Hi! I’m Ragu—like the sauce—and here’s my story.

My journey began in India, where I was born into a community filled with love, laughter, and happiness. My parents didn’t have much, but they ensured I had a good education and a brother as a lifelong companion. At the age of 7, our lives changed when the land of opportunity knocked on our door. One day we were in our ancestral home, and the next, we left it all behind in hopes of a brighter future in the United States of America.

It was all very confusing—the weather, the people, the culture—all drastically unfamiliar. I didn’t have time to understand what was going on before my family relocated again. And again. And again. And again.

After 14 more “agains”, an engineering degree from Purdue University, a decade of working at industry-leading technology disruptors, and experiencing three mass layoffs, I asked myself if I was happy. Living in Seattle, a city known for its gloomy weather and the isolating “Seattle Freeze,” my answer was no. I felt alone, burnt out, and ached for a sense of community, smiles, and genuine warmth.

That’s when I picked up the Nikon Z50, my first non-iPhone camera and a generous birthday gift from my family. I was determined to make Seattleites smile by pointing my camera at them and saying cheese.

So I went to the Sunday Farmer’s Market in Ballard, approached a family, and said, “How about we take a photo of your family with that celery?” They started laughing and said sure! They even paid me $20 for taking that photo! I couldn’t believe it!

I went to the next family (they had a tomato), and then the next one—delighting every stranger along the way with spontaneous, personalized photoshoots. Each interaction became a genuine connection, and each smile I earned made me feel fuller until I realized that photography completed me. It gave me the sense of belonging I always desired, and I felt like I was making a meaningful, long-lasting contribution to society.

So I decided to step away from my career in tech, reinvest in myself in a new direction, and take control of my destiny: making the whole world smile through photography. I wanted people to feel that when they chose me, they were investing in someone who truly cares, so I put in the effort necessary to transform from an amateur to a professional.

I took lessons from globally recognized photographers and videographers, participated in photography conferences (some with 6,000+ professionals!), invested in the latest, highest-quality equipment, and spent thousands of hours perfecting my craft.

Making people happy brings me the ultimate happiness, and there’s no looking back.

It all started with the Nikon Z50 my family gave me for my birthday, and I will be forever grateful for that.

Raghuveer Musty

Photographer & People Lovers

Ragu Like The Sauce Photography, LLC.