A soft and glowing look in photography is often assumed to be achieved using filters, but photographer Roman Fox shares their secret to achieving the look without filters. He starts by finding a good source of light, ideally a clear and direct source that provides a 3D and textured look to the subject. 

Roman then recommends shooting as wide open as possible, while still maintaining context within the image. In post-production, he adjusts the tone curve to reduce the whitest and blackest pixels and adds contrast locally using a brush adjustment or an s-curve. Finally, he uses a radial filter to cover the brighter area of the image and increase the exposure and decrease the contrast for a soft and glowing effect.