Cat+Mitchell+Co.

I believe this is my 7th time photographing Cat and Mitchell and that calls for a toast… of gluten-free pizza… which we did immediately after the session. Cat might be my first gluten-free friend in NC, and I am incredibly grateful for her wisdom and guidance in my first months of diagnosis, and her resolute assurance that Italy was the absolute best vacation destination for the gluten-free (she was right). It’s been nice having a partner in rice-based recommendations. We don’t live super close to each other but we always try to base our get-togethers around food (which is the right choice), and we’re always trying new gluten-free restaurants. This session ended in us splitting multiple gf pizza flavors which resulted in two leftover boxes in the fridge (one for mine and one for Geoff), which their son Cameron labeled for us with a crayon, and it was very helpful.

I love these guys and I’m not sure what more there is to say. Cameron’s our bud and Sarah was a baby but now she’s our bud too. Sarah, I think, is just me somehow. Like my having photographed her parents enough somehow embedded my DNA into Cat and Mitchell and now Sarah is like, 25% Carolyn. She’s obsessed with Halloween and her favorite song is the Ghostbusters theme and Halloween and spooky things are really all she wants to talk about. I relate to that on a deep level. I need to work on getting her interested in cats (I tried to show her the pictures of our cats, but all she really wanted to see was a video of our 12ft skeleton at Halloween… I’ll work on it). I also have a lot in common with Cameron, who likes animals (especially their dog Biscuit) and basically any food that’s sweet. They are truly good, sweet, polite, funny, fantastic kids. But of course they are because Cat and Mitchell are their parents and they are wonderful people.

Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
Raleigh Durham family photographer
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
At home lifestyle family photos Raleigh Durham
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC
Documentary family photographer Durham NC

This maternity session had all the things we want out of any session: a Laura Palmer meanwhile hands tattoo, a David Lynch shrine, two English bulldogs, and a listening of “Bodhisattva” by Steely Dan. Also, Sarah’s haircut and X-Files discussions. We like them both a whole bunch, even if they didn’t have the world’s two most adorable English bulldogs who have the quintessential protruding jaws that any self-respecting bulldog would have. They also stick their legs out completely straight and have a bunch of face-rolls (the dogs… not Sarah and Chris) and their names are Seamus and Sasquatch. The point of this session was to document Sarah’s pregnancy and her and Chris’s life together with the pups before the arrival of baby boy in February, and we happily did just that in their wonderful home. Seamus is also getting up there in bulldog years so it was important to photograph his squishy face (he is the lighter, tanner bulldog). Sasquatch is his newer brother who was a gift to Chris on their wedding day (cutest squishiest gift ever).

Sarah and Chris met in St. Louis. Chris wore this exactly plaid shirt on their first date, as well as during their engagement pictures, and now during their maternity pictures. I officially declare that the most thoughtful and charming clothing choice from any guy we’ve photographed. He also has a pretty killer vintage Star Wars mug that has continuity clothing issues (which makes it even more awesome) and he’s seen Phish over 50 times. Sarah is very much into all things David Lynch and I firmly believe that she should be crowned Miss Twin Peaks and be presented with some sort of “Save the Pine Weasel” pin. Both Chris and Sarah are concerned their kid will like pop music in the future, but we agree that yacht rock type pop of the late 70s is 100% acceptable and even encouraged. We are excited to bring you more of these people (and pups) next month when we meet their baby who we’re sure will be totally badass straight out of the womb.

We do a lot of important stuff like photographing weddings and babies and engagements and all that good, happy stuff that usually signifies beginnings rather than endings. This shoot was a little different. Courtney, whom we met a friend’s wedding a couple years ago, contacted us because her parents were selling Courtney and her brother Kyle’s childhood home. They were pretty bummed out about it, but with the kids gone (Courtney) or going away (Kyle), it was time for Patti and Roy to downsize. Courtney wasn’t going without a fight, though, and hired us to photograph her and her family hanging out inside their house one last time before the family moves in January. We felt incredibly honored to do this type of shoot as we knew how important it was for the family, and it was kind of our first shoot that signified an ending. Of course, it’s a beginning too with Kyle going off to college and the parents moving into a new house, but it was the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another, and for some reason it made me feel the significance of our job probably more than I ever have previously. We were really happy to do this for them.

Of course, the fact that the family is super awesome, hilarious, and fun didn’t hurt much either. They made us food (yum!) and welcomed us in with open arms and Vanilla Coke. We ran around their gorgeous house and yard and had a great time. Courtney and Kyle showed us how they climbed on the roof as kids, how they play board games and pool and hang out in the kitchen, how they fish and play baseball, and how they decorate the tree planted in their grandpa’s memory for Christmas. The cats hid from us, but… we tried. :) We loved doing this type of shoot, and we hope that we were able to capture their awesome family doing what they love in a space that they grew up in and called home.