how do you emphasize a subject?

I know i could use narrow dof to isolate subject to emphasize it/pop it, but is there any other technique that you guys can point me to "pop" a subject and make it emphasized? I know you could use a few flash light to achieve a good result. Is there any other good suggestion or read?

You can always use the tried and tested technique in PP of 'color popping'.
http://www.ephotozine.​com …ng-in-Paint-Shop-Pro-4910
Gives you an idea of how its done.

Adjusting the contrast can make a subject 'pop'.
You can use a backlight to separate the subject from the background.
You can shoot in a dark area and light only the subject.

I'm old school (and old), but the subject of the photo should be recognized when taking the picture. Then you can use composition or lighting to emphasize the subject.
If you find a hidden surprise when reviewing your photos, PP techniques (which is my weak point) are often the only way to add emphasis.

edit: I would also like to add that for a lot of us who learned on film, photography is less of a computer game and more of a sport, like hunting, only done with a camera. It might even be a good exercise to shoot for a while without much PP just to see what you can squeeze out of the camera. I'm not putting down PP. Today's photos are amazing, but I see a lot of beautiful technique "wasted" on a poor photo.

A few points that you might not have thought of:
Generally, start by looking at the background. A black car on a light colored bkg isn't going to "pop" very much & neither is a persons face against a blown sky. Keep in mind that our eyes are drawn to the brighter parts of the shot. And those bright areas tend to make the dark car look even darker. Take a look at POST #30 near the bottom: The gray bar at the center is the same density all the way across.
A few Car Lighting Tips

And, why sharpen a blurred background, or put more attention on a fairly sharp background that doesn't add to the image? There's no "rule" that everything in the image has to be sharpened the same amount?
A few words on SHARPENING:
Honey bees in flight & yellow daisies

Finally, crop to the important elements of the image, not to some "Standard" frame or paper size. For prints, I never crop to fit a frame! Crop the shot as it should be cropped to make the subject look it's best, & then use a mat to cover the "excess" space.
A mat & frame also help isolate the image from the usual white walls that they're hung on, & can make a big difference in how it looks, as my "gray bar" example illustrated.

Thanks, this is great! I learn a lot again!

The pose. The pose should draw you straight to the subject. And by pose I mean inanimate objects also. Using composition and posing is 'the' best (in my opinion) way to make your subject the center of attention. Its the reason why they teach the rule of thirds and the like. You'll find that if you put together a few models ( or friends ) and one of them really knows how to pose regardless of where they are in the final photo your eyes are drawn to them.

Dennis_Hammer wrote in post #9068362
The pose. The pose should draw you straight to the subject. And by pose I mean inanimate objects also. Using composition and posing is 'the' best (in my opinion) way to make your subject the center of attention. Its the reason why they teach the rule of thirds and the like. You'll find that if you put together a few models ( or friends ) and one of them really knows how to pose regardless of where they are in the final photo your eyes are drawn to them.

That's really true