Previsualization is the practice of imagining the finished photograph before you make the exposure. The photographer looks at the scene and decides how the final print should look, including its tones, contrast and mood. Then they choose the exposure, development and printing to reach that result.
The idea is most closely linked to Ansel Adams, who used the word "visualization" and made it the basis of the Zone System. Today "previsualization" is the more common term for the same idea.
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