Why Not Use the RGB Color Wheel Theory And Super Brighten Your Paintings?

RGB color wheel theory -- and you thought it was just for color television! Not anymore! Would you like to know a secret on preventing Mud from creeping into your color mixes? Stick around for a few moments, I'll explain to you a secret to keep your paintings from looking like something the cat dragged in!

There are volumes of books written on this subject. But admittedly, most are based on science that was discovered in the writings of Leonardo da Vinci, and later, Leone Battista Alberti. Then a Moses Harris created what we believe was the first color wheel, then a Johannes Itten created a 12 point system that seemed to work out for painter mixing paints for a long time. This is the system that uses primary colors of Red, Yellow, Blue and is generally accepted as the "Mixing Color Wheel". Unfortunately, this theory is still taught in our schools, and I'm as guilty as the rest in that I still use it.

Then science figured out a few more tricks for us, like, color television, and the fact that our eyes are set up with Red, Green and Blue receptors. This is now known as the "Visual Color Wheel" and is based on primary colors being Red, Green and Blue light. Thus, the RGB Color Wheel was created.

This theory works great when thinking about light, but how does that apply to paint? We have to use the subtractive color theory to fully understand and apply this to paint mixing. Lets look at the printing and photography industry. Inks in your computer printer use Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. These are the subtractive primary's on the RGB color wheel.

In a nutshell, these colors lie exactly 1/3 around the RGB color wheel, and when say Red + Green lights are combined you get the Yellow. The Red + Blue = Magenta, and Blue + Green gives us Cyan.

The proof for me that the theory is sound is simply looking at an Epson Giclee Print. When using (in theory) all 3 colors, we should get black, but alas, it's difficult to create a perfect Magenta, Cyan, or Yellow pigment, so they add black.

So why not teach this color theory in schools? Most of your graphic design colleges are well ahead of the game, but it's simply gonna take time for it to filter down to our elementary school systems. In the mean time, experiment! The closest oil paint available today for matching these same pigments on the RGB wheel are,

o Yellow Cadmium Light = Yellow
o Phthalo Blue = Cyan
o Quinacridone magenta = Magenta

Most artists already have two of these colors on their palette! Phthalo Blue and Yellow Cadmium Light. If you have ever used these to mix your greens, you will find that they are an intense vivid green, so much so, I rarely use it in my own work (remember, I'm ol'school).

But don't let that stop you.

If you paint in an impressionistic or abstract style, these colors will be right up your alley. With the addition of the Quinacridone Magenta to this trio of colors, it is an amazing gamut of hues (colors) that can be created! And their intensity and brightness beats anything I can mix using the traditional RYB color wheel palette.

The reasons being there are less secondary color mixtures/fillers in the individual blends. They are simply truer to the ideal Yellow, Cyan and Magenta on the Visual RGB Color Wheel. Thus, using them in your mixtures will mean a brighter, less muddy painting!

How to Build a Successful Portrait Photography Business

Starting a successful photography business from the ground up can be challenging. However, with these tips you can be well on your way to starting a successful portrait photography business!

First thing's first: you will need a camera. I recommend starting out with a digital SLR (dSLR) camera. Yet, there are so many dSLR camera's on the market, how do you choose a great camera? Research. Conduct online research by reading consumer reviews from multiple blogs and websites, search professional photography forums, and ask professional photographers for their advice. You shouldn't choose a camera on a whim and you shouldn't purchase one simply because it's on sale: doing your research will pay in the long run!

Next, learn how to properly use your camera and edit your photos. If you want to run a successful business and produce images prospective clients are willing pay for, you will need to take your camera off of "auto" mode and learn how to control the settings yourself in manual mode. I have found online search engines and photography forums the best places to learn how to use your camera in manual mode. Additionally, many professional photographers write photography tips and FAQ blog posts, so do an online search and visit the blogs and websites of local portrait photographers to get an inside scoop on how to use your camera. Several photographers teach workshops and/or offer mentor sessions, so contact your favorite photographers via email to see if they are willing to provide a mentor session or workshop to assist your learning.

