Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Grace Sorrells. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Grace, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. So, we’d appreciate if you could open up about your growth story and the nitty, gritty details that went into scaling up.

When I bought my first camera back in 2016 never in my wildest dreams did, I see myself where I am today. I often ask myself, how it grew so fast? This fun hobby I did just “because” now is a business that people all over the country know of. That “middle phase”, that many seem to overlook in my journey, I feel is the key to all the success I have had. How did I do it? During my final semester as a senior in high school, I had the decision to make on if being behind the camera was what I wanted to do. Growing up, I saw myself being the girl on your screen maybe a reporter or something along those lines. Not only that but finding a career that I knew would have a promising income I could live off. of I had a lot of things to think about and I was worried about all the things I had been warned about. In December 2019, the Charlotte Hornets invited my family and I to a game and gave me the chance to take pictures! Looking back, this game was when it “clicked” for me. It was unreal to stand center court as thousands of people are seated to watch a game, the adrenaline, the sound of cheers. That moment when I was able to soak it all in is when I knew I wanted to have that “feeling” for years to come. So, I took the risk and decided I wanted to work in sports.
Until that first Hornets game, all I had done was create content for my own high school with no pay. Then for me now entering my second year under contract with an NBA player, working with universities across the Carolinas and tracking in millions of views on work I’ve shot. It is Surreal. The one no one can teach you about scaling up from nothing is the timeline. I had no clue the success I would gain would happen this fast. At first, it was odd to have people recognize my work and me. I’m just the girl behind the camera, I never thought I could be recognized. No one can teach or tell you how to handle life when it is happening so fast. The main thing I do now that makes each shoot meaningful and every small step in this journey is to take a step back. Stepping back and seeing where I have made it from, who is here with me, and how much I’ve grown? These small things are just a part of the many thoughts I reflect on. That’s the biggest thing.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

For those who have never met, my name is Grace, and I’m from Charlotte, NC. I am currently a 20-year-old, junior at the University of South Carolina. This is my 6th year learning photography, videography, graphic design, and more skills. I can shoot anything, and I love being able to capture whatever my clients have in mind, but my specialty is sports. This all started in high school with a teacher who saw me on my phone a lot and on social media. This teacher was also a coach for the soccer team at my school and asked if I run their Instagram page for the season. The rest has been history. Once I got to college, the idea of understanding the business side of this job. My ethics changed overnight. The meaning of the job. The services I provide include pretty filming, planning, editing, and marketing for Clients across the country. One thing that I strive to make sure those who hire me know, in whom they are trusting with this project. The memory of the events will live forever, and I plan on leaving a great lasting impression. Capturing the “moment”, I feel what makes me different from my competitors is that my goal is always to take the photo that represents the energy of the shoot. So, far with that at the forefront of my head when I go into each shoot, I have been able to be quite successful faster than I ever anticipated. Doing it in a way that I hope embodies the qualities I want to represent.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I large part of being able to build an audience is that I am able to connect and meet with them. These people help businesses grow by sharing, reposting, and showcasing my work. Make sure you always get credit for your work! These clients hold so much power by choosing to tag and credit the creators of content. Another thing when building an audience is feeding the consumer’s wants. They want to follow the brand for a reason, so I make sure to deliver exactly what they want to see. With that, they are seeing bits and pieces of me in the work. that I feel is what helped me the most, staying true to what I post and giving the audience what they want to see!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

There are so many things I am thankful for when it comes to finding this career. I honestly can say that waking up every day allows me to do what I love. Especially with the clients I have, fortunately, I have had some of the most incredible experiences with them. Something about showing someone a photo and seeing their face light up. it’s priceless, to be able to create lasting art and memories with each group of people I work with. All I want is for them to look back and remember how fun of a shoot it was… all I want. Just seeing my work making others happy, that’s the most rewarding part.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shotwithgrace.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/shotwithgrace
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/gracesorrells
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/shotwithgrace

Image Credits
First individual photo – Brandon Burdette photo with lamelo photo in hallway – chris Cooper photo on football field – Brodie Perry