shay munroe

I am a photographer, writer, and filmmaker, working between fine art and documentary.

One of my greatest joys in life is the power of art to create an entire sensory filled world to slip into. I’m drawn to what feels unforced — the in-between moments. The ones that don’t try too hard. The playful, trickster ones and the quiet, tender, present ones. Much of my work explores the relationship between the human body and the natural world. How we soften into it, how we belong within it, whether that world is in remote nature, a bustling city, the beautiful mess of an artist studio, or in the clean, simplicity of being in front of a backdrop.

I have spent nearly two decades behind the camera directing my subjects with clarity, playfulness, and warm presence to invite them to relax open and feel liberated through being seen in front of the lens. I photograph individuals, couples, and stories and am available for editorial work, commissions, and personal sessions.

Let’s have some fun!

Currently based in Virginia.

exhibitions

2025 Featured Artist Mountain Run Jam — Sedalia, VA

2025 Teeny Tiny Trifecta Second Street Gallery — Charlottesville, VA

2023 Of Bodyscapes American Riviera Mag Studio — Santa Barbara, CA

2021 Untitled Honey Pot — Boulder, CO

features‍ ‍

2024 — Canon Rebel Magazine — LA

2023 — XIX Magazine — Miami, FL

2023 — Voyage LA Magazine — LA

2023 — The Montecito Journal — Montecito, CA

2022 — Neo Form — LA

2022 — Life Is Street International Magazine — France

2022 — Fc’Diary International Magazine — France

2022 — Le Nude Magazine — France

2022 — CSA Awards Evening — LA

2015 — Cover, Blue Ridge Life Magazine — Charlottesville, VA

2016 — Princeton Alumni Weekly — NJ

2014 — Cover, The Hook Magazine — Charlottesville, VA