Thirds Shmirds: Break Some Rules

Lesson #1 in the Rules Of Composition Bible (I'm sure there is one) is to remember the "rule of thirds." There's actually a Wiki entry:

The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.

In other words you should NEVER put your subject dead center. Well....

Sometimes I do it anyway...sort of. With portraits, especially close ups, I like to recrop so that the image is on a slight angle, and maybe one eye is close to dead center. The image above is a good example and there are a few in the gallery. So while I'm not following the rule of thirds, it still works. 

If you have any books on photography, find any "rule" and purposely break it. You may be surprised at the results.