Gracie Campbell, is a freshman at Virgina tech. she is studying livestock production. Gracie is the owner of GC photography, and she runs a small herd of commercial and hereford cattle.I asked Gracie when did she start showing cattle. Gracie said, ”I started showing cattle when I was 6 years old at our county fair in the bottle baby class. I did that for 2 more years, then my family got me a Hereford heifer from a local family friend.

That heifer later became my best friend and I fell in love with the ring. After that year, I got more competitive and we started going to more and more jackpots and showing in many different states. I asked Gracie when did she start showing cattle. Gracie said, ”I started showing cattle when I was 6 years old at our county fair in the bottle baby class. I did that for 2 more years, then my family got me a Hereford heifer from a local family friend.

That heifer later became my best friend and I fell in love with the ring. After that year, I got more competitive and we started going to more and more jackpots and showing in many different states. i decided to start doing internships and shadowing different people.

i did that for a year and decided i really liked photagraphy. and i could actally make some money off of it. that’s when i decided i would make my own buisness.” I asked Gracie what has been her favorite part of starting GC photography. Gracie said “ My favorite part about GC would definitely be meeting new people and making their vision come true. I have also liked that at shows i get to work with the kids and some amazing people that make these shows happen.” I asked gracie what advice she would give to a young photographer.

Gracie’s advice is “ My advice to someone who is just starting out is to learn how to use your camera.I was always told to learn how to use my camera, and know how to work the settings. i think practicing taking pictures is the best thing to do. learning how to focus and getting the settings is a hard thing to learn and takes a lot of practice. in high school i took a few photography classes, and i do belive that helps so much when you are first starting off.”

the last question i asked Gracie was what have you learned most from showing cattle. Gracie said “Showing cattle has been a big part of my life for many years and it still is a big part of my life. I have learned so many things, but some of the most important things have been that it’s not always about winning. i know everyone says that, but it truly isn’t. it’s about getting out there and making friends that you will stay in contact with and spend a lot of time with for a very long time.

with those friends you’ll make so many conections down the road.

I think the more people you talk to in this industry the better. Another thing that I learned is that showmanship is very important. You can have the best animal in the ring, but if you don’t know how to show it then it probably wouldn’t do as good. I belive being a good showman and putting in the work will get you places.

Showmanship was a big thing i focused on growing up because i may not have alwayshad the best animal but i always tryed my hardest at winning showmanship.