So, how do we create our photographic profile? How do we start rejecting scenes? How do we put to use the tool called "decisive moment"? One thing to consider is whether a scene deserves to be printed, framed and hung in our living room or office. Would you want that scene to be around you all the time? Would you make that scene your PC or smartphone wallpaper? Would you keep that frame in your living room for years to come? Does this scene emit a special message or thought that you would want to communicate with others?
An alternative view on the "decisive moment"
Text-Photo: Theo Kefalopoulos
I guess most of us are familiar with the term "decisive moment". It was coined by the well known photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson yet mainly related to street photography. In short, this term describes the procedure and choices made to select how and when to take a photograph, to be able to see an interesting scene and select the right moment to be captured. Indeed, the decisive moment is one of the most powerful tools of a photographer, it grows up with the creator and helps him realize when it is the right moment for a successful shot.
But to me it is more than that. The decisive moment also works in the reverse direction and can become a tool to help us realize when it is NOT the right moment to take a shot. As most of us know, there is a growing philosophy in every photographer's profile that relates to photos called "keepers". These are the photos that we decide to keep and process later on. However, the decisive moment of knowing when not to take a shot is something even deeper. Even though keepers are select photos of a scene of photographic interest, the decisive moment works even earlier. It is an intuitive process to decide whether we will interact with a scene or not.
Many workshops and tutorials give great value to the time and effort spent on constant shooting. They encourage us to take shots every day if possible as this is a crucial factor for us to become successful photographers. Why so? Well, apart from the general aspect of success, there is also another important reason to do so. It's because through a constant interaction with photography we learn to do our personal screening, to create aesthetic filters and mold our photographic profile based on what we as individuals reckon as an interesting scene, a scene worth shooting.
Going out and taking shots of everything and thinking that everything "deserves" to be an interesting scene is wrong and might only be of use in our first steps in the world of photography. But we need to grow sooner or later, we need to start rejecting scenes and be as eclectic as possible if we want to create a solid photographic profile and relate to specific photography genres. We might even make whole photo trips and end up with no shot taken at all if that's the right thing to do (at least we will enjoy the trip!).
So, how do we create our photographic profile? How do we start rejecting scenes? How do we put to use the tool called "decisive moment"? One thing to consider is whether a scene deserves to be printed, framed and hung in our living room or office. Would you want that scene to be around you all the time? Would you make that scene your PC or smartphone wallpaper? Would you keep that frame in your living room for years to come? Does this scene emit a special message or thought that you would want to communicate with others? Does this scene mean anything special to you? Would you decide to sell this frame to someone and be proud of it? All these questions are some key elements of the decisive moment. But being hasty and overenthusiastic on our decisions and thinking that almost all of what we see deserves to be a hanged photo is wrong.
There is a long but quality road to take if we want to create an effective photographic profile and put our aesthetic filters to use. And in this process, one thing is for certain: as you are the one that makes the decisions, you come to realize that your decisive moment cannot be a copycat of someone else's decisive moment and as such it is designed according to your intimate approach to photography.