Brandi Ediss Photography

08/30/2023

It's been brought to my attention that I somehow never shared these photos here (only on Insta), but hey, it's only been *A YEAR* so why not now?? 🙄🙄🙄
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Madison Cunningham and band at Race Street Live, 8/19/22.

This set was honestly kind of astonishing. I've been following Madison for a few years on social media (first discovered via the great Andrew Bird), so she isn't new to me, but this show still made me feel like I was somehow getting in on the ground floor of something really special. Not sure how this one flew under the radar (this place should've been packed to the gills!), but I felt very lucky to be there with a small but solid and super interactive crowd that clearly knew all the words.

To me, Madison Cunningham is a once-in-a-lifetime talent, both in terms of songwriting and musical virtuosity. Her thoughtful arrangements, intricate instrumentation, masterful guitar playing, and effortless vocals that channel folks like Jeff Buckley, Andrew Bird, and Joni Mitchell are super impressive, and her touring band (Philip Krohnengold, Kyle Crane, and Garret Lang) was perfectly suited--full of precision, feel, and obvious respect for both the songs and the songwriter.

Another reason I really like her is that underneath all of that skill, she’s all heart. If you zoom into the guitar on photo 2, you'll discover a little Easter egg from the gorgeous, spare, and softly crushing "Life According to Raechel" that I didn't even notice until I was editing. “Once your girl, I’m always your girl.” ❤️ A song about her own grandmother but more broadly about grief, regret, and the inevitability of time, this song really resonates with me, having lost both of my parents within the last few years. It’s all the things about our dearest ones that we end up carrying around as we get older—the pang of guilt for not visiting enough or putting off a phone call, the ways we tune out our own and others’ mortality until it punches us in the face, the nagging feeling that you didn’t get to ask or tell them everything you meant to. The lyric “Thought I would always find you there, sitting in your TV chair” destroys me a little extra. Time marches on, doesn't it? 😭

Anyhow, just a really stunning show all the way around, and I'm grateful to have been given permission to photograph it! If you're unfamiliar with Madison Cunningham, maybe start with her stunning Tiny Desk Concert (I'll link it in the comments) and then dig in to her album Revealer, which is just fantastic. And if she comes to your town, do yourself a favor and be in the room.

08/16/2023

It's kinda grey and gloomy in Western Mass today, but these photos are really brightening my day! ☀️ Here are some faves from a super special photoshoot I did back in April with a couple dear old friends and co-workers in Chicago. I hadn't seen Scott and Winonah in years, so I was really honored when they contacted me to ask about a photoshoot for their little family! It was such a treat to catch up with them and meet their son, Harrison. We hit the Lincoln Park Zoo Nature Boardwalk, one of my favorite locations in the city.

After all these years, I still get a little nervous when meeting a new kid (some friends can take a while to warm up, which I can appreciate as I was the same when I was little), but Harrison was a total delight from the get-go. Really easygoing, fun to talk to and play with, and just a great sport all around. I love a super casual photoshoot that just feels like I'm capturing a family having fun, and that's 100% what we had here. 🏆

One of my favorite things about seeing Scott and Win as parents was (unsurprisingly) how they've so warmly embraced goofiness in their parenting and are passing down their killer senses of humor to Harrison. I'm a real sucker for silly love and they're crushing it in this department. Honestly, the best part of the whole shoot, for me, was when I quietly suggested to Harrison that he should run up the hill and just whisper "P**p!" 💩 in his dad's ear without warning (don't worry, I know when to pull this trick and when not to! 😂), which set off this chain reaction of absurdity where everyone's guard was down and we were all just cracking up. It made for some amazing photos with genuine emotion, which is always my goal, and I think it loosened us all up for the rest of the shoot! ❤️

Enjoy!

08/29/2022

(post 1 of several)

A couple weeks ago, I got to see Madison Cunningham play at Race Street Live in Holyoke, and it was honestly kind of astonishing. I've been following her for a few years now on social media, so she isn't new to me, but this show still made me feel like I was somehow getting in on the ground floor of something really special.

I was graciously given permission to photograph the show, and I have lots to share, but I wanted to start here. It's weird, I guess, to have my first photo focus on the bassist of a band and not the lead singer/songwriter, but this moment encapsulates something important to me: photographers are usually only given the first three songs to do their thing and get out, and in a way, that feels unfair, because the band hasn't even had a chance to loosen up and get comfortable yet. But look at these two!! It takes a special and true bond for a band to display this level of effortless mind-meld tightness and sync right from the top. Ugh, I love it so much. Hearts on sleeves. All. In.

To me, Madison is a once-in-a-lifetime talent, both in terms of songwriting and musical virtuosity, and the band she's touring with is perfectly suited--full of precision, feel, and obvious respect for both the songs and the songwriter.

