Practice question · Put in order
Arrange the steps of the zone system working method in the order they are carried out.
- Read the zone the highlight has fallen on
- Spot meter the important shadow
- Choose the development that will put the highlight where it is wanted
- Place that shadow on a chosen zone by setting the exposure
- Spot meter the important highlight
- Previsualise what the print should look like
Hints
- The print is imagined before anything is measured.
- Development is chosen last, once the fallen highlight is known.
Show the answer
- Previsualise what the print should look like
- Spot meter the important shadow
- Place that shadow on a chosen zone by setting the exposure
- Spot meter the important highlight
- Read the zone the highlight has fallen on
- Choose the development that will put the highlight where it is wanted
Why
Previsualisation comes first and is the step people skip, which turns the rest into arithmetic without a purpose. The last step is where the second degree of freedom enters: the exposure has already been fixed by the shadow, so only development can still move the highlight.
Practise The Zone System and Previsualisation
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