How I Shot It with Wes Shinn

September 21, 2020

This week our Instagram feed was on fire with likes and activity. One post that grabbed the top spot for most likes ever on our Instagram account was this picture by Virginia based photographer, Wes Shinn. As of this morning it has nearly 13,000 likes, 142 comments, and over 2500 saves. Wow!

While the bride was getting ready for her beautiful wedding at the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach, Wes took some time to photograph the bridal details.

For this image, Wes pointed out that the shot didn't require much time in setup. In fact he said it took him about 3 minutes to pull the whole thing together and capture it. After grabbing the shoes he noticed there was a reflection in the floor. He decided he would like to try and get the shoes and ring reflected in the floor so he positioned them just right.

He then set up one flash with a MagGrid and MagSphere combo along with a Straw gel (similar to a CTO and found in the MagMod Basic Kit or Standard Gel Kit) and positioned that light on the objects. The idea here was to give them just a little bit of warmth with a stream of light that wouldn't illuminate the whole room.

Next he added a second flash, that you can see sitting on the counter on the right. For that flash he used a CTB gel (blue) and a MagSphere. The blue background really helps the shoes and ring pop while providing an awesome background in an otherwise unexciting location. Finally he got low to the ground and took the shot.

Wedding photographers find themselves in locations like this all the time and our creative itch is telling us to find a way to make things look fantastic. It's not always easy. The key is to make sure your creative quiver is full of arrows that you can pull out and use when needed. MagMod modifiers are perfect for these types of scenarios because by adding controlled light and color to a scene you are able to turn the ordinary into extraordinary like Wes did here.

Here's another shot from the hot wedding day (literally the temps were over 100 degrees that day) that Wes captured using the MagBox. For this one he put a 1/2 CTO gel inside the MagBox in order to warm the light just a little.

To follow more of Wes Shinn's work you can follow him on Instagram or go see more of his work on his website. Wes is also a member of the MagMod Community on Facebook where he shares his work as well.

Thanks Wes for sharing how you show this incredible shot and congratulations on taking top spot on the MagMod Instagram feed!

To learn more about the MagMod modifiers Wes used click the links below.