Decisive Moment in Photography?

If Bresson's 'decisive moment' is different than the peak action of sports photography, what goes into it? What does the photographer have to be aware of to know the 'moment?'

Does the idea apply to other types of photography besides photojournalism?

The peak action in a sports photo is a well-known moment when the jumper is at the top of his arc, or a batter is about to hit the ball, etc. In other words, there's not much interpretation involved.

The decisive moment in a candid photograph is hard to define because it varies from subject-to-subject, and from time-to-time within the same subject. It's the moment when something meaningful occurs that "illuminates" the subject.

It's hard to define more exactly than that, but look at a Cartier-Bresson photo and ask yourself, "If he had snapped the shutter a half-second before or a half-second after this moment, would the photo be as good?" The answer is nearly always "no." He knew instinctively when to take the picture.

It's a combination of patience, good timing, and sometimes luck. It can apply to any kind of photography. Think of the nature shot you wait for, then the animal appears and strikes just the right pose before running or flying off. In scenic shots, it can be the right light you wait for. In portraits, the right combination of a pose and a look.

Peak action and the decisive moment are one and the same; the ideal sports photograph is the key moment from the key play in any given game.

It really applies to any kind of documentary photography, but that has loose boundaries - really, you could say it applies far and wide, even to things like family photographs. The best pictures are almost always that key moment, though.