Working a Scene and the Decisive Moment — A Practical Guide

I wanted to write a bit more about my process in making street photography, as well some important concepts for not just street photography, but many different styles and genres: “working a scene,” and “the decisive moment.”

I’ve been meaning to get back downtown to shoot more, as it’s been a few weeks since I’ve made any photos in the loop. In sort of a spur of the moment decision, I decided to head down one morning this week, to catch some of the early morning light and the commuters / office workers who’d be heading in.

Because I had a fairly defined goal in mind for the images I wanted to capture, I thought this would be a good opportunity to find and “work” a scene, as I waited for the “right” image to come to me.