Teach Yourself the Simplified Zone System of Light Measurement

I read the reveiws here, and I was a little worried about the ones that say this book is confusing. If you're looking for a simple cook-book that tells you how to use aperture to blur the background and that 'composition is very important' so yes, this is not the book you're looking for. BUT, if you are looking for a book to help you take good pictures, this is a must have. First understand what you're looking for: If you bought your digital camera and want to take better pictures and you don't know about aperture or exposure or you feel more confortable using it in "Auto mode", you should buy "Understanding Exposure", really good book. If you want to really understand how to take better pictures, you're willing to make excercises, and go over 200 pages without looking at a color photograph of a sunset or an old man, this is a VERY good book. Everyone wants to be an astronaut and see the earth from space, but nobody wants to study mathematics and physics. If you want better pictures, there's a thousand books out there, some of them very good. But if you really want to study photography and achieve the best pictures, and really take the time to do it, begin by buying this book, it's not complicated. You may want to see it this way: it's no more complicated than learning what you must know in order to take a really good picture. My advice is: First read then buy. If you understand you're not buying a book of 100 colorfull sunsets and girls with soap bubbles, you'll learn a lot. If you don't, please don't post a message saying the book is confusing.

If you rely on the camera to find the exposure for you, or you tend to use the automatic modes, or if you have a feeling there's something the photographers you admire do that you're not doing... you NEED read Mr. Farzad's books! I started off trying to figure out what it was that the photographers I admire were doing that I was missing, and discovered his website. Immediately, I knew that here was an example of a photographer whose work I really admired. When the box of books arrived, I was surprised how heavy it was. I kind of expected the books to be of a lot less substance than they were. These aren't booklets, as has been the case when I bought some "books" on photography in the past. These are full sized and well made books, and they are full of exactly the information you need to figure out how to expose pretty much anything correctly. When I first learned what the technique was and began to understand it, I must say it was a little scary to disregard the camera's reccomendations. Then, after a bit of experimentation, I started realizing that I actually could get the same sort of gorgeous exposures that Mr. Farzad was getting. Now, I feel confident that I can expose correctly for pretty much anything. I almost never use the exposures recommended by the camera, and I almost never use automatic modes anymore. I'm also getting some very positive comments since I started applying these techniques. And after a little practice, I know exactly what adjustments to make simply at a glance at the subject! Mr. Farzad is very obviously a teacher. The books do not assume you know anything about the subject, so they begin at the beginning. That, coupled with the proper teaching techniques (repetition, approaching the concept from multiple directions, and working to get people with different learning styles to understand) can make the books a bit slow to read if you are already familiar with some of the basics. However if you stick with it, you'll end up like me, confident and achieving much better photographic results! I truely believe that nobody can be a top notch photographer without applying this knowledge. There have been other reviews that said that if you buy one book, you shouldn't buy the other. I disagree. While the spotmetering book does share some information with the zone system book, there is enough different information that I personally was glad to have them both. Also, I disagree with the reviewer who said that these techniques do not apply to other films besides slide film. On the contrary, there are explanations for all films, color negative, bw negative, slide and digital! Remember, there is sometimes a difference between "correct exposure" and "desired exposure". After learning this, I have achieved a whole new dimension of skill. With these books, a decent lens and some practice, you too can be producing fantastic photography!

This guy isn't just trying to sell books or prove how talented he is. You can tell that the author is a teacher and has lots of experience helping people learn about exposure. If you're a somewhat experienced photographer, you might find your eyes crossing for the first couple of chapters because of how boring and repetitious they are. The author doesn't want to leave anyone behind, so it's kind of a slow paced book. However, if you can make it through those chapters and read the whole book you will find yourself completely understanding photographic exposure. I've been taking pictures for years with some nice cameras and this is the first time I've ever felt comfortable and confident about the pictures I was taking.Another thing that's awesome about this book is that it is perfect for digital camera users. Let me say this:I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK IF YOU USE A DIGITAL CAMERA. OTHER BOOKS LIKE "THE NEGATIVE" WHILE INFORMATIVE WILL JUST LEAVE YOU CONFUSED WHEN IT COMES TO SHOOTING DIGITAL.As far as I know this is the only book on photographic exposure that's very well suited for digital photography.Another thing that I really like about this book is that the author is a teacher and has a lot of experience teaching the subject matter to his students. He probably knows from teaching what people find confusing and how to best explain it to them. You'll be reading along and something may seem a little confusing. Well, before you have a chance to rack your brain about it, the author addresses it and puts it into laymen's terms. Sometimes he explains the same concept two or three different ways. One last comment on the book. I also appreciated the fact that he threw in lots of extra stuff that wasn't really necessary like different ways to figure out exposure under different circumstances without an exposure meter or a spot meter. He covers lighting, moonlight, and even fireworks. He even helped me understand why the Ansel Adams approach to the Zone System didn't really work with my digital camera. I've used my camera like ten times as much since reading this book. I noticed a couple of poor reviews right before I started writing this one. It seems that some people find it to be a little too simple. Remember, this is not an advanced book. The words "simplified" and "confused" in the title might have tipped you off! If you already understand the zone system, how to use your cameras spot meter, and how to use a light meter to get good exposures, then this book is definitely not for you. However, if you're afraid to put your camera on manual mode and aren't quite sure how to get a good exposure with your camera, then this is the book for you.

First off....if you buy this book skip Dr. Farzad's other book on "On Camera Spotmetering". This book includes the latter. In fact many pages in the Zone System book are simply lifted from the Spotmetering book (or is it the other way around?). Either way the Zone System book is a more thorough review of the exposure techniques and not that much more complicated that the on camera spotmetering book. In fact I find both books very easy to understand. Any beginning photographer should read this book. The book does have some minor typo errors and is only in black and white print (appropriately enough I think since camera light meters see everything in shades of grey...no color is involved) but it explains the subject well. It is repitious though and I often lose my patience with author as he repeats the same points over and over again. However, if you consider who the target audience is (artists are not very technically inclined....and would be terrified by involved theory) Dr. Farzad is right on track. Still as an engineer I am not used to this level of repition in the texts I read. It requires a little patience but the photographer is well rewarded with a better appreciation and understanding of how to take good photographs.

I can honestly say that anyone who has ever looked through a camera's viewfinder can benefit from this book. Bahman Fazard takes an otherwise confusing aspect of photography and put it in a format that anyone can understand. Like most amateur photographers, I viewed EXPOSURE as the "Rocket Science" of photography. The more I read on the subject the more confused I became. "The Confused Photographer's Guide to Photographic Exposure and the Simplified Zone System" by Bahman Fazard has taken the mystery out of obtaining the correct exposure. This book is a MUST for all photographers striving to be a little better.