zonesystemen

Zonesystemen, or the Zone System, is a photographic method for controlling exposure and development to produce a intended tonal range in an image. Developed by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer in the 1930s–1950s, it links scene luminance, meter readings, exposure, and processing to a standard scale of ten tonal zones from pure black to pure white. The zones are numbered I (deep shadow) through X (specular highlight). Zone V is often defined as middle gray, reflecting around 18% luminance, and serves as a reference point for exposure decision.

The approach emphasizes pre-visualization: the photographer decides which part of the scene should fall into a particular zone, then sets exposure and development accordingly. Meter readings can be interpreted to place a target subject into the chosen zone; adjustments may involve exposure compensation or selecting film development (or digital tone adjustments) to shift the overall contrast range.

In practice, zone mapping allows one to preserve detail in both shadows and highlights by balancing exposure and processing. In film, changing development time or agitation changes the effective contrast (the H&D curve), enabling density adjustments that map to the zones. In digital photography, the concept translates into planning for dynamic range and applying tone curves or HDR techniques to reproduce the intended zone assignments, often using histogram guidance.

While most common in traditional film practice, zone-based thinking persists in modern workflows as a mental model for managing contrast and tonal reproduction across different media.