I don't think it is so much a matter of "rules" as the fact that there are indeed (maybe) statistically predictable audience reactions when a group is shown a given photograph.
In my view whatever type of photography you're into, what's essential is to develop (so to speak) your own style, or vision, or whatever, so that the images you make are truly yours and not an imitation of someone else's. I also believe that the more you shoot, the better you get at achieving this personal vision. It takes time, though. Ars longa, vita brevis.
John Palcewski
The Sophia Loren Melodrama: http://www.livejournal.com/users/forioscribe
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