Once you've learned how to use your camera, practice! Gather your family and closest friends and offer free mock-portrait sessions in order to provide you practice on how to use your camera and allow you to become more familiar with shooting in manual mode. Use these images to build your portfolio and gain experience.

Once you're comfortable with using your camera and are happy with the results you have been getting, evaluate. Do you still want to start a business? If so, it's time to start taking legal steps before you officially start a business and begin charging for your work.

Get legal. Search for the requirements to legally run a business in your city and state. You will need a business license, sales tax license, and fulfill all requirements set forth by your city and state. Make sure all of your licenses are approved before starting your business!

Optional: protect yourself and your equipment. As a business owner, it's smart to protect you and your assets. Once your business is legal, protect yourself by purchasing business liability and equipment insurance. This covers you if your client trips and falls during the portrait shoot and lands in the hospital (potential lawsuit!) or if your precious new lens crashes to the ground during a lens change. You wouldn't want to start a business just to go bankrupt, thus, this optional step is highly recommended to be successful!

Decide what to offer how much to charge for your services. This is an important and often overlooked step: don't choose a starting price based on what other photographers are charging or a random price you feel is fair. Carefully calculate the money you've spent starting your business (equipment, software, education, licenses, insurance, business cards, website fees, etc), how much it will cost to maintain your business, evaluate many hours you spend on a session (time spent driving to/from the session, shooting, editing, backing up and posting files, etc), calculate how much of your income you will have to pay to sales and income taxes, and how much excess you will need above all of the factors listed above to pay for the cost of living and still earn profit. Most new photographers start out charging too little; once the joy of starting a new business wears off, many photographers find themselves unable to stay financially afloat and resent owning a photography business, ultimately closing their doors in less than a year. Start off right and remain successful by creating a firm price list for your services that keeps your business profitable and brings yourself value.

Now that your legal ducks are in a row and you know how much to charge, it's time to start getting clients! Build an online presence by starting a website and blog. There are several websites that offer insight on how to purchase your domain and start a website, so turn to your trusty search engine for help. As a photography business, it's important to make your images stand out on the web; photography website and bog templates are available and are a wise investment to be seen as a professional to your prospective clients. Website templates will save you time and money if you are unfamiliar with coding and web development. A great way to extend your online presence is by creating a Facebook business page; however, it's important to have your own domain website in addition to a Facebook page to be understood as a professional.

Of course, you'll need business cards and marketing materials to advertise your business. Conduct a quick online search to find a company to print business cards and flyers for your business. Hand these out to family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and anyone you come into contact with! Give your family and friends an abundance of cards so they can pass them on to their friends as well.

Taking the proper steps to starting a business is key to your success. Owning a photography business can be a very fulfilling venture if it is started correctly, and these steps will allow you to be well on your way to success!

Saving Money on Photography for Your Wedding

Weddings are momentous occasions to all people involved; especially the families of the bride and groom. One very important aspect of a wedding is to commemorate the event with beautiful pictures so that the day never really disappears.

Hiring professional photographers is usually the preferred way for couples to capture the moments of their wedding forever.
Professional photographers can charge an obscene amount of money for their services at times, but there are a few ways that you can save money on photography at your wedding.

Here are some of things that you can do to save some of your money for the honeymoon instead. Let's take a look at what you can do.

1. Place disposable cameras on tables at your reception and let your guests capture special moments for you.

2. Ask a friend or family member to take special photos of the ceremony for you or videotape it

3. Check at colleges and universities who are studying photography and hire a student to do it. You can get professional looking photos for a fraction of the price.

4. Have your photographs taken before the wedding by having your wedding party to gather together at a professional photographer's shop

5. Have your photos taken before the ceremony and keep the negatives yourself so that you can develop them later and make prints

During one of the most important days in your life, pictures and videos can make the day last forever. The above mentioned tips can also make sure that you will not go broke in the process.

