Film & Digital Techniques for Zone System Photography PDF
Preview Film & Digital Techniques for Zone System Photography
FILM & DIGITAL TECHNIQUES FOR ZONE SYSTEM PHOTOGRAPHY DR. GLENN RAND Amherst Media ® PUBLISHER OF PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS Copyright©2008byGlennRand. Allphotographsbytheauthorunlessotherwisenoted. FrontcoverphotographbyGlennRand. BackcoverphotographbyChristopherBroughton. Allrightsreserved. Publishedby: AmherstMedia,Inc. P.O.Box586 Buffalo,N.Y.14226 Fax:716-874-4508 www.AmherstMedia.com Publisher:CraigAlesse SeniorEditor/ProductionManager:MichellePerkins AssistantEditor:BarbaraA.Lynch-Johnt ISBN-13:978-1-58428-227-3 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2007942654 PrintedinKorea. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,stored,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,me- chanical,photocopied,recordedorotherwise,withoutpriorwrittenconsentfromthepublisher. NoticeofDisclaimer:Theinformationcontainedinthisbookisbasedontheauthor’sexperienceandopinions.The authorandpublisherwillnotbeheldliablefortheuseormisuseoftheinformationinthisbook. CONTENTS AbouttheAuthor .........................5 ZoneVII(HighlightDetail) ..............34 AbouttheContributors .....................5 HighlightZones(ZonesVIII,IX,andX) ......35 ZoneVIII(PatternedHighlight) ..........35 INTRODUCTION ...........................7 ZoneIX(NearWhite) ..................36 TheConcept ............................8 ZoneX(White) .......................36 1.GETTINGSTARTED ......................9 4.ZONEPLACEMENT .....................39 VariablesandConstants ....................9 TheLawofReciprocity ...................39 ControllingVariables .....................10 TheCharacteristicCurve ..................40 ApertureandShutterSpeedCalibration .....10 ThePaperCurve ......................40 FilmSpeedTest .......................10 TheFilmCurve .......................40 PlacingtheZones ........................41 2.UNDERSTANDINGLIGHT ................19 AlternativeMeteringMethods ..............42 ColorandTonality .......................21 Dark-ToneMetering ...................43 “Seeing”theScene: HighlightDetailMetering ...............43 HumanVisionvs.Photography ...........23 AverageValueMetering .................44 QualitiesofLight ........................25 ReflectedLight .......................25 5.VISUALIZINGTHESYSTEM ..............45 Specularvs.DiffuseLight ................27 Flare .................................45 SweetLight ..........................28 CameraSystemFlare ...................45 ScenicFlare ..........................46 3.THEZONESCALE ......................29 TonalRelationships ......................48 DarkZones(0,I,II) .....................30 Expansion/Compaction ...................49 Zone0(Black) ........................30 ZoneI(NearBlack) ....................31 6.DEVELOPMENT ........................53 ZoneII(PatternedDarkness) .............31 ThePaper .............................53 DetailZones(ZonesIII,IV,V,VI,andVII) ...32 TheFilm ..............................56 ZoneIII(ShadowDetail) ................32 PlottingFilmCurves .....................56 ZoneIV(DarkMiddleGray) .............32 ExactnessofDevelopment .................64 ZoneV(MiddleGray) ..................32 ZoneVI(LightMiddleGray) .............34 CONTENTS 3 7.MAKINGPHOTOGRAPHS ................65 10.THEZONESYSTEMFOR ZoneControlasanOverallConcept .........69 DIGITALPHOTOGRAPHY ................105 ZoneControlasaTonalSeparationConcept ...72 IssuesforDigitalPhotographyina IncidentMetering .......................76 ZoneSystemApproach ................107 FieldCharts ............................76 DefiningthePartsofaDigitalZoneSystem ...112 Testing ...............................112 8.IN-CAMERACONTRASTCORRECTION .....79 DigitalZoneExposure ...................115 Filters .................................79 UsingtheDigitalSystem .................118 DodgingExposure .......................83 Post-CaptureProcessing..................119 Preexposure ............................85 Output ...............................122 ReciprocityFailureCompensation ...........87 HighDynamicRangeImaging .............124 UsingReciprocityFailureforExpansion .......89 CONCLUSION 9.ADVANCEDPRINTINGTECHNIQUES .......93 APersonalApproachtotheVisualLanguage ..125 GlobalControls .........................93 DevelopmentControl ....................93 Index ................................126 Multi-ContrastPrinting ...................97 LocalControl ..........................97 FilterDodgingandBurning ...............100 Flashing ..............................101 Bleaching .............................102 Intensifying/ToningNegatives .............104 n. a m er d u R d vi a D y b o ot h P ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Glenn Rand has taught and administered in public national,theMinistryofEducationofFinland,andmany education, community colleges, and universities since otherbusinessesandseveralcolleges.Aspartofhiscon- 1996.Since2001hehastaughtinthegraduateprogram sultingfortheEastmanKodakCompany,hetraveledand atBrooksInstituteinSantaBarbara,CA,whereheserves lecturedonhowtomaximizeTmaxfilmswhentheywere as acting graduate program chairman. In conjunction firstreleased. with these academic roles and consulting he has devel- Black & white photographs by Glenn Rand are held oped and reorganized several curricula for fine art pho- inthecollectionsofthirtypublicmuseumsintheUnited tography,commercialphotography,digitalimaging,and States, Europe, and Japan and are widely exhibited. His allied curricula. His teaching has included courses in photographs have also been published in editorial, illus- lighting,aswellascommercialandfineartphotography. trative,andadvertisingfunctions. He received his bachelors degree and master of arts Hehaspublishedandlecturedextensivelyaboutpho- fromPurdueUniversity.Heearnedadoctoratefromthe tography and digital imaging, covering topics ranging UniversityofCincinnati,centeringonthepsychologyof from commercial aesthetics to the technical fine points educational spaces, and did post-doctoral research as a oflighting.Heistheauthorofnumerousbooksandcon- visiting scholar at the University of Michigan. Since the tributes regularly to various periodicals, such as Range- early 1980s, his extra-academic research has included findermagazine,ofwhichheisacontributingeditor. computer-basedimaging. Asaconsultant,Rand’sclientshaveincludedtheFord Motor Company, Photo Marketing Association Inter- ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS CHRISTOPHER BROUGHTON—Christopher Broughton known photographers, such as John Sexton, through earnedhisBSandMSinprofessionalphotographyfrom short courses and workshops. David works in Sacra- Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, CA, where he served mento, CA, where he exhibits and has his work pub- as Director of Laboratory Operations while completing lished. While transitioning to digital photography, his Masters of Science degree. Prior to becoming a full- David’s photographic experiences are heavily weighted time faculty member at the Brooks Institute in 1996, withhisblack&whitephotography. Broughton also served as faculty for University of Pitts- burgh’s“SemesteratSea”program.Hehasauthoredar- ROBERTSMITH—RobertSmith(BA,MS)isalong-time ticles in Petersen’s Photographic, Outdoor Photographer, facultymemberatBrooksInstituteinSantaBarbara,CA, PC Photo, and Studio Photography & Design Magazines, whotaughtfulltimeformorethantwentyyearsandre- andhasbeenafeaturedlecturerforHasselbladUSA,and mains a part-time faculty member. Before coming to Eastman Kodak. Broughton’s black & white photogra- Brooks,Smith’scareerincludedcelebrityportraitureand phyisexhibitedandrepresentedbyArtMattersinLong advertisingphotography.Hispersonalworkseekstocap- Beach, CA; Robin Fold of The Golden Orb, CA; The turetheplayoflightanddesignonthenaturallandscape, GriffinGalleryinVeniceBeach,CA;andtheSilverLight and in the unexpected abstraction found in abandoned, GalleryinCarmel,CA. man-madeobjects.Hisphotographsareincludedinpri- vate,corporate,andmuseumcollections,andexhibitedin DAVIDRUDERMAN—DavidRudermanhasbeenmaking manyone-manandgroupexhibitions. photographs for many years and has studied with well- 5 ABOUTTHEAUTHOR INTRODUCTION As photographers, we see the effects of light falling on our subjects and are drawn to create images so we can share the visual excitement. However, in order to best communicate our vision to viewers of our photographs, we mustrelyonsometoolsandprocessesthatallowustoeffectivelyconveyour impressions.TheZoneSystemisoneofthesetools.Itallowsustoprecisely recordourvisualimpressionoftheworldandtellsomeoneelsewhatwesaw in the most beautiful of visual languages: the language of black & white Facingpage—PhotobyGlennRand. Below—PhotobyChristopherBroughton. photography. THECONCEPT TheZoneSystemlooksatthephotographicprocesswiththefinishedprod- uct in mind. Putting consideration of the print at the beginning of the cre- ativeprocessmeansthattheendoftheprocessisasimportantasfindingthe subjectforthephotograph.Thisideaisknownasprevisualization. Topresentviewers witha printthatmatches our creative vision,we must haveaclearideaofthewaythatlightaffectsthesceneandthewaythevisual