Grace Smith is working as a staff photojournalist at The Indianapolis Star. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 2024 with a B.A. in journalism and cinematic arts. She was a photo editor, managing editor, and photojournalist at the Daily Iowan student newspaper. While in Iowa City, she was a student producer on a photobook about the growth of women’s athletics through the lens of the Iowa women’s basketball team.

Previously she worked as a photo intern at The Denver Post. She earned top honors from Pictures of the Year International contest this year, winning the sports picture story category and placed third in the sports photographer of the year category. She placed first in the Hearst Picture Story competition in 2024 and won Best Photographer, Best News Photo, and Best Sports Photo from the Iowa Newspaper Association in 2023. Grace was also the recipient of a year-long Doug Pensinger Photography Fund mentorship in 2024.

Client List: the Indianapolis Star, the Denver Post, Getty Images, the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the Iowa City Press-Citizen, the Daily Iowan