Light sources

Phone screen

A phone screen set to a full-screen solid colour is a pocket soft panel — weak, close, and fully recolourable.

Setups using this tool

See it in a real setup

Woman in a grey sweater looking down at a dark screen edge, cool blue light from below lifting chin and nose against near-black.

Related lesson — laptop-scale screen

Screen Glow Practical Portrait

Late-night portrait lit only by a phone or laptop under the chin — open a full-screen solid color on the display and the face takes that color as key.

Same soft-panel physics as a phone screen, shown here at laptop scale. A centimetre-close phone portrait is still coming.

Open setup board →

Smartphone on a dark surface with a solid warm orange full-screen glow spilling onto the table beside it

How to use this tool

What it does

The display becomes a small soft source. White or warm white for fill; green, blue, or any solid for a coloured accent. RGB sub-pixels are not a continuous spectrum, so skin can render slightly off versus a true LED panel — correct WB or treat it as a creative cast.

When to use it

Under-chin or cheek fill within centimetres, macro accents, creator setups without a panel, and teaching colour without gels.

What to look for in the photo

Soft rectangular catchlight when close; fast falloff past half a metre; colour matches the on-screen solid.

Placement basics

Full-screen solid image, brightness max, phone just off frame. Feather like a tiny softbox. Do not leave UI chrome or wallpaper as the emitter.

Distance & power

Output collapses with distance. Stay contact-close or raise ISO/open aperture. It will not replace a 60 cm softbox at portrait distance.

Common mistake

Shooting at arm's length and blaming the phone. Fix: move in until the screen fills the shadow, or accept underexposure.

Pro tip

Save a folder of full-screen solids (3200 K warm, 5600 K white, CTO orange, teal) so you can switch Kelvin without apps mid-shoot.

Practice on set

Subject in ambient only; note shadow side.
Warm-white full screen under the chin — watch the lift.
Swap to a coloured solid; compare cast on skin vs a gelled LED panel if you have one.