Beauty in Black and White

People are my least favourite subject to photograph . . . therefore Im trying to get more

practice in this field . . . Just curious . . . how do you get a soft glow on your photos

without using Photoshop effects . . . I took the above pic in Colour and then converted it

and added a Difuse Glow . . . But I find that the more authentic a photo is the more

satisfaction that is obtained by the photographer personally. How can I improve and create

this look naturally or am I fooling myself, because I work in the printing industry and I

know how much "airbrushing" really goes on in magazines.