The Decisive Moment - Ideas please

[PhotoTurtle]

My current assignment for class is "The Decisive Moment". We've been working on it for about three weeks now. My teacher likes three of the photos that I have so far - a ball rolling down a slide, a girl on a swing and geese looking through a fence at each other.

On Thursday he wants us to do a mini presentation and talk about how its coming along, any problems we are finding doing this assignment, etc.

He's shown us some photos from some of the famous photographers that show the decisive moment to give us some examples.

I seem to struggle with figuring out what looks like a good photo. I never would have thought the geese worked for this assignment but he really liked it.

Anyway, for those of you who have some experience with the decisive moment can you give me some tips on this?

Btw, I am in a black and white film class so I won't know if I captured the shot until I develop the film. (that's part of the challenge).

 

[The_Traveler]

To be honest, I'm not certain what you are asking for.
Go take pictures of something about to happen inevitably.
Look at Cartier Bresson - who is the master of this special moment kind of stuff.
What you will get here inevitably is people showing their own 'moments.'

 

[sm4him]

Can you post the photo of the geese here for us? That might help us give you some insight as to why the teacher saw it as a "decisive" moment.

I don't know that we can "teach" you how to see "that moment" any better than your teacher is doing. That's the point of the assignments, and I suspect hearing others' presentations will help you as well.

I guess I'd say, think about what a decisive moment IS to you. To me, it's the moment just BEFORE--I mean a millisecond before-- *something* of import happens. In the goose photo, perhaps the geese are looking at each other in a way that suggests they are about to either fight, take flight or back down. THE moment before possible confrontation.

Maybe it's a kid, just about to be so overcome by how pretty the flower is that they can't stand it and must reach over and pluck it out of the ground.
A bird spreading its wing to take flight.
Maybe it's the moment you are holding your coffee cup up, just about to take that first sip of the morning nectar of the gods. (I've got quite the coffee fixation this morning, having had little sleep last night).

 

[gsgary]

It is any photo where a split second would be too late, i'm alway looking to shot the Decisive Moment i also shoot 95% B+W film
This is one of my favourite shots

Here's another

 

[Borad]

A bird getting ready to take flight and a startled animal are the first things I thought of and other students surely would use that so I wouldn't. I'd look for something more decisive than what you have but something not obvious. I'd take my time getting the ideas. I'd look around some and think some without looking around. Think about things people make decisions about. There are tons of things like that. When you think of something, keep thinking of others because the first things you think of have probably been thought of already.

 

[PhotoTurtle]

This is the geese one. Forgive the pic quality, I need to redo it but this is the photo my teacher liked for this project. To me it looks like the geese are gossiping, not fighting.

 

[PhotoTurtle]

Here are the other two that are ready for presentation.

 

[photoguy99]

The idea of the decisive moment is widely misunderstood.

It means the moment when there's a photo. It has nothing to do with anything happening. However, like the phrase 'street photography' it's not clear that the original meaning is remotely relevant.

 

[PhotoTurtle]

 

[Nevermore1]

I would think sporting events would have decisive moments. For instance in soccer when the player decides whether or not to try for a goal, or in swimming right before they leave the platform.

 

[PhotoTurtle]

It is any photo where a split second would be too late, i'm alway looking to shot the Decisive Moment i also shoot 95% B+W film
This is one of my favourite shots

Here's another

I love that first photo. How many shots did you snap in order to capture that one?

 

[PhotoTurtle]

I would think sporting events would have decisive moments. For instance in soccer when the player decides whether or not to try for a goal, or in swimming right before they leave the platform.

I think those would be good to if there were something going on. I took pics of guys playing basketball but the pictures turned out to be too small to use and I couldn't enlarge them more than wallet size.

I'd love to find some hunky firemen washing a fire truck, that would be a lot of fun to take pictures of.

 

[PhotoTurtle]

Oh and another issue I'm finding is when I see something I want to take a photo of, I have been told "don't take my picture" by a few people. I explain its for a photo class and I won't be posting it on Facebook or doing something really creepy with the picture but so many adults are so self conscious about having their picture taken.

 

[limr]

The "decisive moment" is about timing, so you need to learn to anticipate actions and behaviors. Like gsgary said, if you take the shot an instant too late (or too soon), then you miss it.

And why is it "decisive"? Just because of timing? There's also an implied meaning or behavior or interaction that is also recognized. The photo captures a second (or less!) in time but what's happening in that second has a more universal message or meaning that is recognizable by seeing that moment.

 

[gsgary]

It is any photo where a split second would be too late, i'm alway looking to shot the Decisive Moment i also shoot 95% B+W film
This is one of my favourite shots

Here's another

I love that first photo. How many shots did you snap in order to capture that one?

One I was using a Leica M4P you don't need a dslr with 8fps