Zone Ruler

May 26th, 2015
Hello,

I finally signed up to do an online photography course with The Photography Institute and I am learning about Ansel Adams' "ZONES". I am finding it very interesting to say the least. I am wondering if anyone knows how to build your own zone ruler with Lightroom 5... I know you can build them with Photoshop and Elements but I don't have those programs. I can't find anything on the net so just wondering whether it is possible at all. It does say in the module that only these 2 programs do it but thought maybe the newer versions of Lightroom (5&6) have this option.
Cheers

Cybelle
May 26th, 2015
I know of nothing in LR to do that.

The original AA system was developed for a very special sort of film and very special sort of subject, non-moving, and over which Mr.Adams could take a lot of time to ponder and compose. Very few people followed him there. A progression from this in the Digital Age, mostly in post-processing, has recently seen some adherents. If you are really interested, look into the LightZone project that defines zones and can even make relative exposure adjustments to these zones in post processing. http://lightzoneproject.org/
May 26th, 2015
@frankhymus thanks Frank. You always comment on my posts :) thanks for taking the time and I'll look into lightzone cheers
May 26th, 2015
Don't know if it's possible but I do know at images.google.com searching on 'zone system' turns up many downloadable zone rulers. Before switching from GIMP to Lightroom, I used a 'grayscale monitor test' image (also found via google) for selects on a narrow luminosity range.
May 27th, 2015
@cybelle @frankhymus Nik SilverEfex Pro has a built in tone ruler which is a helpful guide when adjusting the image and you can do selective adjustment on specific areas.

Frank, I hadn't heard of the Lightzone project - it looks fascinating if somewhat complicated... have you tried it?
May 27th, 2015
Building a zone ruler specifically for your camera is relatively easy enough to do but I don't have the Lightroom skills to do it (I used Photoshop for mine). You will need an 18% grey card though. Please don't pay any heed to people who tell you that the internal compartments of a Lowepro bag are 18% grey - it's not true (I know because I contacted Lowepro and asked them!). If you want any hints and tips then visit my project and let me know and I will try and lay out the steps for you.
May 27th, 2015
@vignouse I haven't tried it Richard.
May 28th, 2015
@fotoblah I did a google search in images.google.com and all it came up with was images. I'll have a further look when I have time though. Cheers
May 28th, 2015
@vignouse Can you make one specific to your own camera in that one Richard?
May 28th, 2015
@creampuff Yes I have used the grey card to get my range of stops. My camera has 11. Apparently Lightroom doesn't have the ability to do it. So I might try registering for Lightzone as @frankhymus mentioned and go from there. Thanks :D
May 28th, 2015
@cybelle No, it's simply a tool to aid you in processing a picture to have a full range of tones.
Write a Reply
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.