There’s just as much emotion to be had in the glow as there is in the dark and dramatic. Maybe it’s my overactive imagination, but I like to think of an ethereal glow as a subject’s inherent light from within bursting out for all to see. I think that’s what make the images from The Glow so appealing. It’s such flattering light for portraits, edges are softened, and the effect of a slight haze can take your imagery out of the ordinary and into the realm of art.

As promised, here is how to capture this bright, glowing light right on your phone! It’s really just taking what you’ve already learned in the Dark & Dramatic tutorial, and flipping it on it’s head. Instead of tricking the app into underexposing to create dramatic shadows, we are going to trick it into overexposing in order to maximize the light in your image.

5 easy steps (if you read the Dark & Dramatic tutorial, these may sound familiar).

1// Download the VSCOCAM app

2// Identify your light source and position your subject accordingly. Bounce even more light around with white foam core if you feel like it.

3// Open VSCOCAM and bring up the camera. Tap the screen with 2 fingers in order to access separate focus and exposure buttons.

 

4// Set your focus point, and move your exposure button to a dark area. I have dark floors so that came in handy, but if you don’t already have a dark element in the frame, toss something in! A black jacket or a black piece of paper will do nicely, just crop it out later.

5// Crop, edit, & share. If it’s really good – print it!

We are considering a week of posts covering print resources, are you interested?

*Note: This post should really be titled How to Get a Photo of Tristan onto Besotted (answer: be sneaky, and pair good lighting with a helpful tutorial for all of you).

Photos above shot using VSCOCAM on Iphone 5

// FURTHER RESOURCES  //

White Foam Core

Tristan is shooting with a Canon 60D

and a 50mm f/1.8 lens