information in the scene will be recorded on the negative. We must be able THEZONESYSTEMLOOKSATTHE tocontrolexposuretoensurethewidestrangeoftones,fromblacktowhite PHOTOGRAPHICPROCESSWITHTHE (measured in zones in this system) and capture detail within all important FINISHEDPRODUCTINMIND. areasofthescene.Whenwecapturethesequalitiesonthenegative,wemust maximizethedevelopmentprocesstoensurethatwecanprintanimagethat matchesourcreativevision. ThoughtheZoneSystemmayseemcomplicated,followingthestepsthe methodrequireswillallowyoutobecomeconsistentinthewayyouworkand leadtobetterresults.Asyoubecomemoreandmoreconsistent,youbecome free to say more with your photographs. When consistency replaces “happy accidents,”yourvisionwillemerge. ThoughusingtheZoneSystemcanensurethattheimageyouproduceis technically excellent, following the approach alone does not make a picture art.Afterall,whatdoesitmatterhowelegantlyyouspeakifyouhavenoth- ingtosay?Sowhilethemainemphasisofthisbookisthetechnicalapproach to making excellent black & white photographs, it will be your vision and interpretation of the world around you and how you communicate this throughblack&whitephotographythatdeterminesyoursuccessasanartist. PhotobyDavidRuderman. CHAPTER ONE GETTING STARTED UsingtheZoneSystemrequiresascientificapproachtocreatingart.Topro- duce images that match our creative vision, we must fully understand and anticipate the way the existing light affects the scene, how to best capture detail,andhowtorefinethedevelopmentprocesssothatthefinalprintsings. WhenphotographersmasterthestepsoutlinedintheZoneSystem,theycan easily predict (previsualize) the outcome of their prints. With the technical successoftheimageassured,wehavemorementalenergythatcanbeputto- wardseeingandcomposingourphotographs. VARIABLESANDCONSTANTS Over five-thousand variables (or, more specifically, combinations of factors) are atplay whencreatingimages—notincludingthe effects of filtrationand advancedprintingtechniques.Thelightinthescene,theexposure,thefilm typeandISO,theshutterspeedsandaperture,thevariablesatplayindevel- oping the film, and the options we are faced with in printing our images all affecttheoutcomeofourimages. Withsomuchvariability,theoddsthatwewillnotachieveourgoalincon- veyingourartisticvisionarehigh.Forthisreason,oneofthemostimportant USINGTHEZONESYSTEM taskswemustundertakewhenbeginningtousetheZoneSystemistocon- REQUIRESASCIENTIFICAPPROACH trolandeliminatesomeofthevariablesandtheiroveralleffectonourwork. TOCREATINGART. Thisprocessofstandardizationisthekeytoachievinggoodresults.Without it,youcannotpredicttheoutcomeofyourefforts. Ofthemanyvariables,theonlyfactorthatliesoutsideourcontrol(unless we’re working in the studio) is the light. For this reason, it is considered an independentvariable—meaningwecan’tcontrolhowitchanges.Theother aspects of the photographic process (development and printing), however, areeitherdependentvariables(wecancontrolhowtheychange)orconstants (theydon’tchange). Bycontrollingthedependentvariablesinthephotographicsystem,wecan compensatefortheeffectoftheconstantsandtheindependentvariables. GETTINGSTARTED 9 CONTROLLINGVARIABLES Above—PhotobyDavidRuderman. Aperture and Shutter Speed Calibration. Shutter speed calibration is the Facingpage—PhotobyRobertSmith. first step in standardizing our photographic process. If a spring mechanism creates the shutter speeds, the speeds may vary based on the strength, age, and reliability of the spring—and this introduces an unwanted variable into ourimaging.Useashutterspeedtesterorgotoacamerarepairshoptohave thelenstested.Unlesstheshutterspeedsarefaroutofline(morethanafac- torof1/ stop),theknownvariationcanbeaddedintotheexposurecalcula- 3 tion. If there is a significant or inconsistent difference between the marked andactualspeeds,thelensorshuttersystemshouldberepaired. The aperture settings on most cameras click into position to ensure that the manufacturer’s setting is maintained. If this is “sloppy,” have your lens SHUTTERSPEEDCALIBRATIONIS checkedatacamerarepairshop. THEFIRSTSTEPINSTANDARDIZING Film Speed Test. Another important step in preparing to use the Zone OURPHOTOGRAPHICPROCESS. Systemisthefilmspeedtest.Conductingthetestwillallowyoutoensurethat the ISO setting on your camera is matched to the published ISO rating of yourselectedfilm.Thetestingprocessinvolvesafewsimplesteps: Metering.Takingalightmeterreadingallowsustounderstandthewaythe light in our scene will affect our exposure. It is a critical step in creating a 10 FILM&DIGITALTECHNIQUESFORZONESYSTEMPHOTOGRAPHY
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