About Me

Hello! I’m Shalyn :) I live in River Falls, Wisconsin with my husband and three children. One in grad school, one in middle school, and one in elementary school. A variety, I guess you could say ;) I grew up in River Falls, which is located about 35 minutes East of the Twin Cities, and lived here until after college.

Growing up in a family that takes hundreds of photos a month can have two outcomes; you either want nothing to do with photography or you take to the love of photography yourself. I took as many photography classes in high school as were offered and also mentored others through independent study. So when I started college, naturally I majored in Chemistry. Wait, chemistry? What was I thinking? Of course I fit in many photography classes among all the science! I went onto a career in pharmaceuticals in the Seattle area but have kept coming back to my passion in photography. Relocating back to our hometown has given me the opportunity to stay home raising our three children while pursuing my lifelong passion of photography.

My kids and my photography keep me pretty busy but you can also find me watching football or even racing a fast car (on a race track of course)! My husband, Jake, and I do find time for some marathon Netflix sessions and our kids convinced us to play Pokemon Go. My favorite relaxing days at home include hearing rainstorms outside while watching home or cooking shows :)

My absolute favorite ages to photograph are newborns through preschoolers and focus my business on these ages – I love documenting children in their first few years of life when they are growing and changing so fast! (Family photo courtesy of Twig and Olive)

Email: SHALYN@SHALYNNYGAARD.COM