12/29/2023 0 Comments Cartier bresson decisive moment![]() Now that most of us shoot digitally, there is no excuse for us to not “work the scene” and take many different photos of the same scene. Realize that all these master photographers were shooting on film, where it actually cost something to photograph. Some photographers are able to “nail” their photos in just 5-6 shots, while other photographers will shoot a full roll of 36 photos in just one scene. We can see how they “worked the scene”– and how they took photos from different perspectives, decided when to hit the shutter, and how many photos they decided to take. ![]() This image wasn’t as strong as the prior.Īnalyzing contact sheets from the masters who came before us is the closest thing we have to reading their minds. Note the two versions of the photo he was considering from. You can learn from contact sheets from other photographers, and also from your own contact sheets. Instead of having to look at tiny thumbnails, we can now see all of our “almost” photos in full resolution.Ĭontact sheets are the best learning tools for a photographer. Now of course, we have “Lightroom” where we can identify all of our photos of a scene digitally. This was done in the days of the darkroom, and when digital didn’t exist. And with this sheet of paper, a photographer can use a loupe (small magnifying glass for the eye) and edit (choose) their favorite images. For those of you who aren’t familiar with what a contact sheet is it is pretty much a sheet of paper which shows all the photographs a photographer shot on a roll of film. I have written about contact sheets several times before. Henri Cartier-Bresson looking at contacts at the New York Magnum Office. The importance of studying contact sheets I think this is because they too believe in the “myth of the decisive moment” and partly because of the fear that they will be caught taking photographs. One mistake that I see a lot of beginner street photographers is that they only take one photo per scene. He hustled hard to get the shots he wanted– and would spend considerable time with his contact sheets, determining which photos he decided were his “best”.Ĭlose-ups of the contact sheet from Seville, by Henri Cartier-Bresson: Out of Henri Cartier Bresson’s contact sheets, you can see that almost all of his great images required him “working the scene”– taking multiple photos of the same scene at different angles, moments, and perspectives. He (and almost all great photographers) never only take one photo of a great potential scene. However if we look at his contact sheets, it is a different story. I thought he was a demigod– a photographer who somehow had this magic behind his lens. I imagined Henri Cartier Bresson waltzing into a street scene, carefully aiming his Leica, and taking only one shot and creating masterpieces. Well, when I first heard of “The Decisive Moment” by Henri Cartier Bresson, I had the wrong impression that he only took one photo of a scene. ![]() When I started off in street photography, I believed in the “myth of the decisive moment”. Contact sheet from Henri Cartier-Bresson in Seville, Spain, 1933. ![]()
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