One Way to Make Subjects "Pop"

During a visit to Wales, I attended the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, an engaging event focused on music and dance. As with many such festivals, getting the right angle for a photograph is difficult, especially when dealing with the background. One of the dance performances featured a whirling dervish, all clad in white. The beautiful trance-induced movement was mesmerizing. And, as a photographer, I want to get "just the right shot."    

My favorite image was this one, with the "whirling skirt" in motion, forward facing and nice hand gesture. But then there's the background. The stage was surrounding on all four sides by viewers and folks in constant movement (just like the Dervish). The gentleman in red was a particular distraction photographically. While I use Adobe Lightroom for 99.9% of my edits and adjustments, this was clearly a case where something more would be needed. There are techniques in Photoshop to totally strip away the background. But, to me, that seems a bit dishonest - he was performing (which is not a word I like to associate with the Whirling Dervishes since they make it clear that its really a religious experience for them) in front of a crowd.

So I utilized a different Photoshop technique - changing the background to black and white and then reducing the background's brightness and saturation. Using layers and lassos is not a quick process,  but worth it in this instance.

The viewers are still there - so the setting is real - but now the Dervish visually "pops" out. The only remaining color are his hands and conical felt hat. This, by the way, explains the need to tone down the background, not just convert it to black and white.