ABSTRACT

This sixth edition of The Practical Zone System by Chris Johnson updates the classic manual on Ansel Adams's landmark technique for the digital age. For photographers working digitally or with film, in color or black and white, in the studio or on the go, this simple visual language helps to control contrast and, through a process called Previsualization, provides photographers with the power of free creative expression.

 

This new edition discusses recent advances in technology and potentials for their use in zone photography, including HDR, smartphone cameras that shoot in raw format and smartphone light meters. Johnson demonstrates how the Zone System is a universal visual and conceptual language that dramatically simplifies the problem of creating and rendering complex lighting setups.

chapter One|7 pages

“Will It Come Out?”

chapter Three|8 pages

The Control of Negative Contrast

chapter Four|16 pages

The Zone

chapter Five|17 pages

Exposure

chapter Six|18 pages

Development

chapter Seven|13 pages

An Overview of the Zone System

chapter Eight|19 pages

Zone System Testing: Method 1

chapter Nine|11 pages

Zone System Testing: Method 2

chapter Ten|68 pages

The Zone System and Digital Photography

chapter Eleven|29 pages

The Zone System and Studio Photography