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.

At Home with Abby+Matt // Rochester, NY Family Session

This was a wonderful reunion for us with Abby and Matt, whom we first photographed in 2009 when they were just dating! Abby was my beloved coworker when we were both elementary school teachers. Her classroom was connected to mine and she was my go-to if I needed anything. She was a fabulous teacher and all the kids loved her, and I loved her too! Then I did a major career change and quit teaching, and she became my lovely model along with her incredibly nice boyfriend Matt. And ::SUPER LIFE FAST-FORWARD MONTAGE:: they are now married with two kids and have relocated up to Rochester, New York! And WE were gonna be in Rochester and they found out and we had a lovely chance to see each other again and to work with their adorable kiddos! Olivia is the oldest clocking in at 3 years, and Amara is the youngest at 3 months. Olivia enjoys her sparkly light-up Crocs, covering her mom in a barrage of pillows and then jumping on her, and reading books with her dad. Amara enjoys sleeping, eating, sleeping, eating, eating, and eating. They are CUTE KIDS!! who have FABULOUS PARENTS who enjoy hanging out with each other and making things fun for their children (not surprising as Abby was such a great teacher, and Matt is one of the kindest and friendliest people on the earth).

Together we hung out in Olivia’s room (where she, like many CSP child-clients before her, discovered to her delight that she was somehow, for an unknown, mysterious reason, suddenly allowed to jump on the bed without being reprimanded and took full advantage), and their light-filled living room before heading over a near-and-dear park in their neighborhood. Olivia went down the same slide repeatedly and showed off her mad soccer skillz with a giant rubber ball (that at one point was stolen by a 2-year-old playground thief and I had to show some strong muscle to get it back), and Amara and her mom hung out on a blanket. We had a lovely sunny afternoon with none of that NC humidity that we were all accustomed to living down here, and it was so nice to see our friends again. <3

Roger+Melanie+Martin+Anabel+Seymour // A lifestyle family session.

We always adore photographing lifestyle family sessions at home, and for some unknown reason (cosmic forces?) our clients always have these super cool houses so it’s always an added bonus. This week’s family had a greenhouse! With turtles! And a super awesome 1960s living room with a white brick wall and built in fireplace that I would definitely steal if it didn’t involve an ill-thought-out plan and the use large scale machinery. Roger and Melanie are awesome parents who are raising two independent and strong kids, Martin and Anabel. They are fearless and wonderful. They ride their bikes fast and put on their own gardening gloves and wear superhero capes and do their own thing. They spent the morning playing Legos, reading, and gardening, which is exactly what my idea Saturday would also constitute… especially considering that they were planting mosquito repellant plants (need these shots to be recreated at our house, please). Also featured in this shoot is 10 year old Cocker Spaniel Extraordinaire Seymour, who is adorable and fluffy and loves Melanie to the ends of the Earth. He also has totally laid claim to that leather chair in their living room. Excited to have worked with this great family!