Editing Zone System (section)

=== Zones as tone and texture ===

Adams (1981, 52) distinguished among three different exposure scales for the negative:

* The full range from black to white, represented by Zone&nbsp;0 through Zone&nbsp;X.
* The ''dynamic range'' comprising Zone&nbsp;I through Zone&nbsp;IX, which Adams considered to represent the darkest and lightest "useful" negative densities.
* The ''textural range'' comprising Zone&nbsp;II through Zone&nbsp;VIII. This range of zones conveys a sense of texture and the recognition of substance.

He noted that negatives can record detail through Zone&nbsp;XII and even higher, but that bringing this information within the exposure scale of the print is extremely difficult with normal processing.

Adams (1981, 60) described the zone scale and its relationship to typical scene elements:<ref>
Adams's description of zones and their application to typical scene elements was somewhat more extensive than the table in this article. The application of Zone&nbsp;IX to glaring snow is from Adams (1948).
</ref>
{| align="center"
! Zone !! Description
|- style="height: 3em;"
| style="border: 1px solid black; background-color: #000000; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; width: 3em; margin: 0; text-align: center;" | 0
| style="padding-left: 2em;" | Pure black - no detail
|- style="height: 3em;"
| style="border: 1px solid black; background-color: #1a1a1a; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; width: 3em; margin: 0; text-align: center;" | I
| style="padding-left: 2em;" | Near black, with slight tonality but no texture
|- style="height: 3em;"
| style="border: 1px solid black; background-color: #333333; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; width: 3em; margin: 0; text-align: center;" | II
| style="padding-left: 2em;" | Textured black; the darkest part of the image in which slight detail is recorded
|- style="height: 3em;"
| style="border: 1px solid black; background-color: #4d4d4d; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; width: 3em; margin: 0; text-align: center;" | III
| style="padding-left: 2em;" | Average dark materials and low values showing adequate texture
|- style="height: 3em;"
| style="border: 1px solid black; background-color: #666666; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; width: 3em; margin: 0; text-align: center;" | IV
| style="padding-left: 2em;" | Average dark foliage, dark stone, or landscape shadows
|- style="height: 3em;"
| style="border: 1px solid black; background-color: #808080; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; font-size: 150%; width: 3em; margin: 0; text-align: center;" | V
| style="padding-left: 2em;" | Middle gray: clear north sky; dark skin, average weathered wood
|- style="height: 3em;"
| style="border: 1px solid black; background-color: #999999; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; width: 3em; margin: 0; text-align: center;" | VI
| style="padding-left: 2em;" | Average Caucasian skin; light stone; shadows on snow in sunlit landscapes
|- style="height: 3em;"
| style="border: 1px solid black; background-color: #b3b3b3; font-weight: bold; width: 3em; margin: 0; text-align: center;" | VII
| style="padding-left: 2em;" |  Very light skin; shadows in snow with acute side lighting
|- style="height: 3em;"
| style="border: 1px solid black; background-color: #cccccc; font-weight: bold; width: 3em; margin: 0; text-align: center;" | VIII
| style="padding-left: 2em;" | Lightest tone with texture: textured snow
|- style="height: 3em;"
| style="border: 1px solid black; background-color: #e6e6e6; font-weight: bold; width: 3em; margin: 0; text-align: center;" | IX
| style="padding-left: 2em;" | Slight tone without texture; glaring snow
|- style="height: 3em;"
| style="border: 1px solid black; background-color: #fff; font-weight: bold; width: 3em; margin: 0; text-align: center;" | X
| style="padding-left: 2em;" | Pure white: light sources and specular reflections - paper white, no detail
|}

For cinematography, in general, parts of the scene falling in Zone&nbsp;III will have textured black, and objects on Zone VII will have textured white. In other words, if the text on a piece of white paper is to be readable, light and expose the white so that it falls on Zone&nbsp;VII. This is a rule of thumb. Some film stocks have steeper curves than others, and the cinematographer needs to know how each one handles all shades of black-to-white.