Initially a model, she turned to fashion photography in the 1970s. Since 1985, she has concentrated on gallery and film work. As a teenager she studied drawing before working as a model in London and Paris in the early sixties. She also became interested in photography, and started taking shots of her model colleagues. In 1970, she finally decided to spend all her time on photography rather than modeling. She successfully captured the fashionable atmosphere of London after the "swinging sixties", working closely with Barbara Hulanicki, who had launched the popular clothes store Biba. In 1972, she shot the Pirelli calendar, the first woman to do so. After working for a long time with Cacharel, her reputation grew and she also received commissions from Chanel, Dior, Comme des Garçons and Vogue. Besides her success as a fashion photographer Sarah Moon developed strong personal works, both in film and photography.