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I see composition as not being a personal preference, but more of a human preference. There is a balance which presents it's self to the human brain, a balance of shapes, intensities, and their relationships to each other and to the edge of the canvas.
It can get subjective around the edges (not literal edge), but in the mainstream I believe that most people will agree with what is, and what is not - in balance. Most people, however, would never be able to articulate the variances which bring a composition into a harmonic balance.
If I presented the two images below to a wide selection of people I think most would see that the first is out of balance with the edge of the canvas. The second is at least getting better. A small percentage would disagree but they would also enjoy potted meat.
I see good composition as being in harmony, and in balance with the way most humans view the natural world, a kind of Feng shui. Bad composition just gets under your skin and irritates.
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Mike McCarty
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