>>3149177Artistic rules are a bit like grammatical rules, they exist because it makes something flow and easy to read.
You can always be James Joyce, but it is important to understand why you do something.
I dislike the term 'rule', it makes it seem like a law or something. In context to art, the word 'rule' is used in the same way as 'rule of thumb'...know what I mean?
I think a better word would be 'effect'.
Composition wise, there are many ways to compose something.
Color, value, line, geometrical, etc... Each of which has its own set of 'rules'.
Like what I told you in this post
>>3149144 is essentially a rule for composing the global value structure of an image.
You can also think about perspective, you can compose with the ideas of one point, two point, or even three point perspective.
As well as color, you can compose an image to have complimentary or contrasting colors.
These are all things to be studied an understood, understand why they make an image readable. There is a visual language.
You should certainly never blindly follow 'rules', because they are not rules but effects and tools.
I personally believe that one of the most important composition ideas to use as a photographer is balance. This is why the rule of thirds is pushed so hard by photographers, as it tends to give balanced compositions. (pic related)
As far as personal view, I believe, that one should never allow 'rules' to get in the way but use them as a tool to better tell your story/ideal.
