Henri Cartier-Bresson revolutionized modern photography with his ability to capture “the decisive moment” on film.  His photos arrest the precise moment that displays an intensity and significance through form, content, and expression.  Combined with an abhorrence of cropping and tampering with negatives, Cartier-Bresson creates true-to-life scenes that enrapture the viewer.

“Banks of the Seine” demonstrates the careful structure of composition that illuminates a central figure or idea.  Each element ultimately highlights the child in the mother’s arms and the child’s interaction with the man in the foreground— assumed to be his father.  For example, the figures in the photograph are carefully positioned within the lens frame.  The man stands just right of center in the frame of the photo while the baby is situated just right of center in the frame of the doorway.  Their physical surroundings yield a network of lines that connect each person to the other.  The mother’s grasping fingers anchor the baby’s body within the frame, analogously to the spokes on either side of the father.  Even the lines of vision provide links between the people and the viewer.  The man gazes towards the scene in the near distance, and the baby fixes its eyes on him.  Such combinations strongly involve the viewer in the process of searching for and discovering the message of the image.