A relaxed Brooklyn engagement session with real moments and easy connection.

We met Jules & Jeff at a coffee shop in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and then did what we like to do best during an Ice Breaker session: we started walking around and seeing what we could find.

They were a little nervous in the beginning, which is completely understandable. Most people aren't immediately comfortable having two photographers follow them around with cameras. That's one of the reasons we started doing Ice Breaker sessions in the first place.

We want our couples to have some time with us before the wedding when there isn't a timeline, a hundred people waiting for them, or any pressure to make everything perfect.

Just us, them, and whatever happens.

Engagement photos should feel like your relationship, not a photoshoot.

Starting at NITEHAWK

Since Jules & Jeff regularly go to NITEHAWK in Park Slope, we figured it made sense to start there.

The marquee was too good to pass up, so we grabbed a few photos in front of the theater before heading toward Prospect Park.

It's one of those little details that makes a session feel like the couple instead of just another pretty location. This is a place they actually go. It's part of their neighborhood and their lives together.

That's always more interesting to us.

Into Prospect Park

From there, we started making our way into Prospect Park.

We had to dodge a couple of bicyclists on the way in, because apparently we weren't the only people with plans for the afternoon, but once we got into the park we started slowing down and looking around.

There was plenty of foliage, some enormous old trees, and all sorts of little spots that gave us different backgrounds without making the session feel like we were constantly hunting for “the perfect photo.”

We just kept moving.

And as Jules & Jeff got more comfortable, the photos started changing, too.

There was less thinking about where to put their hands and more laughing, talking, walking and just being together.

Pizza, Beer & Brownstone Steps

Eventually we made our way out of the park and found some actual fall foliage before heading over to Brooklyn DOP.

Jules & Jeff grabbed a slice and a beer, and, naturally, we found another excuse to take some photos.

Because apparently pizza and beer are now part of the Karmapants Ice Breaker experience.

We also temporarily claimed someone's brownstone steps for a few photos before moving along. We're pretty sure they didn't mind.

Probably.

By this point, Jules & Jeff were completely different from the couple we met at the coffee shop.

The nerves were gone.

They were laughing, joking around and just having fun with each other.

And honestly, that's the best part.

One More Beer at High Dive

We finished the night at High Dive in Park Slope, hanging out and having one more beer.

At that point, it didn't really feel like we were finishing a photo session. It just felt like we were hanging out with people we'd known a lot longer than one afternoon.

That's exactly what we want these sessions to do.

The photos are important, obviously. But the bigger goal is getting comfortable with each other before the wedding day.

Because when the wedding comes around, we're going to be around for a lot of it. We're going to be there during the nervous parts, the chaotic parts, the emotional parts and the ridiculous parts.

It's a lot easier when we've already spent some time together.

And it's a lot easier for our couples to relax in front of the camera when they already know we're not going to spend the entire day yelling, “Okay, now pose!”

That's What an Ice Breaker Is

Jules & Jeff started the afternoon nervous about being photographed.

They ended it laughing and giggling their way through Brooklyn.

Jenn definitely deserves some credit for that. She has a pretty good way of getting people out of their heads and into the moment.

And that's really what we're after.

An Ice Breaker session doesn't need to feel like an engagement photo shoot. It can be a walk through your neighborhood. Your favorite bar. The coffee shop where you hang out. A pizza place you love. A park you've spent time in.

We just want to spend some time with you, get to know you, and make some photographs along the way.

The good stuff usually happens somewhere between the planned parts anyway.