Sasha Jairam on Building a Photography Brand in Mumbai by Trusting Her Gut

This story draws on Sasha Jairam’s interview on Femtalkies, Feministaa’s podcast, first released on 14 July 2025. Watch the full episode.

If you look at how Sasha Jairam built her career, you won’t find a rigid five-year plan. Over the last decade, her path through fashion photography, creative entrepreneurship and organic personal branding has been driven by gut feeling, creative freedom and a whole lot of trial and error.

In an interview with Femtalkies, Sasha Jairam shared the story of her journey into building a successful photography brand in Mumbai.

Starting with a Blank Slate

“The best art is created when you are in pain.”

Every great story is born from a personal wound. For Sasha, photography began as a way to escape the pain of being bullied in high school. After a year of homeschooling, she picked up a camera and started shooting women. These were women she knew. They lived in the same neighbourhood as her, and she had seen them countless times before they posed for her. But when they came in to get their pictures clicked, they seemed different.

“I started really enjoying how women felt in my pictures and the way they left the room… it was a different version of themselves.”

Her experience of capturing women as the absolute best version of themselves was transformative. She instinctively knew where she had to go next.

While a lot of people talk about how tough the industry is for women, Sasha never wasted energy thinking about it. She didn’t view fashion photography as a boys’ club or stress over petty competition. She just showed up and did the work. And it paid off!

Creating a Personal Brand

When it comes to personal branding, Sasha candidly admits that her Instagram feed was probably way better a few years ago, when she didn’t over-strategise every little post. She is trying to find her way back to posting less intentionally, to keep things fluid and real. Now her feed consists of her work, and the colours and themes naturally work together. She has a distinct style, and it shows through effortlessly.

She believes that this same anti-formula approach defines her client relationships too. Instead of drafting rigid mood boards, she follows her intuition.

“There are so many clients who just don’t get me. But… the ones who get me have been working with me since forever… They know that I am a visual person more than a technical person. For me… it’s all about originality. Inspiration is important… but when it comes to my client, to put my idea on a paper is something I struggle with even today. Now I have created a niche [where the clients say], ‘We trust Sasha, I don’t think she can go wrong.’ That trust took me a few years.”

Learning to value her own work was a massive turning point in her career-building journey.

“I didn’t pick up my camera to monetise my art ever. In my journey of becoming who I am today, I met so many people who told me, ‘You are crazy not to monetise your art’… I was a big people pleaser. For you to feel good, I am not going to charge you.”

When she started assessing the true worth of her work, her photography evolved from a pure passion project into a sustainable business.

Jumping Into Creative Entrepreneurship

Sasha’s definition of creative entrepreneurship is basically: jump first, figure it out on the way down. Whether she’s driving pan-India campaigns for plant-based favourite AltCo or collaborating with Indē Wild, she thrives on risk.

“I take up something and then start planning. I jump before thinking... It’s bad in personal life, but great in the business world. I take a lot of risks.”

Her campaigns work precisely because they don’t look like cookie-cutter ads. They carry her signature aesthetic, and when lifestyle brands trust her vision, their campaigns become art.

Growth, however, doesn’t happen when you’re comfortable. “I was like, ‘Dad, I’m not coming home in the lockdown, because I really want to work. If I come home I get too comfortable.’ But that has been my mindset since I was a kid. I never liked comfort. I think that helps a lot,” she adds.

Later, when she began thriving at work, she intentionally hit the pause button, took a year-long sabbatical and did some serious soul-searching. That reset changed everything.

“I started travelling a lot. I started figuring out what really matters…. Where is my work taking me?... I took a step back and course-corrected. Now I go for wellness spaces more than travelling, I got into a gym routine, I made sure I had discipline in my life and consistently waking up early, properly working on myself. I started this two years back, and now I am in a very good space. Cutting out toxic people from my life… if values and morals don’t match, you shouldn’t be friends with them… I think ten people I cut off, hundred people have just entered my life, and that’s just great... It’s great shared energy.”

Her Advice for Young Creatives

• Stay consistent. Keep showing up, but let go of the overthinking.
• Taking the easy route usually leads to a dead end. Comfort is the antithesis of growth.
• Learn to set boundaries and walk away from anything that doesn’t match your values.

Women in creative industries who wish to forge their own path could learn a lot from Sasha Jairam’s journey as a photographer and entrepreneur. Trust your gut, stay open and let your authenticity lead the way.