When I launched Zoom With Our Feet on January 20, 2020, I thought I knew what the next few years would look like. Then the world shut down, sports stopped, classrooms went online, and everything I built as a photographer, teacher, and media pro was suddenly paused. Like everyone else, I adapted. I taught online from my newly built media battle station in my basement. I coached clients and my students online. I shot when I could. I started a podcast. I interviewed photographers on the podcast and learned from every one of them. And somewhere in that chaos, something important happened:
I realized beginners didn’t need more gear talk. They needed someone to actually teach them like they’re standing next to them with a camera. Someone who has been there, done that, and knows a few pros who also want to teach beginners.
Why This Blog Exists
So here we are, January 20, 2026. Six years later, same mission, much clearer perspective. This blog is the piece of the puzzle I’ve been avoiding because I thought it needed to be perfect. Turns out, it just needed to be useful.
That’s my promise to you: Short posts. Real lessons. No jargon or ego. No tech worship. Just photography you can actually use to get better. Your photo journey starts HERE in the Photo Lab!
I’m a sports shooter, video and stills by trade. Over a thousand live remote events. Emmy awards. Network gigs. Pro, college, and K12 Sidelines. Arenas big and small. The first camera that hung around my neck was the intrepid Nikon F and a “nifty 50,” gifted too me at age 10. I’m also a currently licensed Career Tech teacher. (Shout out to my CT teacher sisters and brothers everywhere!) I’ve taught hundreds of students how to make video and still pictures that told stories that mean something. Here’s what I learned teaching the camera arts:
What Beginners Actually Need
Every beginner struggles with the same handful of problems. Every pro learned the same way, by screwing up and by learning that progress comes from those mistakes. The important thing was they keep shooting. Along the way they learned a universal truth, that every frame starts with clarity, not gear. My teaching philosophy is technique first, technology second.
Who This Is For
If you’re new to photography, whether you shoot on a phone, a hand-me-down DSLR, or a brand-new mirrorless, you’re in the right place. I built this blog for:
- parents on the sidelines, or in gyms, or in the band room who miss their kid’s best moments
- beginners afraid to travel to a far off land called, Manual Mode and the Exposure Triangle
- phone photographers who want real results
- adult learners who want easily digestible lessons and real hands-on labs they can practice anywhere
- people who want to take photos to tell their own stories and how they see the world
How We’ll Learn Here
And if you’ve followed me on Instagram (@tvcommandomedia) or Facebook (/zoomwithourfeet), you know the drill: I’m not here to impress you. I’m here to help you get better.
This blog isn’t about fancy theory. It’s not about having the best camera. It’s about learning how to harness your technique one frame at a time to better leverage the technology…the current technology in your hands.
It’s about the moments we miss when we overthink the gear. It’s about the small changes that make big differences. It’s about practical lessons you can use today, not someday.
Every week you’ll get a short, focused post built around real stories and real fixes. The same way I teach labs and workshops in person. Some posts will come from my own mistakes (and there are plenty!) Some will come from photographers, videographers, directors, and creative business owners I’ve interviewed on the Zoom With Our Feet Podcast. Some will come from you.
If I do my job right, you’ll start seeing the world differently. You’ll stop missing the good stuff. You’ll learn to stay ready after the action, sports or otherwise, by staying in the viewfinder. And you’ll start making photos that tell a story with real emotion.
Welcome to the next chapter at Zoom With Our Feet. The ZWOF Photo Lab, six years late, but right on time. The Lab is open.
Let’s learn photography together the way it was meant to be learned — one clean, honest, useful lesson at a time. #shooton
Ready to Start?
Begin with Lesson 1 — Stay in the Viewfinder.
Want the fuller story, the credentials and the career behind the confession above? Read more on the About TMac page.
—TMac
Photographer, Videographer, Teacher. Head Zoom Jockey of Zoom With Our Feet.
#Shooton
