Zone system

In photography, the zone system is a technique invented by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer in 1939 or 1940. It is one of the earliest methods to give photographers systematic control of their images by precisely defining the relationships between their equipment and materials.

Related Topics:
Photography - Ansel Adams

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Originally designed as a tool for instruction while Adams and Archer were teaching at the Art Center School in Los Angeles, Adams went on to popularize the method. While Adams' focus was on monochrome (black and white) photography using medium and large-format sheet-film cameras, where each photograph is developed individually, many elements of the method have also been applied to color and smaller roll-film formats, such as 35mm, where photographs on the same roll must be developed together.

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The zone system was developed in conjunction with the concept of visualization. (Adams often called this "previsualization," though he later noted that the term is a redundancy.) The finished print was visualized before the picture was taken, based upon the carefully measured luminosity range of the scene and an intimate knowledge of how film and print paper could render that scene.

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Together, the zone system and visualization allow photographers to translate the light from a scene into specific densities on negatives and paper, thus giving them better control over the finished photograph.

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