# Painting-Like Photography Rudd van Empel Creates Magic with his Lens By Allison Love | Published 2010-08-08 | Life-Stages Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/rudd-van-empel References: [lifelounge](http://www.lifelounge.com/photography/news/rudd-van-empels-exotic-portraits.aspx) & [web.ruudvanempel.nl](http://web.ruudvanempel.nl/) Rudd van Empel's photography is truly magic. The artist manages to take amazing pictures that look like they've been painted. The portraits primarily feature children gazing solemnly at the camera, and some are a bit creepy. The photos are probably [digitally altered](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/realphotoai), but they definitely hold my attention. Rudd van Empel is quite the intriguing photographer. See more of this [surreal photo series](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/art-displays) above. **Implications** - As technology grows and continues to influence the art industry, artists are striving to remain relevant to consumers. Where artwork can be easily created through [programs like Photoshop](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ai4photos) as well as printed from the Internet, artists need to give consumers a reason to continue buying original works. Art that is striking, original and blends multiple mediums such that its impact cannot be easily replicated by a simple computer printout will be more commonly purchased by consumers. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 6.6/10 - Popularity: 93% | Activity: 97% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America, Europe, Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Life-Stages](https://www.trendhunter.com/life-stages) > [Babies](https://www.trendhunter.com/babies) ## Key Themes ### Why This Trend Is Growing - **Digital Artistry:** The blending of digital manipulation and traditional art techniques to create unique and striking pieces that cannot be easily replicated. - **Surreal Photography:** The use of digital editing and creativity to transform ordinary photographs into dreamlike and magical scenes. - **Hybrid Art Forms:** The combination of different artistic mediums, such as painting and photography, to create visually captivating and thought-provoking works. ### Industries Being Reshaped - **Art and Photography:** The art and photography industries can explore new ways of integrating technology and traditional techniques to create innovative and marketable products. - **Graphic Design and Advertising:** Designers and advertisers can adopt surreal photography techniques to create attention-grabbing and memorable visuals for campaigns and branding. - **Digital Editing Software:** The software industry can develop advanced tools and filters that enable artists and photographers to achieve more seamless and sophisticated blending of different art forms. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [AI-Generated Poetic Photo Series](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/emilio-alarcn.md) - [AI-Generated Real-World Transformations](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ai-generated-world.md) - [AI Travel Photography](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/epic-ai-travel-photos.md) - [Vibrantly Colorful Dynamic Artwork](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/kayla-rumpp.md) - [Photo Art Tools](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/image-painter.md) - [Oil Painting-Inspired Rugs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/antonio-santn.md) - [AI-Generated Selfies](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/dreambooth.md) - [Vintage Photo Makers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/retrova.md) - [Synthetic AI Photography](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/generated-photos1.md)