My attempt to clear up the misconceptions about "Zoning" and its ULTIMATE Objective
These links below are the most excellent examples I could find of "zoning" photos on the web!
Color Shots
1. black dog on black background
The dog blends perfectly into the background except its head and face. The focus is clear and there is still a "pure white" in the highlights which translates as NOT "flat." Most of the mid-tones are gone to achieve this effect. http://fabulousanimalrescueproject.blogspot.com/2011/10/happy-halloween.html
Black and White Photos
"Zoning" was actually created by Ansel Adams for black and white photography. If learned how to use properly, it can only improve your color photos since color photos can be as "flat" as black and white photos, in other words - they lack the "pure white" in the highlights and the "pure black" in the shadows. Again, most of the mid-tones (grays in the case of black and white photography) are gone!
The steps to getting there... learn the least and the most amount of light to let into your camera without losing your "pure white" in the highlights and the "pure black" in the shadows. Experiment! Yes, you will get some "washed out" looking shots with very little mid-tones but you can't achieve these excellent examples until you learn how to do just that!
Wonderful techniques! I will try it... I will just have to find a pure black background and pure white background. The sample photos looks so great. I really want to try if I can achieve the same result. Thanks Maggie for the wonderful information :D really appreciate it
@princesicita Thank you for your comments, Princess! Appreciate you stopping by! =)