Full of vibrant colors and delightfully campy humor, the photography of New York–based artist Sarah Hopp reflects her love of everything the craft entails—shooting, styling and set building. “I want my photography to be fun to make and look at,” she explains. “I like playfulness both in concepts and on set, and I’m often trying to make ideas in my head a reality—in set design or lighting. But I am perfectionistic and like the final images to be clean and intentional, so I find myself spending considerable time steaming curtains or photoshopping out specks of dust.” Crediting her mom as an early mentor in combining creativity, resourcefulness and play, Hopp studied visual communication design at School of the Art Institute of Chicago. While there, she interned at a broad range of places, from working with executive creative director Matthew Terdich at the Design Museum of Chicago to creating an archive of Playboy creative director Art Paul’s work with photographer Suzanne Seed to assisting photographer Patty Carroll by building elaborate sets, but a photographer position at design firm Sagmeister&Walsh called her to New York. “For about three years, I was Sagmeister&Walsh’s photographer,” Hopp recalls. “That agency brought together so many talents from all over the world and pushed everyone to be better. After my time there, I felt ready to go out on my own and start my own studio.” Supportive collaboration still fuels her practice, especially when people work together to build each other up while creating work for brands. “Being around people that are passionate and great at what they do also makes me really excited,” Hopp says, “which is part of why I love New York City so much.”