Guest Posting with Kiley!

Today, I have a special surprise for all of my lovely readers! A Sweet Release is welcoming it's very first guest poster ever! Enjoy!

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Hello dear people,
This is Kiley M from the Let It Be Raw photography blog. I blog about all kinds of things photography, but I mainly like to share the story behind the picture. I am very happy to do a guest post for the lovely Annika and her beautiful blog. Thanks, Annika!

Today I want to share with you my love of black and white film. It's useful in more ways than just looking classy and can help improve any photographer. Don't worry if you don't have film! You can use the black and white setting on your digital camera to practice these techniques.

Using black and white is one of the best ways to practice and understand the concept of shadows and light. Take a few pictures of the same subject at different times of day, and you'll see different moods in each photo. Do this more often and you'll know what kind of lighting you like the best or what lighting works best for you. My favorite time of day to take photos is in the evening right before dusk when shadows and light are the most dramatic.

Black and white also teaches a photographer to be much more aware of her surroundings. Let's say I am outside on a clear bright day and am walking around my neighborhood thinking about taking a picture of tree roots. I come back a few times a day to take pictures and see what lighting and shadows I like best. The next day is overcast, and I decide to go out again. I notice that the roots are shadowless and full of texture because of the soft natural light. In this case the weather created fantastic lighting and has caused me to be much more aware of clouds and seasons and how they affect my photography.

Using black and white has made me much more aware of my camera and the way it functions. To see what image looks best I like to bracket photos, which means I take more than one picture with lighter and darker settings. It's like what I mentioned before about taking a picture at different times of day, except this time you photograph in one sitting. It still surprises me how a photo I thought looked perfectly exposed actually looks better darker/lighter. Most digital cameras have a function to darken or lighten an image so bracketing is possible. 

Black and white film can teach anyone who uses film/digital how to be a better photographer. It teaches awareness of shadows and light, composition, contrast, style, grain, aperture, texture, shutter speed, and much more. It's a film that will always be classy, dramatic, artistic, and versatile. Most importantly, it takes practice to think in black and white so that your photos won't come out flat and disappointing. Anyone can take a color film/digital picture, but the building block of black and white film definitely makes a difference in the quality and beauty of that picture. Please, do not use any of these images without asking me first. If you would like to see more of my black and white images, click here.

Go out and experiment with black and white! I would love to see what you can do with this underused medium. 
Thanks again, Annika!