Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
V. Exposure Essentials: the Zone System
Applied
Although the latest high-end DSLR cameras have developed truly
amazing exposure evaluation and metering systems, the fact of the
matter is, no matter how fancy, expensive or sophisticated the camera, digital
exposure meters are still relatively clueless about the image, mood, or scene a
photographer is attempting to capture. The built-in camera metering systems
cannot read minds, nor apply aesthetic judgment to the image capture
process. While many digital photographers can be getting good results much
of the time with an automatic exposure mode and a decent camera, great
exposures all the time with the camera system alone, however, can be a
dii cult challenge.
In the early days of i lm, Ansel Adams developed the Zone system to address
the complications in achieving proper exposure in the i eld. The Zone system
is widely known to most traditional photographers as one of the fundamental
aspects of the photographic craft. It is a systematic methodology designed
to break the exposure process down into parts that can be examined and
controlled to produce photographic images that match the photographer's
visualization. Ansel Adams was able to use his Zone system to visualize an
aesthetic, and then expose, develop, and print his negatives in order to
achieve an image that conveyed the essence of what he saw in a scene or
moment.
Zone system overview
The Zone system methodology breaks down into three basic components:
visualization, exposure control, and contrast control. First, visualization
happens within our minds, while exposure control happens next in the
camera, and contrast control in post production (darkroom/digital darkroom).
The photographer will therefore adjust the camera aperture, shutter
speed, and ISO with the visualized image in mind in order to achieve the
desired exposure. And then, in post production traditional terminology, the
photographer then actualizes the visualized image as recorded by controlling
contrast during the negative development and printing processes.
In describing his technique, Ansel Adams stated “visualization is a conscious
process of projecting the i nal photographic image in the mind before taking
the i rst steps in actually photographing the subject”. His basic rule was
“expose for the shadows; develop for the highlights”. Although visualizing our
future prints in the i eld may sound ethereal, we can use the application of the
system to expose for the elements of a scene that we want to capture, which
will ultimately result in better prints down the road.
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