguin.

Step 2: Open your files
Save the photo of the painting you’ll use to your computer, then open both your photo and painting in Photoshop. Make sure your photo is in front.

Step 3: Merge ‘em!
Under the Image menu, choose Adjustments, then Match Color. Choose the painting as the source, then tweak the Luminance and Color Intensity settings to your heart’s content.

Ah. It feels good to finally kinda, sorta put those art history classes to use. Check out James Delaney’s tutorial for step-by-step instructions.

Enhance your Photography with Classical Art
[via Lifehacker]

p.s. Don’t miss Photojojo’s Mother’s Day photo ideas for 2007 over at Photojojo Uncut!
p.p.s. All sorts of mom-friendly photo goodies at The Photojojo Store. Order by Monday to get them in time for mom!

With Mother’s Day fast approaching (just 12 days left!), we’ve found two mom-worthy photo goodies we’re really proud of.. and just in the nick of time!

Super Premium Mailable Picture Frames

Ever since we introduced our original Mailable Photo Frames, you’ve been asking us for new ways to send photos through the mail. We don’t blame you — there’s just something about the tactile joy of sending (and receiving) real, printed, photos in the mail.

Boy, have we got a treat for you!

Our new Super Premium Mailable Photo Frames are the perfect way to send an extra special photo. These beautiful, inexpensive frames look perfectly at home in your living room, kitchen, or office, yet fold up flat to send through the mail!

Each holds a 4″x6″, features a built-in beveled mat to give your photo a professional look, and has a color-matched fabric ribbon to form a tabletop stand. Every frame also includes an envelope and resealable plastic bag.

With five colorful styles to pick from, we’re fairly taken with these buggers.

Whether you use ‘em around your home, or send a special photo to a friend, we hope you’ll love these classy mailable photo frames as much as we do.

Super Premium Mailable Photo Frames
$6 for 1, $30 for 6 at the Photojojo Store

The ACME Leather Traveler Camera Case

ACME has a reputation for making the highest quality laptop sleeves and bags money can buy, so we were pretty pumped when we found these micro camera cases in their line.

As you’d expect, they cut no corners — Italian leather, a plush and protective interior, even top-of-the-line zippers (YKK Excellaâ„¢, polished and plated metal.)

What really sets ACME apart, however, is the attention to details within details. An example? Those top-of-the-line zippers are paired with a carefully-placed fabric strip that prevents the zipper from touching (read: scratching) your gear, ever.

These guys care about your camera as much as you do.

The Traveler case is built to baby your svelte mini camera (4.15″ x 2.25″ x 1.15″ or smaller) and everything that goes with it: USB cable, spare battery, spare memory card, and manual.

Made with pink pebble-grain leather or black Italian perforated leather, this trim and slick case is a perfect gift for a new camera owner. One of our new favorites.

The ACME Leather Traveler Camera Case
$55-65 at the Photojojo Store

FYI: Today’s the last day to order Custom Photo Bags for Mother’s Day.

Many photographers employ their art as social or political commentary, but we think Denis Darzacq’s La Chute (The Fall) is in a league of its own.

Depicting Parisian youths captured in mid-air as they plummet to earth, his series has recently surprised, shocked, and stirred the French art community.

Encapsulating a message in a photograph is no easy task. What’s unique about Darzacq’s work is not that it makes a statement about an alienated generation, but the innovative technique with which he’s made it. Gazing at his expressionless subjects, his viewers cannot help but wonder if what they see is real.

That these haunting images were created not with digital hackery, but with careful location scouting and break-dancing choreography, makes them all the more compelling.

Denis Darzacq’s La Chute
See also: The Guardian, Down and Out in Paris

Take note: May 13th is shower-your-mother-who-you-love- very-much-with-affection-day.

And wouldn’t you know it, we’ve got some great ideas to make your mama feel extra, extra special this Mother’s Day. First up, our Custom Photo Bags made from your photos!

We offer these stylish and elegant bags in 16 different styles, from beach tote to handbag, to messenger bag, laptop sleeve, or clutch.

Simply choose a bag and upload a photo of a pet, a favorite vacation moment, or a childhood memory. Your photo will be permanently printed and baked into high-quality microfiber, which is then turned into a bag (or tote, or laptop sleeve) carefully designed to make all your mom’s friends jealous.

Care to fancy it up? Upgrade to a custom interior color or leather trim.

But hurry, because they’re made-to-order, Wednesday, April 25th (tomorrow!) is the last day to order in time for Mother’s day with standard shipping in the U.S. Choose express shipping and you have until May 1st.

