I think the concept of the decisive moment is bullshit. There is no such thing. Every moment is decisive, it just depends on your perspective. Certainly, no moment is decisive if you’re standing around, camera in hand, waiting for that moment to happen.
Even the archetype of the so-called decisive moment, Henri Cartier-Bresson’s photograph, Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare, is nothing but a contrivance. How do we actually know the decisive moment didn’t happen ten seconds earlier when the man pushed a frail woman out of the way, or half a second later when he lands and falls into the puddle? Every single instant is a decisive moment if you know where to look and what you’re looking for.
One technique seemingly employed by multitudes of photographers today to capture the elusive frame is to wait. Simply sit in the perfect environment, with the perfect composition and the perfect light, and wait for the perfect subject to walk by.
From an article describing this process and the patience and intuition needed to do so:
“Making sure that there is a meaningful element in your frame, one that makes a statement or inspires and expresses a core emotion, is the crux of the decisive moment.”
Bullshit. That’s nothing but a sorry attempt to be clever. A less concocted and more interesting moment would be snapping a picture of the confused people watching the waiting photographer trying to manufacture a decisive moment.
Ultimately, it all depends on perspective.
Don’t believe me? That’s fine, just keep wasting your time waiting.
There is nothing in this world that doesn’t have a decisive moment. Just ask Cardinal de Retz, the guy who actually coined the term.