Polk State Photography Professor serves as visionary leader

Polk State Professor of Photography Sarah Brewington Baarns has spent nearly two decades turning creative instinct into a multifaceted career that spans corporate studios, fine-art galleries and the classroom.

Her trajectory is a master class in adaptability, mentorship and deliberate cultivation of visual voice. Now, she finds herself at the helm of Polk State’s Photography Program, providing students with expert-level instruction in both digital and film photography in the College’s recently renovated studio and darkroom.

“When I got the job, I was in tears,” Brewington reflected a year into her position. “This is what I have wanted more than anything – a full-time faculty position. With our facility and darkroom renovated to the university level, and the support within this building and beyond, I am so grateful.”

From first click to corporate

In 2006, Brewington was a senior in high school using a sub-5-megapixel Kodak point-and-shoot. What began as snapshots of friends and family quickly became intentionally composed portraitures.

As a classically trained musician who played piano and clarinet for 10 years, Brewington considered photography, “the first time I had something in my hands with no rules attached.”

The freedom was revelatory.

Brewington credits her mom with giving her the “best advice. Did I want to be just a photographer, or did I want to become an artist? That encouraged me to aim for a more well-rounded degree like graphic design, over just simply photography.

“My family always encouraged and prayed for us to find what we were passionate about and pursue that,” she said. “Both of my parents went to college but never got their degrees, so college was a big push for us as well.”

Brewington enrolled at Florida Southern College to study graphic design and art history while continuing her photography.

By 2007, her work as a freshman had caught the eye of Publix’s photo department, where she landed an internship that would launch her career.

“My supervisor told me that I had beat out photography school graduates and working professionals because of the level of creativity I had,” she said. “He told me that he could teach the technical, but he couldn’t teach someone creativity. That’s why my portfolio stood out to him.”

Her internship turned into a full-time gig with Publix, where she worked for eight years. During this time, she also achieved her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Brewington spoke fondly of her mentors, including Eric Blackmore, her photography professor from Florida Southern College, and Steve Frankenberger, her former supervisor at Publix.

“I would not be me without the photographers who took me under their wings,” she exclaimed. “At Publix, I got experience in all areas, which would have taken me decades to do independently.”

How do creative people work?

Brewington went on to the School of Visual Arts in New York, where her creative pursuits expanded beyond the cow pastures of her native Lakeland. She received a Master of Fine Art in Art Practice, which encompassed the study of how creative people work, she explained.

“It was a culture shock,” Brewington said. “In Lakeland, I had my own studio with a darkroom and my friends and models. In New York, I didn’t have any of that. It was overwhelming, but it helped me learn how to get back to the basics.”

It was in New York where she also expanded her perception of art.

“As a 2D photographer, seeing art the size of a building really changed my perspective. A lot of it was confusing at the time, but it shaped me,” she said.

From there, Brewington moved to Nebraska to work for a digital marketing company, where she put her master’s degree, as well as lessons learned from mentors, into action. She traveled across the country as a producer before becoming media team manager.

She was inspired to support a strength-based team, influenced by her days with Publix, she says. Upon her departure home to Florida, she says the team was running like a well-oiled machine.

Changing perceptions

When talking about her work, Brewington shares that she’s “always trying to change perception and understanding.”

“I aim for people to say, ‘How did she do that?’ when they are interacting with my work,” she said. “I want to conjure up the question of ‘Why? Why did she do this the way that she did?’”

Whether it’s undergraduate work such as her underwater series where the lens broke, resulting in images with some “cool water marks,” or her master thesis titled “An Empty Grace: Social and Theological Influences of Grace on the Construction of Southern White Femininity” which explores Christian history and women in Southern culture, Brewington’s work consistently pushes boundaries and provokes deep thought.

“It was a hot mess,” Brewington joked of her earlier work, “but I was exercising my creative muscle.”

That’s what she encourages in her students.

Industry to academia

Cumulatively, Brewington served as an adjunct professor for 10 years at both Florida Southern and Polk State. She also runs her own business photographing artists and musicians, and has taught community classes at the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art.

“My greatest joy became teaching. Everything I was doing [as a professional in the field], I thought, ‘I need to put that into my class plan,’” she said. “Having one foot in the industry and one in academia makes me a better professional and professor.”

When Polk State posted its photography faculty position – held by the late David Woods for 35 years – Brewington felt called to apply and uphold the legacy of her predecessor, whom she worked with as an adjunct during her career. Plus, former Professor of Visual Arts Holly Scoggins reached out and encouraged Brewington to apply.

“I went back and forth on whether to apply – not because of Polk State but because of my daughter,” said Brewington. “But the timing was right because when I started here, my daughter had just turned 1 and I felt like it was meant to be.”

Now a year into her role as photography professor, Brewington has seen the College through the finalization of its renovations to the Winter Haven Fine Arts (WFA) Building, including the photo studio and darkroom. She teaches Black and White Photography I and II, which focuses on analog, and Digital Photography I and II.

Although she has come far from her Kodak Easy Share days, Brewington stresses to her students that “the very best camera you can have is the one that is in your hands.”

“Equipment will always push you further, but it doesn’t make you a better photographer.”

Now that the WFA renovations are complete and Polk State’s photography courses are seeing increasing enrollment, Brewington hopes to expand the College’s offerings. She is also leading a study abroad trip to Italy in May 2026 with Professor of Ceramics Andrew Coombs.

“We have the opportunity to produce very strong foundations here,” Brewington said. “I don’t take that responsibility lightly. It’s a special moment in their journeys to get to work with students, many who are discovering and exercising their creative voices for the first time.”

Now she shepherds students from first click to portfolio, emphasizing that the strongest image starts with intent: “How can you make a photograph instead of simply taking one?”

For Polk State’s emerging photographers, the answer can be found in the instruction and mentorship of their professor who has already walked the path — and has the photo evidence to prove it.

Students who are interested in a photography class can email sbrewington@polk.edu.