Working the Shot

I was trying to focus on the idea of working the shot that I learned about in the Lynda Tutorial viewings this week. Since it was supposed to be pictures of everyday objects I decided to focus particularly on a geode that I have on my desk. I started with a basic eye level shot to get a feel for what the picture would actually look like.

This first shot is a basic angle that ends up with a picture of how I see the rock and doesn't provide for an interesting picture.

I decided that the last shot encompassed to much space and tried to make the picture less chaotic by moving closer to the rock. It is still chaotic because of all the books and my calendar.I also tried holding the camera horizontally but it didn't really seem to make the image much better.

With the third image I tried to put more focus on the geode and less on the background objects by moving closer but it once again proved to be too distracting.

I realized I should move the books since they were problematic. So I did. I thought this was better but still needed to be simpler and less distracting and moved closer once more.

I once again moved closer and took an angle above the rock which gave it a more interesting appearance but the image was not as simple as I was going for.

For my last image I removed my cross pendant and angled my camera slightly below the geode, got even closer and am fairly happy with the result. It could be better balanced a bit but I am happy with the way that changing my point of view and working the shot ended with a better photo.