Zone System Simplified (extremely):(posted 9252 days ago)Zone I is pure black. Zone IX (nine) is pure white. Zone II is one stop lighter than Zone I, Zone III is one stop lighter than Zone II, etc.
Meter the shadows (the part you want darkest in your photograph that still has detail). Put this on Zone II (two).
Meter the highlights (the part you want lightest in your photograph and still have detail). This will fall on a higher Zone.
How does it fall? How many stops difference is it? If it is 6 stops difference, then it would be on Zone XIII (eight).
Your exposure is Zone V (five) but some people expose for Zone VI (six).
If the highlight is Zone VI or VII then it might not be white enough for you, so you'll need to increase the contrast in either the negative or the print. An increase in the contrast is a REDUCTION in the range of the negative.
If the highlight is in Zone IX or higher, you'll need to reduce the contrast in the negative or the print. A reduction in the contrast is an INCREASE in the range of the negative.
How do you reduce / increase the contrast in the negative? By developing for less time, you reduce the range or increase the contrast, by developing for more time, you increase the range or reduce the contrast.
How do you reduce / increase the contrast in the print? By using different grades of paper (or different filters on Variable Contrast paper).
That's it in a nutshell. All the rest is embellishments and how-to's.
Hope this helps, Andy Hughes http://darkroomsource.com/ dedicated to darkrooms