When it comes to the disposable cameras, you can often find cameras that are decorated with wedding themes. If you can't, you can have the bridal party decorate them instead.

Using digital cameras can limit the amount of pictures that you have to take while making them easy to reproduce. Digital camera technology can make even an amateur take professional looking pictures. You can even use the prints to create thank you cards later that are personalized that show the guests and/or the bridal party.

Transform Your Pictures With Cool Photo Effects

Enhance your old digital photographs with photo effects online. Free online tools are available that allow you to modify your pictures with a wide range of effects to use for greeting cards, collages or to make interesting profile pictures. It's easy to use and will put an exciting twist on any old photos. I personally prefer preparing a collage with all the images as it gives a perfect blend of your tastes, appearance and a chance to show-off our creativity.

Looking for a way to preserve old photographs of fond memories but in a funky new way. Photo effects online is your answer. It requires no knowledge of photo editing software and can be used to add special effects to any photo. The easy to use online tools allows you to change the way a person or the scenery looks in a picture.

Adding a funky border or making pictures look old fashioned is easy with this type of web tools. Ever wanted your face on the cover of a magazine? No problem with these cool photo effects. The modified photos can be used to create personalized greeting cards for friends and family with themes for good luck, get well, birthday and Christmas cards. Make a collage of all your favorite photos as a display in your home or as a gift for someone close to you.

All you need is a high quality photo in the required specs, usually .jpg, .png or .gif, (these are the common formats for your images, I prefer Gif format when goes for online) and you are ready to go. If your photo is not in the specified format, there are services available online to change it to the required format. Upload the photo you would like to modify and with a few easy steps you could be the proud owner of an original and fun new photo. With a wide variety of effects the only difficulty you will have is choosing which one to apply.

Furthermore, photos with applied effects can be used as profile pictures for social sharing sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Some sites even feature a tool with full Facebook integration to make life so much easier for you. Enhanced photos can now be downloaded and kept on your hard drive or a compact disk to keep forever. I hope this article has given some idea about how to transform your pictures, so that others will like it.

The Top 5 Most Practical College Degrees

Choosing a major is no casual affair. Higher education encourages the growth and development of students -- personally, professionally, and academically. That all sounds great, but students want to know: Which majors get jobs? Check out our list of the five most practical college college majors.

1. Computer Science

Pro: Computers are everywhere. There is a need for computer engineers in every area of every industry. That makes computer science one of the most useful degrees out there. Typically these highly technical positions also are a great return on investment, with some of the highest incomes in the country in all career fields.

Con: Long, irregular hours and impersonal work typify many careers at the end of this major. In the words of an anonymous IT engineer, "High paying work, yeah; high-paying, steady, soul-crushing work."

2. Biochemistry

Pro: Biochemistry studies the chemical composition of living things. Currently this is a high growth, high income field. In addition to a median annual income of over $100,000, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that biological sciences should see about a 21 percent occupational growth rate over 2008-2018.

Con: With a small employment base, this field is very competitive. Additionally, education up to a PhD is often necessary.

3. Business

Pro: Business education, like an MBA, has long been considered one of the most useful college majors. Let's face it, business is money. If you're in it for the money, self-motivated, and aggressive, this could be the major for you. Part politics and part economics, this major teaches you the analytical and team skills employers look for in the business world.

Con: This field is highly competitive. In 2008, there were over 155,000 MBAs awarded, so it can be hard to make yourself stand out from the herd. MBAs may be best for individuals who are already employed and looking for career advancement.

4. Education

Pro: With baby-boomers retiring and their grandchildren swelling the ranks of schools at every level, there should be no shortage of available positions for qualified educators, administrators, and support staff. Teaching in a subject field of your interest can lead to personal rewards and satisfaction unheard of in other careers. Also: summer breaks!

Con: The personal rewards must be expensive, because education is not the most lucrative career. Teachers may also need to double major in college--one major in education and the other in the area you want to teach.

