Maya Papaya Pictures

! We met with Maya minutes before sunrise, and immediately we felt so comfortable with her. She captured our love in such an authentic way. We absolutely love her personality and professionalism. She is a gem and I will always refer people to her!

me to meet with her, reviewing plans and pricing, signing the contract, scheduling meetings to the sessions themselves… seamless! Maya is a true joy to work with, she takes the awkwardness out of taking photos… she is your hype person during the session truly making you feel like magic is being captured. She’s invested in you as a couple, she wants to know your story so she can tell it right. ONE HUGE THING TO NOTE: As a disabled bride it was important for me to work with someone who understood. At our engagement session I suggested taking photos with my mobility device, which wasn’t a discussion before hand. She handled it with grace and understanding and took flawless photos that highlighted us, not my equipment. Those photos are natural and not out of place and that made me so happy to have someone understand and cheer for those photos as she did. Another reason we went with her was because she captures real authentic moments. I didn’t want a photo gallery if stiff poses and forced smiles. She is exceptional at capturing joy, love, and happiness on your big day. Which truly meant more to me than any “posed” photo. I cannot speak more highly of her and can just say HIRE HER!

rtain shows and music we all loved. Our engagement session was a blast, and we got some family shots with our son as well. On our wedding day, her and Annie were on schedule, keeping us all moving along in a timely fashion while keeping things fun and lively. And what to say about our wedding album???? Except that we got almost A THOUSAND pictures, of every single wonderful part of our day. They captured every sweet moment, every tear, every laugh, every sly smile, every corny dance move. The pictures are gorgeous and I will cherish them forever. We had two huge wedding portraits created for our bedroom and they are truly one of my most prized possessions. Maya is a star. Would recommend her every time!

work with! Our laughter and smiles are genuine, because she makes the experience great.

partner and I are both plus size and she made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera and captured our personalities perfectly.

nly exquisitely talented and highly professional in her standards, she is a truly genuine individual and a joy to be around. She went above and beyond throughout the planning and the day-of. The second shooter that assisted on our wedding day, Annie, was just as amazing. We are over the moon with how our photos turned out; unique and true to us and our personalities, artfully captured and something we will treasure for the rest of our lives. I can't say enough positive things about Maya as a photographer and as a human- reach out to her!!! You will have amazingly perfect photos to look back on and friend at the end of it all.

t that same week were amazing and I even more excited to see the full gallery! She is definitely someone you want as your photographer

king and I wanted to have a similar experience. I immediately sent her an email asking for availability on my preferred dates. She responded quickly [exactly how she outlines her response style on her website] and let me know that she was available. It was perfect because she was available the day before our anniversary. My experience leading up to the photoshoot: It was our first time in Arizona. I had lots of questions for Maya. I asked about her expectations for couples, scenic locations, outfit changes, weather and her directing style. Our first consultation was on the phone where we got a sense of each other's vibe. I felt very comfortable asking Maya questions. She's very friendly, professional and takes pride in her work. I was very confident to work with her after speaking on the phone. After talking on the phone, we exchanged emails of possible outfits, poses and art direction for the photoshoot. She let me know that it was okay to text and ask for feedback. I really appreciated how open she was and how seamless the process was. We chose Sedona because of the scenery and the gorgeous views of the canyons. I let Maya know that I wanted a location that wasn't "touristy", close to water and had magical views. She sent me a few locations and gave me feedback on each location. She is very knowledgeable about the area which boosted my confidence. I knew that whichever location we chose, the pictures would be amazing. When it came time to sign the contract, she gave me another opportunity to schedule a Q&A session to answer any pending questions. We had a FaceTime call for about 20 minutes which ended in laughter and a good vibe. Once again, she was transparent, honest and professional in the call. The day of the photoshoot: We took our pictures at Cow Pies Trail and chose 2 outfits for the 2 hour shoot. The location was gorgeous which helped ease some of my nerves. Maya told us where to stand, how to pose and how to interact. She truly captured our emotions and intimate moments through her lens. Her direction was not intimidating at all. It was very helpful and contributed to the gorgeous pictures we took. I felt very comfortable and empowered during the shoot. These are my favorite pictures!! Tips for couples: If you want breathtaking and captivating pictures, rent the off-road ATV! It's totally worth it. If you can book Maya for your wedding or couples photoshoot, DO IT!! I highly recommend Maya Papaya Pictures. She's full of positivity, creativity, professionalism and great vibes :)

