It might seem obvious to list a step that says go out and make pictures, but for many it is almost counterintuitive.  That’s because they choose to concentrate on buying and selling gear, have too much gear and become paralyzed, or they are incessant testers and film and or developer changers (which necessitates more testing).

Now that you have determined your proper film speed and film development times, and know how to make a proper proof you have to get out there and make photographs. That’s right. Don’t worry, the camera(s) and lens(s) you have are good enough to make great pictures.  They key is your own ideas, vision and creativity. If you are stuck, think of a project and start working on it. Be open to all that is around you and don’t feel that you have to travel to “interesting” or exotic places in order to think of photographing. I have discussed all of this before, but it bears repeating!

I added something to the name of this step … make sure your exposures are correct. When I was younger, my exposures were often incorrect. The results were not what I wanted, or the negatives required herculean measures to extract a good print. I heard about the Zone System and then read Ansel Adam’s book The Negative.  I couldn’t get it but mercifully found Fred Picker’s Zone System Workshop. Everything soon fell into place and all was well in my photographic world.  If you don’t own this book, it’s worth tracking down.

Key point going forward – if you don’t make correct exposures when you are in the field you have wasted your time with all your testing. The first thing on the road to exposure success is to understand that your meter is dumb and sees the world in grey – 18% grey to be exact.  That’s Zone V in the Zone System.  In the Zone VI Workshop Picker uses the example of making pictures of white and black horses using the recommended meter readings for each one.  Looking at the results, both horses are grey.  Once I saw this it all clicked.  Simple and brilliant!  The point is that aiming at your subject and relying on what your meter says may get you acceptable results but not the fidelity you are seeking in your final print. 

Most Zone System guys will tell you to expose for the shadows, placing your shadow area on Zone III.  In a slight variant Bruce Barnbaum recommends placing shadows at Zone IV for greater shadow detail. 

An alternative and easy method is to hold a grey card (Zone V) in front of you, take a meter reading of it and set you shutter speed and aperture accordingly. Everything in the scene will fall into place.

My method is to do one of two things. When I am in a fast moving situation such as when making candid photographs, I take a reading of the palm of my hand, making sure there are now shadows falling upon it and open up one stop to Zone VI from what the meter says (Zone V), because Caucasian skin is Zone VI.  Then I keep making pictures without checking the light until it changes. Fast and easy and no need to carry a grey card! If I am making a photograph of a non-moving subject, e.g., a building, or landscape scene, I take a reading of the brightest portion of what I am photographing, open up three stops to Zone VIII and make the photograph. Also fast and easy, and the heart of Fred Picker’s Maximum Printable Density (MPD) user-friendly variation of the Zone System. Note for all serious Zone System photographers: I only use Normal development times and don’t worry about making exposures for Plus and Minus development. I agree with Picker that changes in paper contrasts obviate this, but for others this may be a useful procedure.

Once you have done your testing, and feel confident in your ability to make good exposures you are on your way. A simple reading of the palm of your hand/grey card or use Picker’s MPD system depending on the situation takes much less time and thought, allowing you to concentrate more on the picture itself. It certainly works that way for me!

Unfortunately, many photographers treat the Zone System as a religion that takes serious and ongoing study to unlock its many mysteries. There have been weeklong workshops focused exclusively on the intricacies of the Zone System and for many it became akin to cult worship.  The point of the Zone System is to make sense of sensitometry and apply it in order to make properly exposed negatives that developed correctly enable expressive prints. Nothing more; nothing less! The key is to find an easy and understandable way to incorporate its principles in support of your work.

Now that we have got all this out of the way, go out and make some damn good pictures!