I think @tattoodjay explained it well 😁.. Some cameras even have the grid work laid out in the eye piece or field of view. Basically a tic-tac-toe grid and you line up the subject so that it is centered at an intersection point. Anymore, I wing it and then rely on editing things into position later on.
Looks like this shot below @bozz. This is a Jellyfish that was floating in the bay. I took the shot off a dock and made sure that the Jelly intersected with one of the 'Thirds' lines like so...
I took my favorite shot of yours and cropped it to fit the rule of thirds.
Here is your original of Lake Mullet Sunset (A beauty of a shot too!)
And now I will crop and apply the rule of thirds.
Most people just center the subject, and that's cool too because often there is a ton going on to where it would be hard to use this rule. Like your waterfall photo, in that case I just follow the abbreviated third rule - I just divide the frame into thirds.. 1/3 sky, 1/3 subject, and then 1/3 foreground.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks, I appreciate it!