The Zone System of Photography

Development of the Zone System is widely regarded as one of the major achievements in the history of photography. The Zone System is a method of understanding and controlling the exposure and development of the negative, and how to vary that exposure to get the results you want. The Zone System was developed by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer as a simple and straightforward method by which they could control exposure. Before Adams and Archer, …

…This has the advantage of placing the mid-gray Zone V, the meter reading, in the middle of the scale. The Zones are numbered 0 through X. Zone 0 represents the maximum black that the print can produce. Zone X represents pure paper-base white - no image. The nine zones between are each equivalent to one increasing f-stop of exposure. Therefore, Zone III is lighter in value than Zone II, and darker in value than Zone IV, etc.