Not sure if I can express this question clearly enough to avoid off-the-rail and tangential responses, but here goes…

I’m trying to better understand and improve my reactions in response to shooting situations where things change (or could potentially change) rapidly - the subject moves, backgrounds or other visual elements change, lighting changes, etc. In those scenarios the photographer may have to make quick decisions - reposition himself, move the camera, change settings, etc. This need for quick mental assessments also applies to situations where the photographer is rushed to take a shot, as in a spontaneous event or fleeting moment (e.g., Eisenstaedt’s photo of the couple kissing in Times Square). In the Wikipedia article on Cartier-Bresson there is a reference to “…gut reactions to fleeting situations that he had happened upon.”

I’m not talking here about quickness in manipulating camera adjustments; that’s a matter of knowing your camera and practice. I’m talking about mental quickness in taking in a dynamic scene where the positions, qualities, relative strengths, etc, of its visual elements change.

So, the question is: Can quickness in photographically appraising a situation, and making the appropriate reaction decisions, be learned and improved? Or are some of us more “deliberate” thinkers, more suited for something like table-top photography, where we can play around with the lighting and position of the visual elements? Do some of us have innate physiological and/or psychological traits that are essentially fixed and limit our ability to engage in photography in dynamic scenarios such as photojournalism, sports and street?

Wise words of wisdom are always appreciated!