Durham Family Photographer

Carolyn Scott is a Durham family photographer. She specializes in candid and documentary at-home family photography in the Triangle area (Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cary, etc). Carolyn’s work has been published in several popular books and magazines, including Apartment Therapy, BuzzFeed, and Fangoria. Locally, she’s been voted Best Photographer in Durham Magazine’s Best Of Durham and INDY Week’s Best of the Triangle. She lives in South Durham with her husband Geoff and three cats.

Geoff and I photographed Chelsea and Austin’s wedding a few years ago down in North Carolina, but now they live in our hometown of Pittsburgh, PA! They absolutely love it and are even recruiting their NC family and friends to join them up north. They know I’m from there, so on a recent trip to my native city, I had the pleasure of reuniting with Chelsea and Austin in their home and taking family photos of them with their son Fox. Fox is an amazing kid with the best head of hair in the entire world and an extremely enthusiastic disposition to match. He is *high energy!* and likes *vacuuming!* and *unloading the dishwasher!* and *umbrellas!*. He is very excited about the fact that Chelsea is pregnant and that he’s about to become a big brother, and I know he’ll do an amazing job. Everyone deserves a sibling who is so excited, and Fox is the best.

You know who else will be a fantastic big brother in this household? VIRGIL. Virgil is an orange and white tabby cat and my hero. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cat who more closely resembles a cartoon version of a cat more in my entire life. We locked eyes and I fell in love with him instantly and he knew it, so then he proceeded to follow me around and presumably ask me for food, which I did not give him. But I did pet him. I love Virgil a whole lot. I also love this whole family a whole lot and am so excited for their family adventures with their new little girl. Congratulations friends, and thank you for having me!

Woman petting orange tabby cat
Woman petting orange and white tabby cat
Orange and white tabby cat
Family portrait with cat in home
Family portrait with cat in home where boy is hugging cat
Mom playing with kid's hair
Mom putting a scarf on boy's head
Boy and mom smiling at camera
Portrait of a toddler
Toddler portrait funny
Kids acting like dinosaurs
Kids acting like dinosaurs
Kids acting like dinosaurs
Orange and white tabby cat sitting on kitchen counter
Orange and white tabby cat standing on kitchen counter
Kid laughing with his dad
Kid playing with car keys
Toddler unloading dishwasher
Toddler unloading dishwasher
Toddler unloading dishwasher and helping to hand dishes to his parents while tabby cat stands on counter
Toddler putting a spoon away in a kitchen drawer
Toddler unloading dishwasher
Toddler jumping on chair
Toddler jumping on chair while parents hold his hands
Toddler jumping on chair
Toddler jumping on chair
Orange and white tabby cat sitting on chair
Kid talking to his cat
Toddler giving his cat a hug
Orange and white tabby cat
Toddler playing with bookbag
Toddler putting a bookbag on
At home documentary family portraits
Toddler eating cereal
Family portrait with toddler and pregnant mom
Family portrait with toddler and pregnant mom
Maternity couple portrait
Photobooth pictures hung on door
Toddler smiling
Parents smiling at toddler as he cleans room
Dad laughing at toddler
Toddler shrieking
Toddler shrieking
Toddler laughing
Toddler vacuuming his room
Toddler meltdown lying on floor
Parents building blanket fort with kid
Kids and parents in blanket fort
Kids and parents in blanket fort
Toddler meltdown
Mom handing son a polkadot umbrella in the rain
Toddler holding polkadot umbrella
Toddler walking around with umbrella in the rain
Toddler smiling at umbrella
Toddler walking around with umbrella in the rain
Toddler walking around with umbrella in the rain
Toddler walking around with umbrella in the rain
Toddler putting on his jacket
Parents taking a rainy day walk with toddler down the street
Parents taking a rainy day walk with toddler down the street
Parents taking a rainy day walk with toddler down the street
Parents taking a rainy day walk with toddler down the street
Parents taking a rainy day walk with toddler down the street
Mom getting snack for toddler
Dad getting pregnant wife cheese from the fridge
Parents eating snack with kid in the kitchen
Toddler unloading dishwasher
Toddler unloading dishwasher
Toddler unloading dishwasher
Orange and white tabby cat
Orange and white tabby cat
Toddler playing in ballpit
Toddler playing in ballpit
Toddler playing in ballpit
Toddler playing in ballpit
Toddler playing in ballpit
Toddler climbing slide
8 month maternity photo
8 month maternity photo with skeleton
8 month maternity photo
8 month maternity photo

I’ve been having such a good time giving Carolyn Scott Photography bat logo stickers to toddlers all over the Triangle area before I take their photographs and seeing where they put the stickers. So far they’ve put the stickers in a lot of normal places (shelving units, paper, toys), and a lot of not-as-common places (cars). After “The Car Incident” I started telling toddlers to ask their parents for permission before they decide on sticker placement, but I have about a 20% success rate with toddler instruction retention. Elijio was one of the 80% who hear my instructions, understand them, but swiftly disregard them because it’d be more fun to cause sticker mayhem. He came into this game strong. First he put the stickers on his parents’ leather couch. But then he immediately pulled them off (they came off, thank goodness), and stuck them in his dad’s hair. I was a bit worried about that because Humberto has thick curly hair and I was… concerned. But thankfully the stickers also came out of his dad’s hair and then went directly onto Elijio’s own face. All within the first 5 minutes of the photoshoot.

