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.

October 21, 2019

Catherine+Mike+Magnus // Durham Photographer

So you know when you make some grand plans for things and then a curve ball hits and you just say “Forget it, let’s go to Geer Street Garden?” I feel like the above sentence has been said and acted upon by myself and Geoff several times, but not during a session until now! :D Magnus is an intelligent and energetic 3.5 year old who loves slides. LOVES SLIDES. And we were going to take pictures at the Central Park playground, around the Geer Street area murals, and hit up Cocoa Cinnamon. But Magnus LOVES SLIDES. HE REALLY LOVES THEM. And as most of you know, when you try to redirect a 3.5 year old from something they truly love, it just doesn’t always happen. We were, however, able to redirect him towards snacks. And so that’s how Catherine, Mike, Magnus, and Rush the Dog (who is incredibly handsome and stoic, just like Catherine described him to me) found themselves at Geer Street Garden with me, hanging out on the back patio and chilling. Magnus ran around and talked about superheroes, Rush the Dog got some belly rubs, Catherine and Mike got some fries, and all was right with the world. So happy to have had the opportunity to work with this sweet family!

say nice things

October 18, 2019

At-Home Family Session.

I’d been in conversation with Mom about doing photos of her sweet family at home that weren’t “cringe-worthy” (my kinda client) and weren’t painfully posed or orchestrated for Dad or Baby Girl. She wanted to do the photos at home (yay!) and I am SO GLAD SHE DID because their home is gorgeous!! They have a beautiful color scheme that’s filled with colors and textures and I just love it. Plus they have insanely great carpets. Like, the softest and fluffiest of all the carpets. So on these carpets I photographed the preciously cute Baby Girl army-crawling herself around, wide-eyed and curious, and eating some book pages while her parents tried to read to her. She also liked to eat her Mom’s necklace a lot (teething stages, amirite) and stare fixedly into the camera (she is a great model). PLUS LOOK AT THOSE PANTS. I would 100% wear those sweatpants now even though I am 90% confident I already had some iteration of them in the 80s. Mom and Dad enjoyed cuddling with Cool Sweatpants Baby Girl a lot and turning her upside down to make her giggle. When they’re not doing turning their kiddo upside down for giggles, Mom is an incredibly creative and stylish woman who enjoys decorating their home and writing. Dad likes video games, technology, and cooking. I absolutely loved working with all three of them – we bonded over lots of similarities, but mostly our deep and undying love for October. And October people stick together.

say nice things

October 15, 2019

Claire+Travis+Makenna // Apex Family Photography

These guys go way, way back with us. Travis was one of Geoff’s very first friends in North Carolina when they met as coworkers, and then played on the same baseball team. Claire and I would go to the games and kind of watch but mostly talk or read or paint our nails (this makes us sound really girly but actually we’re not). Eventually Claire, a vet pharmacist, accepted a job up in Boston and they left us for the snowy north. Travis, from Michigan, was used to the snow, but we always suspected that Claire, a North Carolina born and raised woman, would come crawling back to us just simply for the weather. So we sat back and waited for them to return and now we’re excited to announce that they are back! With a two-year old!!! This delightful little lady’s name is Makenna, and we met her up in Massachusetts when she was still an infant. Now she’s a squealing, excitable toddler who likes to refer to me as “that one” (obviously we haven’t been around her a lot yet) and enjoys holding my business cards for me (free advertising). It’s a lot of fun seeing Claire and Travis so happy as parents, and little Makenna hit the parental jackpot with two loving, hilarious people to care for her. We’re glad you’re all back.