<p>I know Im a little late to the party but I decided I wanted to learn the zone system. Im starting to pull my hair out. I picked up The Zone system for 35mm photographers by Carson Graves and everything was going great until he got into the application. I understand the zones. What I am not understanding is how do you move one part of the scene to a zone and not influence another? <br>
An example he gives is a portrait. He has a bush in the shade in the back and people posing in the foreground. He wants the bush in zone IV. It is metered at f/5.6 at 1/60. He wants the face in VI. It was metered at f/8 at 1/250. <br /> He goes on to say that the most important part of this pic is the skin. That it is critical it is in zone VI. Makes sense. But he then goes on to set the exposure to the bush.<br>
He keeps the f/5.6 and adjusts the shutter to 1/125. Which definitely puts the bush in zone IV. How is the skin not in zone VII now? If getting accurate skin is the most important part and he wants it in zone VI, why wouldnt he set the exposure at f/5.6 at 1/250? If the face is metered at f/8 at 1/250, opening the aperture one stop should get it into zone VI. He says by using f/5.6 at 1/125, the skin is in VI, while the shade is in IV. It seems to me, based on the lighting, that there is no way for the face to be in zone VI and the bush to be in zone IV.<br>
Any help would be much appreciated.<br>
Thanks,<br>
Sean</p>