We all have a path set ahead for us and, often, we do not know where it is leading or where we are going until we have arrived. For Sarah Gupta, that path has been a colorful journey. It has led her around the country, inspired several career twists and turns, and sent her to the Upper East Side with a family and a budding business bound for greatness. Sarah Gupta is Artsy’s October Fearless Females winner and a very talented artist. Her inspiring story arouses excitement, something we’re delighted to share with our audience.

Growing Up Creative

From a very early age, Sarah Gupta was always encouraged to explore her creative side. Her grandmother was a professional artist for Kaufmann’s Department Store in Detroit and illustrated ads and various marketing materials for the company. She also explored other artist mediums like pottery, painting and drawing. Sarah’s mother saw the talent deep in Sarah and enrolled her into art classes starting at the age of five.

Medicine Lead Love

Over the years, Sarah’s pursuit of art began to transition to more of a hobby. The phrase “starving artist” hit home for her, so she sought fulfillment in other academics as she grew into her teenage years. At the age of 14 (much younger than her counterparts!), Sarah was fully immersed into equine veterinary training – out-performing her college-aged classmates and assisting in surgeries at a local horse hospital. It was clear that her direction was heading towards veterinary school.

It was at Penn State University, while studying pre-veterinary medicine, where Sarah realized that she lost her ambition to pursue Large Animal Medicine. However, she was still interested in the sciences and medicine and sought out the field of research in the basic sciences. Enter: Sarah’s husband.

Redefining Yourself

The moment you meet the love of your life, everything changes. For Sarah, what she thought she was passionate about wasn’t what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

Sarah and her husband soon realized that their life would be a journey of medical schools and academics, with her husband working diligently on his PhD and moving onto a post-doctoral program. What was Sarah to do now? For a short time, she stayed in the medical field and studied at another research lab in Ohio. It was at Case Western Reserve University, working towards getting her masters, that Sarah started picking up her creative hobbies again. But, life has a way of throwing curve-balls. After just a few years in Cleveland, Sarah, her husband moved to Minnesota for another change of pace so her husband could continue his career at the Mayo Clinic. Now settled in Minnesota, the Gupta family underwent another change. Enter: A beautiful baby boy. Now a mother, and no longer a vet but still a scientist, Sarah had some big decisions to make in her new home.

Back to Basics

It didn’t take long for Sarah to realize that her creative bucket needed filling. As a formally trained graphite and oil painter, she had never considered photography as an option. However, it was the birth of her son and wanted to document all their amazing moments together that drove her towards a camera.

It took Sarah a few years of practice and training to really define her voice and creative style, but after seven years of having Sarah Gupta Photography, she has finally been able to hone in on her favorite form of photography. For Sarah, photography is now more than just a photo – it’s a way for her to express herself and a moment in time. While she loves macro-photography], she also recognizes that her subjects can be much more.

Now, Sarah uses photography to tell a story. She enjoys the process of using lighting and a subject, combined with a simple subject focus, to pull a viewer in. The focus is always on where the light is hitting and how emotions are being conveyed through the image.

What’s Next?

In the beginning of Sarah’s photography career, she worked on a variety of subjects and interests. This included weddings and pet photography. Now, she has defined an artistic style and is building her business as a teacher and mentor for budding photographers. As a Click and Co Mentor and Teacher, she has learned how to help other photographers harness their artistic and creative tone into a photo. She also loved the process of helping other photographers find their inspiration.

Presently, Sarah has a defined artistic style as an environmental lifestyle and portrait photographer and is building her business as a mentor and educator for aspiring photographers. Sarah’s next steps include developing a workshop program and training classes for new photographers.

Are you interested in learning more from Sarah? Visit her website to get started on your path to photography greatness!