Maria is a documentary-editorial photographer and the artist behind Maria Eve Studio. Based in Melbourne, she works throughout Australia and internationally. Since 2014, her practice across film and digital has explored intimacy, ritual and belonging, primarily through weddings and portraiture.
Maria's background in ballet and her degree in psychology inform a sustained attention to movement, emotion and the depth of connection. Years lived internationally have given her a curious, unhurried eye for place, culture and atmosphere.
Her images balance observation with an editorial sensibility shaped by art, cinema and fashion, while remaining grounded in what is unperformed. Her approach is defined by considered preparation, a calm and discreet presence, and minimal, intuitive direction. The result is an atmosphere of trust in which those she photographs can remain entirely themselves.
Recognised in Junebug Weddings' Best of the Best for both Engagement and Destination photography, her work has also appeared in 100 Layer Cake, The Venue Report and Together Journal, among others.
“Maria didn't just capture how our wedding looked she captured exactly how it felt.”
— Hasna & majedWhat People Are Saying
“As someone who isn't great and confident in front of the camera... You made it feel effortless getting photos done. I had fun and felt like I could still enjoy our wedding day.”
— mads & Chris“Maria is super down to earth and easy to be around but great at directing people to get that magic photo.”
— Jess & Keith“Happiness mostly. But also confidence!! - you knew exactly what you were doing and we felt so comfortable in your presence. You have a lovely nature that makes us relax quickly.”
— Sophie & Blake-
OH MY GOD THEYRE AMAZING 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 thank you so so much !!! I love them so much we're so happy we did our shoot with you,i'm going through them again ahhh they're beautiful!!! I can't believe how great they turned out you're amazing at what you do !! I'll definitely be spamming everyone with the pics 🥰🥰💗💗💗 Think you so much ❤️🙏
DestaneeMaria !!! Your photos brought us to tears, we have been busy and wanted to look at them together, so we are sorry for the delay. They are amazing !!! Thank you so so much. I love the last picture of all of us together :) Thank you for all you did to make our special day absolutely perfect. You are incredibly talented! We will be sure to share your name around and so many people have already asked about you. Such a fun day!
Theresa & JasonThank you Maria for all the incredible photographs and capturing mine and Theresa's special moments together. You really did such an amazing job and it makes me smile knowing we will have all these photos as memories of our special day. Thank you for taking the time to plan everything and make things so smooth on our day.
JasonOoooo this looks sooooo good already!!! Thank you again Maria, we had so much fun and enjoyed your company. You are amazing at what you do. It's so inspiring! I'm going to steal these videos! ❤️
KirstiePost-elopement Questionnaire
Did I do anything that was helpful, confusing, or concerning before your session? Maria you were amazing! From the very first email exchange you always have such detailed and clear information. The whole process was seamless. What feelings did you have while I was shooting your images? Happiness mostly. But also confidence!! - you knew exactly what you were doing and we felt so comfortable in your presence. You have a lovely nature that makes us relax quickly. What could have made your experience better? nothing - we would not change a thing and we are so thankful to you for that!!! What did you enjoy most about working with me? How professional you are, and knowing that you would capture so many beautiful photos and memories for us to look back on forever. We had total confidence in you and you did not disappoint!! What's one thing you wish I could have done differently? Nothing at all. You talked us though everything, we were extremely happy with how everything turned out, Were you happy with the quality of shots you received? Absolutely!! I am forever finding my new favourite photo every time I look through our gallery. I love how our gallery tells a story, I love the shots of not only us but the scenery and the moment. We honestly couldn't be happier with our photos, thank you Maria!! How was the image delivery process? Always on time and so easy to access. How was communication with me? Your communication was perfect. We knew exactly what to expect as you always communicated everything beforehand and clearly. How was the payment process? your platform for payment was so easy! Anything else you wish to add or recommend to improve? Thank you Maria, you truly have a gift!! We are so happy with every single one of our photos and couldn't recommend you enough. We wish you every success, you work hard and deserve it all. Thank you :)
Sophie & BlakeOMGGGGG MARIAAA!! we are in love with the gallery 😍 we can't stop looking at them. thank you again for capturing all our magical moments. looking at these memories really transports us back in time on our special day 💕 we wish we could relive these moments over and over again! you blew our expectations with the rice fields, beach and night shots they're personally our favs and oh so magical✨ you are a creative genius capturing all our memories, that will stay with us for a lifetime. thank you for making the whole process so easy and seamless. we seriously cannot thank you enough 🙏☺️ still trying to let all these moments sink in. it literally all felt like a dream 💕
Alicia & JermaineChristopher and I want to say thank you for coming to our wedding and capturing our day. I want to first say you fitted into our day just perfectly. As someone who isn't great and confident in front of the camera and gets overwhelmed easily. You made it feel effortless getting photos done. I had fun and felt like I could still enjoy our wedding day. The photos!! That's are just amazing. You have an amazing talent and we couldn't be happier with the photos. I have been looking through them none stop! As have my family and my friends. You managed to capture every important part of our day as well as the small in between moments. I'm so glad we got the film photos. They turned out so well and were used so amazingly. My favourite photos are of the boys with the film!! They are so cool. Thank you so much Much love, The Pickett's!!
