Photography 101 – Lesson 4 – The Decisive Moment

The Decisive Moment! What is it? How can it give your images IMPACT?

Caveat: Like with all other theories in photography, The Decisive Moment is just a theory. Not everyone agrees with using The Decisive Moment, and many think it stifles creativity. However, as with all other theories, it is important to understand them and to know when to use or not use the rules of thumb in your own photography.

In the preface to the English edition of his book, The Decisive Moment, (the original French version is entitled Images à la Sauvette, ) Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 – 2004) quoted Cardinal de Retz (1613 – 1679) :

“There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment.”

Over the years, what Cartier-Bresson meant by The Decisive Moment in his own work has been somewhat misunderstood. Photographers use the term when they simply capture a person at the right moment, with the right expression. This is not what Cartier-Bresson had in mind at all when he used the term The Decisive Moment.

This quote byCartier-Bresson gives a clue to what he really meant by the term:

Photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression.

So, first there is a composition that is just waiting for something else to appear in it in order to make the composition complete. Cartier-Bresson would look through the camera lens at a scene, and when someone stepped into the scene, he would just sense just the right moment to click the shutter. It was the The Decisive Moment - the moment when the composition became complete. Therefore, there is usually some kind of motion involved with The Decisive Moment.

I was taking a photograph of the beach with my iPhone in this shot, when a senior man on a bike entered the scene, and I clicked the shutter! I believe that without the beach bike and man entering the scene, this would have been just another beach shot! Instead, I added something of interest to the scene and it all came together at The Decisive Moment. Do you agree?

man beach bike.jpg
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.

beach no man.jpg
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.

So, grab your camera or your cellphone and see what you can capture by waiting for The Decisive Moment when everything comes together to create something special in your scene!

In Lesson 1 of Photography 101, I covered the different ways an image can have IMPACT and in Lesson 2, I covered how using The Rule Of Thirds can create IMPACT.
In Lesson3, I covered how using one predominant color in an image can create IMPACT.

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LESSON 4 ASSIGNMENT – AN IMAGE SHOWING CAPTURE AT THE DECISIVE MOMENT

Remember to add #photography101 as a tag, so that others can find and critique your work! Let's see what happens when you click the shutter at The Decisive Moment!

For a better chance for your work to be found by others, please post a link in this post.

The Decisive Moment challenge will finish next Sunday, November 5. I look forward to seeing your work!

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