Great assignment.
You’re off to a great start and you’ve accomplished what we hoped you would with this assignment. Essentially you’ve chosen a few compositional elements to change that you though would enhance the overall presentation of your image. You’ve done a great job of this so we should go through and discuss what changes are made so you’re aware of them.
For starters, you’ve moved in closer to your object. This is the most challenging compositional change to discuss because it’s most photographers gut reaction when organizing a photograph to move in closer. After all it does simplify through the process of the removal of unnecessary objects. therefore most photographers find organizing small geographic space is much easier than organizing larger spaces. That being said, it’s not impossible to organize larger spaces. You just need to look for the compositional ingredients to do so. For example, look at these photographs:
or
http://images-2.redbubble.net/img/art/size:large/view:main/84259-12-cityscape.jpg
You’re essentially looking for the same things you have in your “beauty” photograph but you’re looking for ways to find them in larger areas.
For example, you use layers and depth in your “beauty” photograph. This gives the illusion of three dimensions in a two dimensional photograph. You’ve done this by changing your camera angle to include a foreground, middle-ground and background. You’re “beast” photograph however, is flat and lacks layers.
You’ve successfully used lines and shapes in both photographs (which can be seen as a primary photographic element in the second sample image I’ve included above). Using lines and shapes not only helps guide the viewer’s eyes but it also helps organize the general composition.
Overall, great start with this assignment. I look forward to seeing what you submit next!