An engagement session isn’t really a shoot so much as an excuse to go for a long walk together with us tagging along. We don’t direct much of anything — mostly wandering, talking, throwing in a game or two along the way just to get someone laughing for real instead of smiling because we told them to — and paying attention to what happens once the two of you forget we’re even there. Kim and Steven’s session took that exploring literally, across two of our favorite spots on Milwaukee’s North Shore that happen to sit right next door to each other: Schlitz Audubon Nature Center and Doctor’s Park.

Schlitz Audubon is the kind of place that keeps surprising you the longer you’re in it. A striking main building that doesn’t look like anything else nearby, boardwalks that carry you out over wetlands and ravines, hills that roll down toward the bluff, and on the right day, enough sky and cloud cover to make every wide shot feel bigger than it is. It’s woodland and prairie and water all within a short walk of each other, which gives a session a lot of different rooms to wander through without ever leaving the property.

Right next door, Doctor’s Park is one of our favorite spots anywhere in the Milwaukee area, full stop. A trail drops down through good forest to a stretch of beach that’s often close to empty — driftwood logs scattered along the sand, a real hike to get down and back that gives you time to actually talk instead of just posing, and a privacy that’s hard to find that close to a city. It’s become one of our go-to spots ever since, and it’s easy to see why once you’ve made that walk down yourself.

If you’re a couple, or another photographer, considering Schlitz Audubon for your own session: the nature center requires photo permission for sessions on their grounds, so that’s a call worth making before you show up with a camera, not after.

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That’s most of what an engagement session actually is, ours included: walking, talking, a couple of games to get you laughing, and two places worth exploring slowly. Kim and Steven’s wedding at Burlap and Bells was a whole different kind of day — worth a look if you want to see where the story went next.