hi, friend!

I believe documenting motherhood should be fun and easy.

you deserve a break. 

I've been a first time mom. I've had 3 babes under age 2. I've had 4 4&under. I've been buried under laundry and been a sitting (nursing) duck while toddlers run wild.

I know and love and ADORE the season of life you're in or entering into. It's amazing and exhausting and beautiful and hard. I'd love to join you in it with lots of grace, understanding, solidarity, and big sister energy.

I don't believe your house should be super clean. I'm assuming you'll have a hard time locating at least one article of clothing during our session (even though you just saw it last night). I expect your toddler to like playing, reading, cuddling with you, and snacking more than they like taking pictures (spoiler alert: that won't matter). I am pretty sure you'll have to feed baby more often than normal during our session (that also won't matter and will make for beautiful photos if you'd like). 

(and yes, it goes even faster than everyone tells us it will...)

I've been there.

I want you to spend the morning snuggling your newborn, playing with and kissing on your toddler / preschooler / other kids / partner, and having a relaxing postpartum morning free of other to-dos (no laundry or cleaning or worrying about said chores allowed!).

It will be a fun, relaxing, laid back time together, and you may even wonder if I even got great photos (I promise I did!). Then you'll see your gallery and want to wallpaper your home in them (or so I've been told....I've also been told there are often tears, but hormones are nuts anwyay, so we won't worry about those...).

As long as your family can cuddle and laugh and enjoy each other, I will do the rest. 

soak. it. up.
(& let me capture it)

Emily G.

"Caroline, these are all absolutely stunning! Thank you so so incredibly much. You're amazing!"

I

NO

Jenna B.

"Caroline, these are beautiful!! Thank you so much for capturing the beauty in our chaos. We will treasure these photos forever! You really are magic!"  

II

No

Elizabeth B.

III

No

"You make it so easy. You feel familiar and motherly and entertaining to the kids and you capture our real interactions so beautifully!" 

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Holden, Surf City, OBX and Bald Head are some of my faves in NC. My mama taught me to shell and now my kids are obsessed, too. 

(still with a camera)

on the beach

When I'm not photographing your family, you'll find me

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We walk, they bike (or scooter). People ask us if we have bikes. We do, but it's quieter this way. Almost like a date if you let them get far enough ahead. Kidding - we do also bike with them, but the bike walk is one of my favorite parenting hacks. 

around Hillsborough

bike walking

When I'm not photographing your family, you'll find me

Summer swim team has my heart. Always has, always will. I can also be found on the soccer field, basketball court, and at my friend's barn while the girls ride horses. Often listening to a photography podcast while I cheer from the sidelines. 

carpool mom era

in my sports /

When I'm not photographing your family, you'll find me

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after birthing babies, "maternity leave" x3, a global pandemic, and homeschooling 4 kids for a few years, all four of my babes started elementary school. i decided to actually pursue this photography business because next to them and their dad, it has my heart. 

2023 / 

our last baby girl was born and 9 days later we moved from cary, NC to hillsborough, nc with a 4-year-old and potty-training 2 year old twins (plus the newborn, obviously). super laid back season of life, really.

2018 / 

our first baby girl was born. i quit my marketing research job to stay home with her and couldn't quit taking photos of her. I finally started my photography gig on the side thanks to some very trusting friends/clients.

2014 / 

Married my best friend in the whole world, traveled as much as we could, and forced him to take pictures everywhere we went. we also got a christmas puppy so that i had a new subject.

2010 / 

it was impossible to find me without my canon powershot in my back pocket of my low rise jeans while at a game or out in chapel hill. i still have the boxes of prints to prove it.

2002 / 

YEARS

Through the

Imagine 10 years from now you're having coffee with your spouse while the kids are off at school (y'all, this is real life, I swear it). It turns out even when you thought you were trying so hard to be present and to soak it all up, those baby & toddler days still flew past you in a heartbeat. 

Documenting those days matters. I promise it doesn't have to be stressful or more work for you. I can show up to your sweet, cozy home and capture these days (and your best angles) so that you and your family can look back on them forever. 

What I Do

THE HEART BEHIND

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best sound-side view & climbing trees

Avon, Outer Banks

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best transportation & lighthouse

Bald Head Island

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Surf City

best sea glass & restaurants 

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best beach & shells

Holden Beach

NC beaches

our 4 favorite 

"The Family Beach" is very literal for us. My mom grew up vacationing to Holden with her parents and grandparents, my sister and I grew up spending Spring Break & summers there, and now our kids are lucky enough to visit multiple times a year, too. We stay on the west end and the beach is SO wide and gorgeous. We love walking around the inlet and always find incredible shells - conchs, olives, and sand dollars are some of our faves! We love the shrimp burgers at Provision Company, Beaches N Cream has the literal best ice cream I've ever had, and there is nothing more fun than getting Sunset Slush directly from the cart on the beach (bring cash!). If kids aren't sleeping well, Ocean Blvd Coffee with a side of a sound side playground is the best way to spend the early morning hours. One last honorable mention is our favorite restaurant, The Sugar Shack, which is in Ocean Isle Beach, but always worth the drive for us. 

Holden beach

Best beach & shells

The amount and colors of seaglass you can find here are unreal. Especially considering it is the clearest blue water on the coast. My twins also found 284 sharks teeth in ONE. TRIP. Do with that what you will, but they think it's awesome. Surf City has come a long way with restaurants and coffee shops over the past 20+ years. Some of our current favorites are: Sunrise Bagel Co, Sundial Coffee, Diver Surfside Cafe, Margaritas (Mexican food - try the blood orange margarita!), and Shaka Taco. 

Surf City

best seaglass & restaurants

Getting to and from the island on the ferry is part of the (off season - I don't love the in season lines) fun. Then you get to drive golf carts all around, park in golf-cart-sized parking spaces and use golf-cart-sized stop signs?! Yes, please.  We love exploring all of the different beaches and climbing Old Baldy. The tide pools and sand dunes can't be beat, and I love the view of Southport and the mainland from the island. 

Bald Head Island

Best transportation & lighthouse

I ADORE the Outer Banks. Driving down the highway feels straight out of a Nicholas Sparks novel (or A Perfect Storm if you're more pessimistic). Highly recommend staying right on the sound in Avon. The sunset views are absolutely incredible and you can kayak (and maybe even fall in and swim - don't ask...) year round. We love exploring all of the beaches and lighthouses and our favorite evening activity is takeout pizza and a bonfire on the beach. With a clear night you can see the Milky Way. 

Avon, OBX

Best sound-side view & climbing trees

let's work together!

Can your family cuddle and laugh and have fun doing some of your favorite things together? (Don't worry, this isn't a trick question - tears and occasional meltdowns are expected but not mandatory if toddlers are involved...) If you all can enjoy each other, I'll do the rest. As my kids always say, teamwork makes the dream work. I'm so grateful to be on your team. 

dream work 

teamwork makes the

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