Here is the original polar bear image:



I originally put the subject of the photo, the bear, in the center of the frame. In the cropped version, I got rid of the extra background, which added nothing to the subject. I cropped so the subject would be positioned in the frame according to the Rule of Thirds (http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/rule-of-thirds/). This makes the whole photo more balanced. rockbirthedme's comment (http://wlotus.livejournal.com/1056859.html?thread=4420187#t4420187) is a good description of why the cropped version is more aesthetically pleasing than the original.