We present analytical approximations for calculating the scattering and escape of non-ionizing photons from a plane-parallel medium with uniformly illuminated by external sources. We compare the results with the case of a spherical dust cloud. It is found that more scattering and absorption occur in the plane-parallel geometry than in the spherical geometry when the optical depth perpendicular to the plane and the radial optical depth of the sphere are the same. The results can provide an approximate way to estimate radiative transfer in a variety interstellar conditions and can be applied to the dust-scattered diffuse Galactic light.