Well, I'm definitely nowhere near being a whale. Maybe a dolphin! :)

Something an old photographer told me when I was just starting out is that you need to scan around the edges of your composition in the viewfinder, not just focus on the subject. I would go further to say look at how the lines interact with each other and with the subject. Try to avoid things sticking out of the subjects head, or pieces of a pole leaning in to the frame at a weird angle. Make everything as purposeful as possible.

— the Jam Man :)