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.

Vivi // At Five Years

VIVI IS BACK! Long-term CSP readers/stalkers will recognize the vivacious Miss Vivi who is seriously near and dear to our hearts. We photographed her for her second, third, and fourth birthdays (click all of those links to see Vivi [and our editing] grow up before your eyes). Now she has just turned FIVE which somehow which makes me feel old. So what’s new? Here are some Vivi updates:

This was the first year she actively recognized us and gave us a hug and it made me melt. She blew kisses at several kids her age while casually walking past them, totally unprovoked. Vivi currently enjoys exploring trains, trying out every pogo-stick-sand-dinosaur they have at Pullen Park, and watching ducks. She very much loves carousels and bridges. New this year is her ability to find statues, hit them, and discover that “Wow, they are solid!” Her favorite thing about trains is the “wooo woooooooo” whistle that she enjoys emulating, but has mild concerns that the whistle might be too loud. She likes going down slides repeatedly but only if someone is at the bottom. Constantly making her mother nervous, she is inexplicably drawn to large, potentially unsafe surfaces and structures on which to climb. She likes to hold hands. She really likes talking, but is 100% positive 100% of the time. Examples below.

Vivi [before going on train ride]: This is going to be TERRIFIC!
Me [during train ride]: Is this terrific?
Vivi: It IS! It is TERRIFIC!

Vivi [walking over by the lake to look at some ducks]: Wow, look at the view!

And my favorite (perhaps channeling her inner Carolyn Scott). Vivi [while riding a carousel for the first time exclaims with a delightful surprise]: I’m not getting hurt right now!

I’m pretty sure I need a shirt that says, “I’m not getting hurt right now!” I would wear it to bed, maybe, which is one of the few times I’m not actively getting injured. Vivi is my spirit animal.

At Home with Jacques, Lindsey+Co.

Jacques and Lindsey are back! And you definitely know these guys if you’ve been following us for any period of time. We did a family session with them, their kiddo Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s extended family back in 2014, and then we did a now well-known headshot/promo session with Jacques back in 2015 for his comic book business Not So Super Comics. And now they’re back! They have a new kiddo named Eleanor, and Elizabeth has become a fantastic big sister. This afternoon was all about having the kids spend time with their extended family of grandparents, aunts, and uncles all in once space and having quality family time together. They had fun playing with bubbles, musical instruments, and walking down to the lake. The kids also had a great time showing us their extraordinary homeschool setup brought to you by their awesome teacher-mom Lindsey! It is incredible, and the kids were learning about circuits. Yep, circuits. I don’t even know anything about circuits and I’m 32. It was also about distracting their dad as he tries to work on his upcoming Kickstarter campaign.

That’s righhht, Not So Super Comics fans! A new Kickstarter is coming very, very soon as Not So Super Comics morphs into Not So Super Publishing. Yesss, publishing! Jacques is writing two picture books for little and big kids and adult kids alike called “Gumgah & The Grumpledonk” and another called “The Booger Queen” that are sure to delight. As a previous Kickstarter supporter of Jacques and owner of all his comics, we can say that his writing is fantastic, fun, and thoughtful, and we are so excited to read what he’s come up with! He vows to be a publisher “of fun and inclusive comics, picture books, and art that all kinds of people can enjoy,” and we are so glad to be a part of his project!

We did a few short promo photos for him prior to the family session in order for him to create a Kickstarter video, and we tried to channel all the Reading Rainbow vibes that we could short of inserting animated butterflies (kinda hoping Jacques does that somehow in the final product but no pressure Jacques, I know you probably are busy with, you know, writing).

So go follow Jacques! He is available in all these places. Follow him so you can hear about his Kickstarter news!

Facebook // Not So Super Comics
Facebook // Not So Super Publishing
Twitter // Not So Super Publishing
Instagram // Not So Super Publishing

And now I’ll let you guys see his adorable family. We are so happy to have had the chance to work with all of you again, and are anxiously awaiting the new books!

Frank the Frenchie // Le Portrait of Le Bulldog

When flipping through these pictures you might ask yourself, “Is this dog real?” or “How much did it cost to get such a life-like mechanical dog who doesn’t seem able to bend any of his limbs but makes such cute facial expressions?” We are here to assure you that Frank the Frenchie is, indeed real, and is living a cushy life in Raleigh, North Carolina where his lives with Jo, Brad, Laurel, and Sam (whom you might knot from “The Lake” part one, and “The Lake” part two). But this, my friends, is not about them. Well, it kind of is, but is mostly about Frank. He is their recently adopted Frenchie.

Johanna’s initial skepticism about owning a dog has turned into her sitting in the living room with Frank on her lap whispering in his ear, “Nobody loves you like I do,” so it’s safe to say he’s made quite an impression. He is small yet made entirely of muscle, which he will use to excitedly jump all over the place when you first arrive, and then collapse into an overheated heap in the exercise room while the family shouts, “He is overheating! Quick! Get him to some tile!” He is then placed on said cool tile and we wait while his batteries recharge, and then he comes barreling out of the room with his tongue stuck out again. Frank makes a constant audible noise while he breathes, and stares constantly into space. It’s like he can see into the Upside Down all the time or has been spending a lot of time on the road with the Grateful Dead. He is 100% malleable and uses 0% of his energy to do anything except overheat himself when you initially arrive, and occasionally chase balls. He owns his own Casper bed and enjoys eating ice chips from the fridge.

HOW CAN I SEE MORE OF THIS DOG, you might ask. Well, Frank has his own Instagram account where he’s actively trying to gain more followers so that he and Gary Fisher can become fast friends. I love Frank. And these people here love Frank. And so should you.