Heart cockle shells

Ark shell

oh my...

I'm not sure I understand the question...a distinction? A spotting is not just a photo but rather a digital observation. It is composed of three items, the subject (an organism or a sign of an organism), a location where the spotting took place and the date that it was observed. Removing the subject to photograph it elsewhere doesn't necessarily mean it can't be identified, but it does mean that the information on location (the visual, contextual habitat information) is lost. For this reason, all spottings should include images that show the subject where it was observed. That (and the date) makes it a spotting. Thanks.

It is best to photograph spottings in nature, in this case, where you found the shells on the beach. A spotting is an observation you make (and photograph) of an organism (or sign of an organism) at a specific location at a particular time. Just some advice not a complaint! :-)