1) They are too mathematical and scare people away. In this book, I have no formulas or mathematical equations.  The only math you need to understand and apply the concept is the ability to count the number of fingers on your hand and to be able to multiply and divide by 2.

2) They are mainly written for larger format cameras.  An average photographer does not have the opportunity of seeing and working with a view camera. The techniques that you will learn in this book are basic and applicable to whichever camera and metering system that you use.

3) Current books mainly use the black and white negative as the primary medium. The major drawback of the black and white negative is that it takes a skilled person to judge its correct density and contrast. Many photographers lack the skill and necessary equipment to do this. Also, black and white photography usually requires access to a darkroom!

In this book none of these drawbacks will be of your concern! We will be using slide film instead of the negative. This eliminates the majority of the problems arising when using a negative. The following is a quick comparison:

a) Unlike the black and white film, slide film is positive film.  You need not be an expert to judge your exposure errors.

b) Once the film is exposed, you can take the film to the processing lab. You do not have to worry about any darkroom work.

c) Unlike black and white film, slide processing is tightly controlled.  You will also be certain that, unlike with the negative, no one will second guess your exposure.  With slide film, "What You Take Is What You Get."

d) Unlike black and white film, slide film is not very forgiving. It quickly reminds you of your exposure errors by darkened lowlights or washed-out highlights (we will learn about this later). Please understand that once you have learned this technique, you can apply it to a black and white as well as to a color negative. Slide film is designed to get you started, to give you discipline, and to keep you on the right track.

4) Current books cover the entire system of light measurement, including film development and printing. An average photographer is usually not interested in the entire package. In this book I plan to improve the light measurement skills that affect your picture before you press the shutter release button.

5) Most books currently on the market look at light measurement strictly through the Zone System. In this book you will learn the techniques of light measurement including the Zone System. The fact is that there is no one method of light measurement or equipment that works well under all different situations.

6) Almost all books use pictures to teach the beginner the difference between the tones and how every tone relates to standard tones. In this book I use computer generated tones to illustrate this concept. In my experience, the novice photographer grasps the idea quicker if examples and illustrations include manufactured tones than actual tones produced by a photograph.

For properly exposing your subject under different lighting situations, you need to be able to use the type of metering system that yields the best results. At times, when you have an emergency in the middle of nowhere, you must be able to use your camera without any metering system. It could be sunny, overcast or simply a moonlit landscape.  I will also be covering these techniques in this book.

My objective is to teach you, the interested photographer, the joy of light measurement, through practical and easy-to-understand methods. This will give you control over the final quality of the image. I assume that you know nothing about the subject of light measurement, or that your knowledge is minimal. Otherwise you would not be reading this book.

In writing this book, I have made a few assumptions about you.

I assume that you are familiar with handling your camera, such as changing the shutter speed and/or aperture settings to take a picture. Consequently, I will not cover the elementary ideas of the camera. There are many good books already published on this subject.

I have also assumed that you are not happy with your pictures and that you are searching for a method that will enable you to control the final look of your image.

On the subject of light metering equipment, I will be covering them all! These include:

1) Your camera’s meter,

2) An exposure meter used as a reflective meter,

3) An exposure meter used as an incident meter and finally,

4) An off-camera spotmeter.

Copyright 1999, The confused photographer's guide to photographic exposure and the Simplified ZoneSystem by Bahman Farzad

In Chapters 2 and 3, your primary equipment will be your camera. You can learn the idea of light measurement by simply using the meter in your manual camera.  If you have an automatic camera, use its manual override feature. Automatic cameras without a manual override do not lend themselves to exposure manipulation, which is what you will be doing, and cannot be used for this purpose. If you want to buy a camera, buy a camera that can be operated in a manual exposure mode.  Although inexpensive manual cameras are getting harder and harder to find, fortunately the Pentax K1000 or Pentax ZX-M with a 50mm/f-2 Pentax lens would do the job. It is inexpensive (about $250 with f-2 lens) and is a proven camera. Other cameras include Nikon FM10, Olympus OM-2000, Canon Rebel-G and some others. Many of the Nikon series have a powerful built-in spotmetering capability. If you can afford to spend the extra money, a camera with a built-in spotmeter such as Pentax ZX-5N or Nikon N70 offer you the best  spotmetering value for your money and are perfect for the Zone System applications. Canon cameras such as Elan II E has a less accurate metering feature which is called "Partial Metering". Elan, equipped with a longer lens can also be used successfully in the applications of the Zone System.

Having an off-camera spotmeter or the spotmetering option in your camera will help you to apply your camera to the Zone System more easily.

A spotmeter (works very much like the meter in your camera but has a very narrow angle of measurement) will prove very useful in the advanced stages of this book. However, although it makes life easier,  you do not need to have a spotmeter to understand the foundations of light measurement.

To summarize,  when you take a picture, you should be able to set the aperture, shutter speed and the ISO to anything that you wish. If your camera prevents you from performing any of these functions, do not buy it since it limits the scope of your participation in creating the final image.

Please make sure that you read Chapter 2 thoroughly. This Chapter gives you the general idea of the subject.  This is the most important chapter in the book because it provides the basis for all that you will learn in the coming chapters.

When you are reading this book and find that you do not understand the material, most likely you have skipped over something along the way.  This book is like a chain.  If you miss one step, there is a good chance that you will not understand the rest.

For some of you, depending on your experience and expectations from this book,  Chapters 2 and 3  may be all that you need to learn! For those of you who are interested in learning all the details of this system, you also need to read and understand the rest of the book.  

To absorb this subject properly, you must  take your time while reading it. Do not read the subject one night and expect to master the technique the next day. The idea, although simple, takes time to absorb and to apply correctly. It is also essential that you should keep on using the technique so that it becomes like second nature to you. If sometimes you become confused and start thinking backwards, that is,  "opening-up" the aperture instead of "closing it down," do not worry, it is a part of the learning process and it happens to everybody.  With a little bit of practice, you will put it behind you.  The five simple assignments that are given in Chapter 2 set the tone for understanding the ZoneSystem of reflective light measurement.   Please remember, you must read and understand the entire chapter before performing these assignments. To save you time, money, and to achieve exposure and processing consistency, you must perform all of these assignments on the same roll of slide film. These simple assignments, as dull as they may look, are necessary if you want to understand the subject. Performing these assignments will also give you a foothold and help you to understand the subject more quickly.