"One of the
easiest-to-understand books on exposure and the Zone System that we've ever seen"
Outdoor
photographer Magazine
If you do not want to read the book titled
"the confused photographer's guide to photographic exposure and the simplified zone
system ISBN: 0966081714" simply read the following:
The on-camera
partial meters or off-camera spotmeters (spot meter) are the most powerful exposure tool
in the world. However, before you can use them you must have a basic understanding of the
Zone System of light measurement. Read the following page and decide for yourself if you
understand the concept. If you do understand everything, and you can apply the technique described, then that is all you need
(well almost!)
If, however, you
even have the slightest doubt about this technique, or if you are still the least bit confused, the confused photographer's
guide to photographic exposure and the simplified (non technical) zone system is for you.
I believe this is the simplest, easiest, best illustrated, and most practical book about
the photographic exposure, the simplified zone system (non-technical), incident metering
and off-camera spotmetering in the world. To see more of the book and what you will be
learning, please browse:
http://www.simplifiedzonesystem.com
or send an e-mail to
Cheat sheet: The entire book condensed
onto one page (well almost!). To see what is exactly covered, please see the Appendix at
the Simplified Zone System book
(Based
on Farzad's 5-stop Film / Digital zone system ©1987-2005)
 | Put a roll of
100 ISO slide film in your Nikon N50 and choose an outdoor subject. Activate the partial
metering option on your N50 and set your camera’s mode to manual and to the shutter
sped to 1/125 sec. To avoid confusion, in this exercise we will increase and decrease the
exposure by opening-up and closing-down the aperture. The shutter speed will remain fixed.
|
| Observe your
subject and break it down into its simple subject (single tone) components. Choose a
Reference Tone. A Reference Tone is usually chosen from the most important part of the
subject. Once you have selected the Reference Tone, point your spotmeter at this tone and
find its normal exposure. If your subject does not have a distinct single tone and you are
using slide film, pick out a tone that is medium gray or brighter. If you are using a
negative film, pick out a tone that is medium gray or darker.
|
| Let’s
assume the "normal exposure" indicated by your camera for this Reference Tone is
125@f-8 (i.e., 1/125 sec. at an aperture setting of 8).
As you may know, the spotmeter’s "normal
exposure" from any simple (single toned) surface will always provide the photographer
with an 18% gray image tone.
The image tone that your normal exposure
provides is independent of the original tone of your subject.
In spotmetering, converting the "normal
exposure" to the "correct exposure" is what a photographer must do. In
other words, the "normal exposure" readings of the spotmeter must be interpreted
by the photographer to determine the subject’s"correct exposure." The
principle behind this simplified technique is that if one tone of a complex subject is
exposed correctly, the rest of the tones follow and will also be correctly exposed . Now
decide which one of the following tones would most closely matches your Reference Tone:
Black, Dark Gray, Medium Gray, Light Gray or White. With this simplified technique you
must choose one of these five tones. Once you have decided which one of these five tones
best matches your Reference Tone, then adjust your camera settings accordingly:
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