Made-to-Order Custom Photo Bags
$30-$120, custom-made from your photos

We’ve seen more than our share of portraits taken at arm’s length, in the mirror, and those showing only an eye and its corresponding brow.

But we fell in love with this four-part polaroid portrait by Melissa Brown.

Here in NYC, the weather gods will treat us to a balmy weekend in the mid-70s. If you’re similarly blessed (heck, even if you’re not) we implore you: stow your mittens and mufflers, grab your camera, and set out into the great outdoors in search of adventure.

When you do, we hope Melissa’s summery portrait inspires you to look around you with a fresh pair of eyes.

Take note of the vibrant colors and the change in sunlight this time of year, explore new angles, take photographic risks, experiment, and above all, have fun. You’ve been waiting all winter for this.

Melissa’s Portrait on Flickr

p.s. Watch out, Melissa!

p.p.s. Our spiffy DIY Photo Block Kit is now available at Elsewares, a great store featuring work by independent artists and designers. Check it out!

Monsterpod sale — just a couple days left! Our favorite stick-to-anything, gravity-defying Monsterpod tripods, $35 $29 this week only! (Bonus: Add any other photo goodies and still pay just $5 shipping for US orders!)

With just two dials and some aluminum powder, George Vlosich III creates works of art with Ohio Art’s classic baby boom toy, the Etch A Sketch.

For those of us, however, who can only manage a really nice set of stairs, we have a solution.

Our Etch A Sketch Picture Frame tutorial will show you how to turn an ordinary Etch A Sketch into a kitschy picture frame in no time flat. We’ll even show you how to transform your photos so they’ll look like you spent hours twiddling those white knobs to scratch ‘em out.

Read on to learn how!

p.s. A reminder: We’re looking for awesome photo submissions for an upcoming photo notebook tutorial. Submit your photos to our Flickr group!

Gravity-defying tripods on sale! It’s our birthday this month, so we’ve lowered the price on our stick-to-anything Monsterpod tripods.  $35 $29 this week only! (Bonus: Add any other photo goodies and pay no xtra shipping for US orders!)

When the space invaders come, we hope they’re more Bumbi than Aliens.

Bumbi, the Swiss-made ‘never-miss-me-again’ bear may be a little strange-looking (in an adorable sort of way) but he’s smarter than the average bear.

Cut your favorite photo to fit, slide it into Bumbi’s faceplate, record a message (up to 10 seconds of audio), and Bumbi will be transformed into your smaller, fuzzier doppelganger, ready to tell your sweetie that you only have eyes for her at the press of his elongated blue arm. (We told you he was a little weird).

But this bear can do more than simply reminding your lady you wuv her. Rig your Bumbi up to…

• Send Grandma some authentic Junior-issued goo-goos and gaa-gaas.

• Lull Junior to sleep with a Grandma-made lullaby.

• Break up with your crazy girlfriend from a safe distance.

• Remind the roommates to take out the trash/wash the dishes.

Or do what we did. Embellish Bumbi with a picture of Clive Owen and record a little Barry White. That ought to take the chill out of this cold snap.

Bumbi never-miss-me-again bear

If a picture really does tell a thousand words, then a comic strip ought to tell roughly 1500 or so.

Release your inner Stan Lee and let your photos speak up using Comeeko, a site where you can give your photos a little extra KERPOW! with a comic strip-style makeover.

With comic text, tattoos, hair pieces, and cosmetic accessories galore, a few uploads and a couple of clicks is all you’ll need to pit your best friend against Borat or slip the old man into a bikini.

Turn photos into comics with Comeeko

It’s party time (excellent!), but you know hardly anyone on the guest list. What’s a would-be wallflower to do?

Why, bring your camera and a few props, of course!

Pack some of our great photo projects and you’ll have your party-animal pals posing for mugshots, jumping for joy — even leaping in the tub — in no time.

Just don’t forget to get a few shots of yourself with all your new friends.

p.s. New on Photojojo Uncut: A spiffy ghost cameras shirt from Oddica, and a Swiss museum that will put your photo on its wall for real!

We call ‘em Videoramas.

Panoramic photographs are great at taking in entire landscapes, urban and natural. They allow you to see beyond what your camera can capture in one frame (or in the case of panographies, many many many frames).

But why stop with stills? Your digital camera probably shoots video clips as well, and by stitching those clips together, you can make a full-motion video panorama. Landscapes, streetscapes, interior shots, birthday parties, they all come to life in sparkling, wide-angle videoramas. If you liked our panographies, you’ll love our videoramas.

Read on to see an example and learn how it’s done.

p.s. Haaappy Birthday, Photojojo! We turned 1 yesterday. :D Help us celebrate by blogging about us or telling a friend about your favorite photo newsletter. It would make our day!