Contrast of colors, like a green CLOTH like felt/fur/microfiber or other color that compliments the basic rock colors for a background, remove shadows with fill in lighting (be sure it is a white light as some flashlights are not), sunlight is good IF you put up a white cloth overhead to block the harshness of the light but watch for shadows so use fill in light, using a stand (like a glob of clay) under the rock can minimize shadows by lifting it up off of the background.
A real camera vs a cell phone camera can improve the quality of the picture (more megapixels improves the clarity of the picture like going from a 4 to 12 megapixel or greater sensor) and of course having the camera on a tripod improves the quality of the photo clarity a great deal especially if the camera has a timer on it as pushing the shutter release button of the camera causes the camera to shake (or use a remote control)!
Little things make a big difference! If you must use a cell phone or do not have a tripod then brace both arms to eliminate your body movement/shaking (put a chair or small table between you/the camera and the rock and brace your arms on that chair or table, use the zoom feature to obtain a picture of the rock not all of the background and remove shadows). Any movement of the camera will blur the details of the photo, do all you can to eliminate any movement of the camera at the instant the picture is taken!!
With digital cameras taking lots of pictures is SO easy and then just delete the ones that are not the best. Experiment and have fun improvising!................63bkpkr
