The Decisive Moment vs. The Significant Moment (Henri Cartier Bresson & Robert Frank)

One singular component of visual narrative in photography is stopping the movement of the elements in a scene (1). Cartier Bresson and Robert Frank had different visions about capturing an instant with their cameras.

In the 1930s, the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (2) described the concept of the Decisive moment, in which, when the camera button is pressed, the elements (or iconic signs) must be ordered in the composition of the image.

A few years later, in the USA, the photographer Robert Frank (3) went beyond the decisive moment. He was more interested in a significant moment, where all the components of the image had to be distributed to convey a meaning, a concept, or a metaphor.