It could’ve all gone horribly wrong so quickly upon my arrival but thankfully leather couches, hair, and faces were all saved. In fact, more stickers were added to the mix when Mom and Dad introduced The Little Gems. The Little Gems were tiny gem stickers that Elijio then put all over everything. Best placement there was, by far, the bejeweled Pterodactyl. Then Bill and Susan, Maggie’s parents, came over, and also became bejeweled before we all went down to the park and played dinosaurs and threw pinecones into the pond. All’s well that ends well and another successful photoshoot was ended without too much Goo Gone being required. A big thanks to Maggie and Humberto for their sense of humor and for having me back!

Kid putting sticker on dad's head
Bat logo stickers in dad's hair
Kid with stickers on face
Family sitting in living room
Durham family photographer
Dad and son playing with stickers
Family Photographer - Maggie+Humberto+Elijio // Durham Family Photographer
Kid putting stickers on shirt during photoshoot in Durham
Dad putting gems stickers on kid
Family Photographer - Maggie+Humberto+Elijio // Durham Family Photographer
Durham NC family sitting on couch
Father and son portraits
Mother and son portraits
Family Photographer - Maggie+Humberto+Elijio // Durham Family Photographer
Family on couch in Durham NC during photoshoot
Smiling family in Durham
Mother and son sitting on floor playing
Family Photographer - Maggie+Humberto+Elijio // Durham Family Photographer
Plastic toy animals sitting on the floor
Dad playing animals with son
Kid holding stickers
Dad playing with toy animals with son in living room
Kid putting stickers on dinosaur toys
Kid holding a dinosaur on living room floor
Parents reading to son in bedroom
Family photo of mom and dad reading to son
Parents reading the Little Blue Truck
Kid eating a banana
Kid eating a banana at kitchen table while talking to his mom
Family sitting at eat-in kitchen table
Toddler eating a banana at the table
Mom clapping while singing to toddler
Dad drinking out of mug with kid's face on it
Family eating breakfast in kitchen
Kid reading book about Old MacDonald
Toddler's grandma arrives to greet him in the kitchen
Grandma dancing with toddler in the kitchen
Grandma playing on the floor with grandson in the living room in Durham
Grandma helps grandson build a tower of blocks
Three generations of family sitting in the living room
Three generations of family talking on the couch
Kid playing with little gem stickers
Grandma playing with a donkey toy with grandson
Mom helping son put on his shoes
Mom holding kid outside house
Mom putting kid in the stroller and family photo together in the park
Couple photograph in Durham NC
Durham NC couple portrait photographer
Little kid playing at playground
Kid at a neighborhood park
Grandma using the slide at park while playing with grandson
Grandpa using the slide at park while playing with grandson
Kid playing with dinosaur sculpture in the park
Family playing on dinosaur playground equipment
Candid family photographers in Durham NC
Parents walking with son to the pond in the neighborhood park
Parents and kid playing at a park in Durham
Family laughing while throwing pinecones into a pond
Dad showing son how to throw pinecones into a pond
Kid and parents laughing at the park
Family walking in North Durham NC
North Durham family photographer walking outside
Kid playing with toy truck in Durham
Family playing outside in Durham with toy car
Kid waving goodbye to grandma in a car
Cat at photoshoot

Megan+Carly+Jane+Ronan

I’ve known Megan and Carly for many years now and it was wonderful to reunite with them to celebrate the birth of their new baby Ronan and the wild, amazing ways of 2 year old Jane. Megan and Carly are fantastic people and it is not a surprise that their children would be the same! Jane is… incredible. Like, really incredible. She has amazing fashion choices (best shark shoes ever) and an extremely enthusiastic attitude. I feel the need to tell you that I did not pose Jane at all for any pictures. The facial expressions and poses are Jane’s and Jane’s alone. And there are a lot of them… and they’re all amazing. She was very excited for her photoshoot, greeting me at the door and yelling, “CAROLYN’S HERE!” to her parents and then proceeding to welcome me in and giving me a grand tour of her toys and house. She is an amazing force of a little person and I love her and all of her sheer joy. Ronan is an adorable baby so he enjoys eating and sleeping and looking at Jane while Jane enthusiastically hugs him. He is very cute and extremely well-behaved. I love this whole family and their amazing selves. Thank you to Megan and Carly for having me run around your house and be a part of documenting you all together!