Photography | The Decisive Moment

© 2011 Wazari Wazir | The King of Malaysia (Black Dress) and Sultan of Selangor  | Istana Alam Shah | Klang Selangor

“The decisive moment, it is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression.”

– Henri Cartier-Bresson –

There is a lot of talk debating about this “the decisive moment” definition, but I like this definition “A candid photograph taken at the precise moment which defines or illustrates the entire story or action.” Personally I think it is a photograph taken at it’s peak moment or when the moment is at it’s best. Let say if I just take this photograph of The King and The Sultan of Selangor walking towards the stair without that hands gestures, it is still a moment but not at it’s best and I personally think that when they show a hand gesture like what you have seen here make it the best moment and personally I think this is a “decisive moment”.

The decisive moment is not about action photography alone but it is an action at it’s peak or at its best. take for an example if you take a photograph of a politician speaks at the rostrum, for me the peak or the decisive moment is when the politician makes a hand gesture and it’s perfectly match with his expression, that’s a decisive moment, that’s why if you are alert when watching the News on the TV when a politician make a hand gesture, suddenly you saw a bright light shining on their face non stop, it is a sign  that the photographers wait for that gesture to take the shot. That’s the moment that they have been waiting for.

You may agree or disagree with me, you are entitled to your own opinion but for me “The Decisive Moment” is a moment where the actions happens at it’s best or at it’s peak. Even if you take a sports photography where each frame is an action shot, it doesn’t mean that every single frame can be considered as the decisive moment, there must be few frames that qualify to be called as the decisive moments, for an example when sprinter reach the finishing line and he or she touch the finishing ribbon and at the same time raise his or her hands and shows happiness with his or her expression, that’s a great decisive moment.

Get The SecretHERE