appreciated her honestly and then promptly went into "whatever" mode. 2020 didn't make wedding planning easy, so I decided not to stress. I looked through my Instagram feed shortly after and Maya appeared. We had some connections in common, so I began scrolling through her profile. Not only had she already shot at my uncommon ceremony site, Arcosanti, but she turned out to be friends with their on-site photographer. When I decided on my dress, almost a year prior, the boutique excitedly shared photos of their latest editorial shoot as I was settling up the bill. It turned out I chose the same dress and ceremony site as their latest shoot. Um, what? Then when I found Maya, I discovered I had now ended up with the same photographer as well. If that's not kismet, I don't know what is. She ended up being exactly perfect. She took us all over the site and was happy to explore unconventional spaces, which there are plenty of at Arcosanti. She even helped me climb the domed arch of The Vaults in my wedding dress--which was no easy task. She handled my one wild card family member well and knows when to take charge. She's the perfect hype woman for the, let's face it, most stressful day of your life. She is well organized and injects her wonderful sense of humor into your life at a time when all brides in 2020 need a little levity. At the time of writing this review, I only have her sneak peek photos. Everyone who has seen them is blown away, and I feel so fortunate to have found her. I couldn't help myself, and have already been a posting-monster on Instagram. How do people have restraint when Maya is their photographer?

teep and intense trail to get breathtaking photos. It wasn’t your average hike as we were constantly climbing on our hands, arms, knees, feet, and our butts to get up and down from the top! She gave us a large variety of preview photos the next day. I would highly recommend her to anyone in the area for any type of photoshoot! My wife and I were extremely happy with her service!

ghly recommend!!!

couple, was readily available to answer all our questions (painless process to book time with her), and was eager to help us find outdoor locations when we decided to elope (due to the pandemic). Our elopement day was perfect. Her father was our officiant and he really incorporated who we were into the ceremony. Maya captured beautiful live shots of us sharing our vows, then kept us engaged and entertained while she did her post-nuptials photography magic. Our photos are AMAZING, super creative, and intimate. Multiple people have commented that our pictures make them feel like they were there. I highly recommend Maya!!

there, both as a creative professional and a caring human. What a gift she is, you need to hire her for whatever type of wedding or elopement you're planning, you will be stoked and timelessly grateful.

with all the travelling and challenges it brought. We got the pictures exactly when promised and those were amazing! She has a great eye for both portraits and just catching the moments. Also made me feel comfortable during the whole day. If you’re looking for talented photographer with a super positive vibes, we can warmly recommend her. Thank you Maya Papaya Pictures ❤️

professional through and through, you’ll feel like you’ve known her your entire life within 5 minutes of meeting. She truly has a gift for not only photography but for impacting people and their lives. We’re so lucky to have these experiences and photographs but even luckier to have Maya as a friend.

tly because she makes everyone feel so comfortable around her. Being with Maya felt like I had known her for years; like she was part of our family. Maya captured our wedding and our joy so perfectly. She shot our wedding on a snowy new year's day early in the morning- conditions most people would prefer to be inside, sleeping, and/or hungover for. I appreciate everything she did for us, from her support, to how absurdly fast her picture turnaround was. She even went above and beyond by recommended a florist and picked up the flowers for us! I highly recommend booking Maya, asap! I feel bad for anyone that doesn't get Maya on their wedding day.

Us and our families loved spending time with her when she went out to dinner with us the night before. I really can't believe how amazing our pictures turned out! Maya helped my wife (also Maya haha), and I capture memories forever in the most beautiful way. She was easy to work with, professional, and I wouldn't recommend anyone else!

n has a great package if your needing a photographer and officiant! Yes, you heard me photographer and officiant together! Absolutely perfect deal for eloping couples! We did a lil hiking during out elopement and Maya had snacks packed ready for us after! This girl knows how to bring the energy and quality to any event she does! I couldn't thank her enough! Thank you! Thank you so much for making our day so special!

n and she totally delivered. We can’t wait to work with her again in the near future!

cked her because her name caught my attention, and then when I saw her Instagram, it was apparent to me that she was going to be our photographer! I reached out to Maya, who responded quickly. We set up a time for it all, and with all the setbacks (restaurants not allowing professional photography 🙄), we came out with the perfect plan, and she was so willing to work with me on the new timing of 6AM. Maya was on time to our session, and was literally a ball of energy at 6AM, which is amazing. She was super energetic and guided us to not be awkward like we started and we had so much fun, laughing and happy tears when I revealed the purpose of the photoshoot at 6AM! Maya was quick with getting our photos ready, and we had them by like noon, I think. AND OH MY GOD, they were absolutely stunning. Just perfect and exactly how I imagined they would be...but better because Maya is just that amazing. I would HIGHLY recommend Maya for any occasion. Maya is going to be our wedding photographer as well. And then pregnancy shoot as well??!