Mads & ChrisWe are so incredibly grateful to have had Maria as our wedding photographer. From the moment we first connected, we knew we were in the best hands. Not only is she incredibly talented and warm, but she's also exceptionally organised which made such a difference in helping our day run seamlessly. She had every detail covered, from timeline planning to making us feel completely at ease in front of the camera. What made Maria truly stand out was her use of film. The soft, romantic quality it brought to our photos is absolutely magical like something out of a timeless love story. There's a depth and emotion to each image that feels so real and heartfelt. Looking through our gallery feels like being transported back into each moment all over again. Maria didn't just capture how our wedding looked she captured exactly how it felt. We'll treasure these photos for the rest of our lives. If you're after someone with a calm presence, a creative eye, and an organised, professional approach, Maria is everything you could hope for.
Hasna & MajedMe and my fiance had post-wedding shoot with Maria. Maria was wonderful to work with. She was easy to communicate with, helped us to select location and confirmed our styling, and more importantly she gave plenty of directions during the shoot, which is so helpful to us, as we wouldn't know what to do without her help. I absolutely loved the resulting images we received and can't wait to share them with friends and family and hang a few on our wall gallery :)
Karolina & ParteekMaria was the best choice we could have ever made. She is super professional and dedicated to her work/art, because she has a passion and a vision that very few people have. And on top of that, she has a contagious energy and smile that puts me and everyone else in a good mood! Thank you so much (and thank you too, Jordan :)) for externalizing every moment in the photos. Warm regards from Portugal.
Joana & FranciscoWe had the pleasure of working with Maria for our honeymoon shoot. She surpassed our expectations! She's so talented and has a great eye for lighting and detail. She's super professional and captures the most beautiful photos I've ever seen. I highly recommend her for your Bali photography needs!! Thank you, Maria, for capturing our special moment!!
Tara & CoryWe traveled 12 hours from Iran to have our shooting day with Maria and for sure she was our best choice. We had a great time in Bali and our shooting day turned out to be our best memory there: a memory which is recorded by the great magic of Maria. We had a day full of laughter and love. I can't stop seeing our photos. The more I look at them, the more I enjoy, and this couldn't be possible without Maria's help. She is a professional photographer who knows all about colors, light, and perspective. I'm happy you made my best day, Maria. Thank you.
Aida & MajidAn incredible photographer and a wonderful person. Our elopement was like a romantic walk. We just walked around, enjoying each other and the beauty around us, while Maria took pictures, sometimes guiding us. No stiffness, no discomfort. By the end of our wedding day, there was a feeling that Maria and I had known each other for many years. And the photos exceeded all our expectations. Thank you so much!!!
Daria & VladI would like to thank the wonderful photographer Maria Shiriaeva for our amazing photos from the wedding in Bali and how she helped us during the photoshoot! We are not professional models and were a little shy in front of the camera at the beginning of the shooting, but Maria helped us to loosen up, said what and how to do, did not move away from us and did not take pictures just to take pictures. She is interested in shooting, in helping, if something does not work out, and it's very nice :) The photos are amazing, exactly what we wanted to get from the photos from Bali. Very gentle, lively, emotional and filled with happiness. We found Maria long ago and immediately realized that she should be our wedding photographer. And it was the right choice! Now everyone who is going to be photographed in Bali, I will recommend only Maria!
Anna & IvanThank you so much for our beautiful photos. We couldn't be more happy with them. We have already had so many compliments on how beautiful our photos are. They are more than we could have ever wished for! Thank you for capturing our wedding in the most perfect light.
Stacey & MattMARIA, sorry for the caps on your name, but I didn't know how to contain my excitement! You are a total artist and we LOVE the photos so much! We were honestly so scared that we would ruin them by having no idea what we were doing, but you made them look amazing and we had so much fun. We cannot thank you enough, you are the absolute best and we are so excited for you to shoot our wedding!
Jess & BradJames and I are so overwhelmingly happy with our photos. You have captured so much, the light, the detail, the moments... honestly it's beyond exceptional. Thanks for your amazing work and time put in to help record what was such a memorable day for us.
James & OliviaPhotos are amazing! Great work! Thank you so, so much, we're so happy!!! The pictures reflect the day we had perfectly. And we truly see "us" in the pictures. You have such a good feeling for capturing couples and beautiful moments. We really enjoyed the time with you!
Daniel & StefanieThank you for the lovely pictures! We love them so much! The whole process didn't feel like a photo session and it was very enjoyable. I was very worried that we may not be able to have good photos, as photos are not really our thing. I wish you all the best and hopefully we can have another session with you in the future.
Erika & WilliamThese are SO beautiful, Maria! Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. I haven't even got through half of them yet!!! So many people have complimented how incredible the colours / lighting / photography is, kudos to you!
Jess
Maria was our wedding photographer in Bali - August 2023. I highly recommend her services. I had been struggling to find a photographer that wasn't full of cheesy photos and brash colours and then I stumbled across Maria online and instantly loved her style. Throughout the process she made us feel really listened to and I could tell she really wanted to understand who we were and wanted we wanted from our photos. We had an intro zoom call, then she came to meet us for a pre wedding coffee when we got to Bali which made us feel very supported in the process. She is super down to earth and easy to be around but great at directing people to get that magic photo. And wow, the photos are just incredible. She has captured so many beautiful moments and the soft colour palette of all the photos is so lovely. Thank you Maria for providing us with the most amazing memories in such a beautiful way!
Jess & Keith
As Seen In
Wedding of Hannah + Jeremy Together Journal
BEST OF ENGAGEMENT by Junebug Weddings
BEST OF DESTINATION by Junebug Weddings
Weddings Together Journal — James & Olivia
Junebug Weddings — Boho Picnic Style Melasti Beach Wedding
Rangefinder — Capturing The Mood, and Light, of a Morning Shoot in Bali
100 Layer Cake — 5 amazing Bali elopements + tips to plan your own
Photobug Community — 35 Wedding Photos That Prove Harsh Light Can Be Magical
Photobug Community — 39 Nighttime Wedding Photos That Shine Bright After Dark
Photobug Community — These 30 Images Are Proof That Creative Group Shots Do Exist
The Bride Story — One Couple's Romantic and Adventurous Elopement
The Venue Report — 28 of the Most Inspirational Elopements
Wedelf — Stacey and Matthew's Floral-Filled Wedding
PolkaDot Wedding — Melinda & Andrew's Puri Dajuma
PolkaDot Wedding — Laura & Justin
Hooraymag — 'JUST MARRIED' PHOTOGRAPHY EDIT
EasyWeddings — Just the two of us: Stephany and Alexey's romantic wedding
The Bali Bride — Junie and Bill's Gorgeous Bali Wedding at Jeeva Saba
Let's Talk About Your Day
Tell me your date and what you're planning. I'll reply with my availability and full pricing.