The Decisive Moment is arguably one of the greatest photography books ever published, featuring photos from Henri Cartier-Bresson that capture the precise instant when all elements in a scene come together perfectly to create a powerful and meaningful image.
The Decisive Moment concept remains foundational in street photography, photojournalism, and documentary photography. When the book was first published in 1952, it received critical acclaim within the art world. Robert Capa considered it a “bible for photographers.”
What Is The Decisive Moment?
This Cartier-Bresson phrase refers to the split second when composition, lighting, subject movement, and emotion align to tell a compelling visual story—a skill particularly relevant for street photographers today. Cartier-Bresson believed that capturing this moment required intuition, patience, and an understanding of human behavior. He saw photography as a way to freeze time, preserving an instant that might otherwise be lost.
Copyright: The Decisive Moment—Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
New Edition
The book features photos from the first 20 years of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s career and reveals a combination of intimate interpretation with documentary observation. The original book went out of print and had become a highly prized collector’s item.
The good news is it has recently been re-published, featuring the same photography as the original 1952 edition and accompanied by a comprehensive study of the book’s making, its enduring popularity, and the considerations behind its title—written by Clément Chéroux, Director of the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Copyright: The Decisive Moment—Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
Copyright: The Decisive Moment—Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
Why You Need It
Social media is saturated with mediocre photography that often merely showcases gear capabilities, techniques, and post-processing hacks. There’s little to be learned scrolling through Instagram feeds that highlight popular color-grading presets and trends like shallow depth of field, none of which make a great photo. The way to learn about the art of photography is to study the masters. Moving away from a computer and heading to a bookstore, library, or art gallery can be the best way to improve your photography, in my opinion, because what you then see is work that has been carefully curated by people who know what they’re talking about.
Copyright: The Decisive Moment—Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
The Decisive Moment is undoubtedly going to help you. You can buy it directly from the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson for 42 Euros.
Simon is a professional photographer and video producer, with over 35 years experience. He spends his time between Canada and the UK. He has worked for major brands, organizations and publications; shooting travel, tourism, food, and lifestyle. For fun he enjoys black and white photography, with a penchant for street and landscapes.
