An Introduction To Zone System

The famous Zone System was devised and developed by Ansel Adams, who is arguably the greatest landscape photographer ever.

- Ashok Kandimalla

While it is called a system, it is in essence a well-defined process to give photographers complete control of the process, end to end, right from capturing an image to the final print. It is regarded as one of the seminal developments in photography.

At the first look, it may sound complex; hence many photographers shy away from using it. Some are of the opinion that it is no longer relevant. This article cuts through the confusion, explains its usage in simple terms and discusses its relevance in the digital age. So, read on.

Relevance in the digital age:

The Zone System was formulated primarily to control the capture of images on film, its subsequent development and then printing in the darkroom. Since we are now in the digital age, many do express a doubt if it is still relevant. The answer is yes. While the development part is perhaps no longer relevant, the Zone System is still very pertinent to digital photography, since it will make you understand the whole process of setting the exposure scientifically and precisely. It will also give you an idea how your final print will appear, whether it is produced in a lab or using an ink jet printer. Zone System can assist to you to measure the brightness range (contrast) of the scene you are photographing accurately. This will help you to decide, for example, the bracketing interval and the number of exposures you need to make for creating a High Dynamic Range (HDR) image set. This is the first step for creating a good HDR image, say, of an interior of a building with a very high contrast.

What do you need for using Zone System: