I've driven past that stretch of Carolyn Avenue a hundred times — the quiet residential blocks south of 26th where you forget you're still technically in the city. That's where Caitlin Slaba runs her photography business, and honestly, the location tells you something about her approach before you even see her work.
I think what strikes me first about Caitlin's portfolio is how lived-in everything feels. These aren't the stiff, everyone-smile-on-three family photos that end up in a drawer. She shoots people in actual moments — kids mid-laugh, couples who look like they're about to say something to each other, newborns who are genuinely asleep instead of propped like dolls. There's a documentary quality that makes you feel like you're watching someone's real life instead of their performed one.
Her sessions happen all over Sioux Falls — I've seen shots from Falls Park, obviously, but also McKennan Park at that perfect late-afternoon light, random fields out near Harrisburg where the light goes soft and gold. She's not trying to manufacture some fantasy backdrop. She finds what's already here and makes it worth remembering.
The 4.8 rating across 81 reviews isn't accidental — people keep mentioning how comfortable she makes them feel, which matters more than you'd think when you're standing in front of a camera trying not to look awkward. Though I will say her booking calendar fills up fast during engagement and senior portrait season, so if you're planning something around graduation or a summer wedding, don't wait until the week before.
What I appreciate most is that her style has a point of view. You can tell a Caitlin Slaba photo. It's warm without being saccharine, intimate without feeling invasive. She's documenting the version of your family you actually recognize — not some Pinterest ideal, just the people you come home to on a regular Tuesday on Carolyn Avenue.
— Grace
I think what strikes me first about Caitlin's portfolio is how lived-in everything feels.