Prints are to be seen. This seems obvious. And yet we walk through the world every day. But how much did we see? Of the many hours we saw, how much can we close our eyes and resee?
I once studied the eye brain connection for how we see for something very different than photography. But much of it applies to photography. Before I knew why I learned this from looking at art (and also photos).
We see things. While there is an atmosphere from all that is around us which affects us, we do not see it all. The eye sees a subject. In a photo we see a subject as viewers. Many photos online do not have a subject. And not all need to. But mostly we want to photograph a subject to share. What is not subject is background. If a subject is too big, then it becomes background. This is sometimes called room to breathe by some photographers. So once we have a subject it has to be the right size. Because our ancestors had to survive in threatening environments a small subject is uncomfortable to view. In prints, this is below 10% (my numbers are approximate). Although there is a reason to make photographs uncomfortable if that is your purpose. The size which a subject becomes background is 30% of the photo. So to make a good print, you want your subject between those percents. While this used to be common knowledge to photographers, many people with a cellphone or a camera today may be unaware that a photo needs a subject. There are so many attempts at a nice scene that could be really beautiful with a subject.
Another part of a good print is light. Our eyes are drawn to light. Many times you see vignetting in photos to try to do this. Sometimes it works. But if the subject is not in the center, then the vignetting is not the best way. Also, our eyes move thanks again to our early ancestors. While a white light in dark gets our attention, it is not worthy or a print. There is a lot online about leading lines. A good print has leading light. The best form of leading light is a smooth curve. The best example I know of this is the Mona Lisa, which many artists consider the best painting ever. A good print will have light flow that guides you to the subject. This can be done in editing. Photoshop in its crop guides even has this pattern to use for processing your photos. I have seen Rob use the end of the curve to center on a subject, but he has never explained the rest of the curve and how to use it. Maybe in a future video Rob.
Hoping Rob or someone who knows more than I do adds all the things I missed. We see the rules like thirds, etc. But without the understanding behind them it is hard for beginner to know when to use them and what rules to use. Looking for a video someday about more basics like this and properly expanding on it in a way I cannot. But have talked to a couple people on his channel and wrote this to answer their questions to me.
There is a part 2 to this of using different focal lengths and distances to change the background around the chosen subject. And a part 3 and 4 and... But once we have the idea of what we are trying the rest naturally falls into place.