I can't wait to share more from my photoset--stay tuned/follow so you don't miss it! 📸

04/22/2022

Hi friends! It's been a while. Let's dust this thing off.

It has been a long and difficult couple of years. The pandemic shut down BE Photography almost entirely for 2020 and beyond, and 2021 found me back in my childhood home for a few months as my mom was unfortunately diagnosed and succumbed to an aggressive lung cancer. 💙 But there were some bright spots in the midst of all that, for which I'm super grateful! I am woefully late in posting about most of them 🙄, but there's no expiration date on love and fun and joy, so let's get down to it!

I think I'll go in reverse order, starting with my most recent shoot, which happened just a couple weeks ago. As most of you know, I live in western Massachusetts, a place that's positively overflowing with art and music. I was delighted to be asked to photograph one of our fabulous local bands, Opal Canyon, on the night of their record release party at The Parlor Room in Northampton (their new one, Tomorrow to the Sea, is available everywhere)! This show was a joy to photograph--full of energy, humor, and heart. Here are some of my favorites from the night. Enjoy and please share with your friends because goodness knows Facebook won't!

I missed you. Welcome back. ❤️

06/04/2020

Hundreds of people came together in Northampton earlier this week to protest systemic racism and police brutality, demanding justice in the name of George Floyd and so many other people of color who have been senselessly murdered. As a white person, I’ll never truly to be able to understand the atrocities that black people have endured for centuries and continue to endure today, but I can learn, walk alongside you, and do my best to do better.

This particular gathering was led by a group of high school students, and that made me really proud. The kids are alright. Black lives matter.

Hundreds of people came together in Northampton earlier this week to protest systemic racism and police brutality, demanding justice in the name of George Floyd and so many other people of color who have been senselessly murdered. As a white person, I’ll never truly to be able to understand the atrocities that black people have endured for centuries and continue to endure today, but I can learn, walk alongside you, and do my best to do better.

This particular gathering was led by a group of high school students, and that made me really proud. The kids are alright. Black lives matter.

01/13/2020

Oh, these two.

12/22/2019

Hi all! It has been a fairly quiet year for brandi ediss photography, as I've prioritized some other creative endeavors (which should hopefully see the light of day in the near future). But I'm ready to get back in the saddle, so if you're still looking for the perfect gift for someone you love (or just looking to Treat Yo Self), pre-book an all-inclusive shoot for 2020!

The fee includes the shoot itself as well as a curated gallery of ~30 images in color and black and white, all of which you will be able to download in high resolution and print as you see fit. By paying now and scheduling later, you can save 20% on one shoot OR buy one for yourself and gift one to someone else at half price (that's 25% off per shoot)!

*Pre-payment via PayPal/cash/check required at time of purchase. Shoots can be scheduled anytime in 2020.

**Based in western Massachusetts, but will travel to you if I have at least three shoots booked in your area!

This offer is only valid through 12/31/19, so send me a message ASAP if you're interested or have questions!

05/07/2019

I was sad not to be home for Pride this year, but these photos from a couple years ago really made me happy today. I've seen that second fantastic lady two or three years in a row. Anyone spot her this year? 🌈

01/21/2019

Well, it’s literally three degrees here in Northampton, MA, so it seems like a good day to revisit summer! There are several shoots that I’ve been meaning to share here for a while, most from my Chicago Summer Series, but I wanted to wait for the end of the holiday season to make sure no surprises were spoiled. This will be the first of several that I’ll share over the next few days.

10/09/2018

Seems like a good day to start sharing some Chicago darlings from my summer shoots!

I first met Ellery when she was 6 months old. The weather turned on us during our shoot, but she was such a fantastic little sport through it all, wrapped up in her mother's coat and smiley as could be until we finally sprinted indoors to get out of the cold. Fast forward to now: she is five and completely fierce, as expected, and she is the best big sister to the world's cutest little brother (Anders!). This time, the weather was miserably hot, but E and A (and mom and dad!) valiantly pulled through with the help of silliness and snacks. It was tough to narrow these down, but here are some favorites! 😍

05/29/2018

This was a really special photoshoot for me. I always love photographing pets, but these are, hands down, my very favorite Vicious Pitbulls, in part because they belong to my very favorite Elisabeth Geier. Anyone who knows Elisabeth knows that her love of animals knows no bounds, but her love for Ralph(-The-Girl-Dog) and Radar is just beyond. I’ve enjoyed years of adventure with these three, but it’s been more difficult to see each other since Elisabeth and I both left Chicago and moved to opposite ends of the country. E takes pictures of Ralph and Radar all the time, but now that they’re in their golden years, she really wanted to get some professional photos done, and I’m so honored that she chose to bring me all the way out to Portland to do it. Huge thanks to the delightful Kathleen A. Geier (E’s mom!) for orchestrating this shoot/trip as a Christmas gift for her.