When I give lectures, lead photo tours, or teach online, I often tell students

that white backgrounds are distracting.  In most cases, that’s true.  Our eyes

are drawn to the lightest parts of a picture first, and that means that if the

subject is darker than the light background, our eyes are diverted away from

the subject.  This is not how a successful picture is supposed to work.

 
There are exceptions to every rule in art, of course, and the portrait I took in

Johdpur, India two days ago is an example.  In this case, I feel the white

background compliments the subject.  It adds to the ethereal nature of this

image, and it’s not distracting at all.