I ignored every rule of photographic composition that I teach. The world did not end!

Confession time. I ignore just about every compositional rule I regularly teach. No rule of thirds. No golden spiral. No carefully balanced foreground interest. But I took the picture anyway. The world did not end. No alarms sounded. The image did not collapse in on itself like a badly cooked soufflé.

Composition is often taught as if it were a set of traffic laws rather than a loose collection of useful suggestions. Photography is messier than that. Look through any book on the history of photography and you will see some of the most celebrated photographers making truly seminal, iconic work violated the so-called rules with abandon.

The great American photographer Edward Weston put it well when he said that consulting the rules of composition before making a picture is a bit like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk. Gravity exists. It matters. But you do not actively think about it with every step. Composition works in much the same way. The principles are there, quietly doing their job in the background.

This really hit home while I was recently putting together a class on composition. I went hunting through my own archive, fully expecting to find at least one image that neatly demonstrated the rule of thirds. I could not find a single one. Not one image where the subject sat obediently on an intersection point. And yet the pictures worked. At least, I think so.

Perhaps part of the problem is how we talk about composition. Terms like Phi, the golden mean and Gestalt theory are fascinating, but they make my head spin. They suggest a level of calculation that simply does not reflect how most photographs are actually made. I do not stand in the street running ratios in my head. I look. I feel. I respond. If something pulls at my attention and works with the ‘story’ I want to tell, I take it.

That does not mean compositional guides are useless. Far from it. They are incredibly helpful, especially when starting out, or when a scene is not quite working and you need a way in. They give you the foundations of a visual language. They give you options. What they should not do is police your instincts.

The danger comes when guides harden into rules. When photographers, along with some adjudicators and so-called judges, start rejecting images because they do not tick the right boxes, rather than asking whether the picture actually says something.

So yes, learn the rules. Think about them. Be aware of them. Then, when the moment demands it, ignore them completely. The photograph will survive. You probably will too.

Learn more about the rules of composition:
• 6 ways to improve your composition
• Composition mistakes photographers make and how to avoid them
• 5 pro composition techniques for stunning shots