A recent podcast from Frames Magazine got me thinking about the relative merits of images that capture the ‘decisive moment’ and those that are essentially ‘made’ by the photographer.
The Decisive Moment
Cartier-Bresson’s decisive moment has undoubtedly been at the heart of photography since the phrase was coined. The idea that capturing an image at precisely the right time can result in a very special photograph that succeeds in conveying an emotion, an action, a meaningful moment in time or that brings to life an otherwise mundane scene is hugely compelling.
The ‘Made’ Image
But what about the image that is ‘made’. I refer not to the increasing use of AI but to the more ‘traditional’ manipulation techniques. These can render otherwise fairly ordinary pictures to create eye-catching, memorable images or to convey moods which weren’t quite there in the original detail captured on film or the camera’s sensor.
Lightroom, Photoshop and other software tools regularly used by photographers have remarkable transformational powers. Daylight can be turned to night, a flat sky can become a striking sunset, muted shadows can become more dramatic etc. The techniques, specialist papers and substrates selected when making prints can also greatly influence the finished result.
It is a reasonable argument that a largely unmanipulated, in camera, image that captures a decisive moment and a made image of the type suggested above have comparable, albeit different, value. The former relies on the photographer’s eye, skill with the camera and timing. The latter reflects an additional mix of creative vision and editing skill. Although not all may agree, I think both have merit in their own way.
However, it is equally valid to point out that a picture might start as a photograph that did not quite catch the decisive moment. Nevertheless, to stand out from the crowd, the ‘made’ version of that photograph is still likely to be based on an original image that captured something at least a little special. To put it another way, some form of ‘decisive’ element.