5. Nursing

Pro: Another field with an increased need for qualified individuals and better than average pay, nursing is one of the most useful majors. With any number of specialties and levels of advancement, nursing is a great opportunity to leave you open to many people-oriented career options.

Con: The hours can be long and erratic, and nurses definitely need to be willing to get down and dirty. Regular continued education, training, and certification is necessary to stay licensed.

In a tight job market, employers are increasingly looking for specific technical skills in employees. Choosing the right college major can help you get those skills and land a rewarding job after graduation.

How to Start Your Own Remote Control Aerial Photography Business

You can start your own business, and work for yourself, as an Aerial Photography Service, using a remote control aerial camera. You can do a Google or Yahoo search on the internet, and find companies that sell remote control helicopters that are available with a digital camera, so you can take nice pictures, just like from a real helicopter! You would set up your launching spot, and I'm pretty sure you would have a blast doing this job! You could offer this service to homes with land, like farms, schools, businesses, construction sites, and events like, company picnics, family reunions, and so forth. Who does not love a picture of what their place looks like from the air! An aerial view for a business, construction site, company picnic, and any other place you could promote it!

You would want to make up some signs for your automobile, so that people know you are in business! You should also have some business cards made up, and if you could get a card with a shot from the air, that would work even better!

You could also set up at some places, you think you could do some business with. In the beginning of your business, if you had to give out some free samples, then that is what it takes to get the word out about you. You could offer a business a free portrait of their whole business from the air, as long as they hung it in a place, like the lobby or waiting room, and you were allowed to have your contact information somewhere small, on the picture! That would get you lots of business if you put just a handful of photos out in high traffic areas!

This would be a very fun business to start, you could deal with wealthy home owners, and take aerial photos of their estates, large corporations, small businesses, and company and public events! I would highly recommend this business, just for the sheer fun of it!

Trends In Digital Cameras

Many people are considering a camera purchase before heading out for summer travel and this may be a good time to consider the latest trends in digital cameras and how that may change your next camera purchase.

More Than Just Photos

Probably the most disruptive technological advance in digital cameras has been the fusion of video and still pictures. While you may not be ready to buy a Canon 5D MK III, a set of rails, and follow focus system, multimedia is far too big of a trend to ignore in digital photography.

Even point and shoot cameras are coming out with an amazing array of video and still photo effects and it's worth taking some time to learn about those features as some of them are nothing short of ingenious.

Instant Sharing

Many cameras are now including WiFi capability and other ways to instantly share your photos. While perhaps not as convenient as the built-in sharing inherent in devices like the iPhone 4S, several models from Canon, Nikon and Samsung offer higher resolution than a camera phone, plus wireless connectivity at a much lower cost.

Geo-tagging

GPS capability is probably one of the most fun and interesting advancements in digital photography to come along in quite a while. There are, literally, hundreds of camera models that allow you record your GPS coordinates when taking photos, some even will tell you which direction you were facing when you took the photo.

Even if your camera doesn't have built-in GPS support, there are several devices on the market to allow you to add that functionality later.

Greater Exposure Latitude

Another recent development in digital photography is the rapid advancement of lighting and exposure systems that provide amazing latitude and crisp colors. When you step up to DSLR technology there are new capabilities for wirelessly linking your camera to external flash systems that help the camera with the exposure settings.

Phone Cameras

Smartphones are changing photography, of that there is no longer any doubt. Statistics on Flickr are clear that the most popular camera is the one people already have with them. Beyond the mere carrying convenience is the ease that smartphone and cell phone photos can be shared. A couple keystrokes and your photos are instantly published on Flickr, Facebook, TwitPics or any number of other photo sharing sites or email them directly to friends and relatives.

Going forward, the greatest assets that will keep professional photographers in the game are fantastic composition, high resolution RAW photos and superior work flow. I don't see smartphones ever being good enough to overcome those advantages completely.

New developments in digital camera technology make this an exciting time to be thinking about buying a new camera. With all the options available on the market today, it's important to take a minute and reflect upon which features would be most useful for you.