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.

Look. At. This. Doggo. I have photographed a lot of doggos over the years, but none quite so royal or regal as Latte. Maybe it’s because he’s a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel so he sounds all fancy-pants, or maybe because he just is fancy pants. He is A VERY, VERY GOOD BOY. He is extremely calm, surprisingly undistracted, barks on command, sits on command, and follows directions. He likes sticks and is fluffy and is my hero. I cannot stress enough just how much of a very good boy he is. Latte is the very first dog of Pelin and Sertalp (which is quite impressive since he is SUCH A VERY GOOD BOY). Pelin and Sertalp are Turkish! And they are actually my very first clients and human beings that I’ve ever met from Turkey! It was a ton of fun talking to them about Turkey (foods, weddings, radio and movies) and the places they’ve traveled all over the world and in the US. They are enjoying their home in North Carolina and especially their time with Latte. I did ask if they dress up Latte for Halloween, and Pelin told me, “Yes! We put him in a pumpkin, and then he is a Pumpkin Latte.” THE BEST.

I’d like to warmly welcome Annie and Kunal in the CSP 5 Timer’s Club! ::cue fireworks:: This is the 5th time we’ve photographed them, and while I love them SO much, I have to say that I’m deeply disappointed by the fact that they weren’t wearing their space suits. I mean, it’s fine I guess… it’d probably be a lot to expect Kunal to wear a pop-up hamper made into a rocket ship every time I see him given the limited mobility of his arms, but I’m still a little sad. But, I guess I’ll just have to wait until their newest addition Adhira is old enough to fit into her older sister Aashna’s astronaut costume, and then we upgrade Aashna into something like a shooting star maybe? Or a Mars Rover? Open to ideas.

We were lucky enough to shoot once again with Kunal’s parents Rehka and Mashesh, and Annie’s mom Barbara for this shoot, and also to listen to Aashna’s amazing karaoke skills. Her little sister Adhira, while not yet into karaoke, is definitely into smiling like the most adorable baby on the planet, having a similar haircut to me, and also posing like the smallest, cutest newscaster. It’s always great fun to photograph this crew, and we are so grateful that they’re our clients!

You guyyys, meet Beth and Darrin! Beth is the absolute mastermind behind Early Bird Photo and also serves as the photographer for Chapel Hill, Durham, and Chatham Magazines because she’s brilliant. She also sews (she made the kickass dress with pockets she wears in the second half of this session!) and reads and likes to tell you about their dogs and is a total joy. She’s outgoing and easy to talk to and there was a lot of lamenting on both of our parts about the struggles and joys of growing your hair out, cutting it back off again, only to grow it out once more. Darrin, meanwhile, likes to ferment stuff. He ferments a lot of things! Apparently there’s a garlic habanero sauce that is fermented that sounds like I might be tempted to eat it with a spoon but then that would also be a mistake. He also enjoys gardening and cars.

They have two dogs: Willow the Sweet and Fearful, and Rooney the Cutest Dog Butt. Willow spent literally 100% of her time with us actively running away in fear or hiding behind her parents and shaking. We photographed her from far away, did not make eye contact, and did not approach, but it was still SHEER TERROR and she hated every minute of it (hope she doesn’t leave a Yelp review). Rooney, however, is indeed the Cutest Dog Butt, and is fluffy and small and extroverted. He was not fearful despite being a tenth of Willow’s size.

We documented this joyful family of 4 together at all of their favorite spots around town to celebrate Beth and Darrin’s 6+ years together, and now we have four (well, maybe three) new friends. Thanks to Pie Pushers, Letters Bookstore, and Bull McCabe’s for permission to shoot some photos inside!