The ZoomWithOurFeet Photography Podcast

Lessons From Film To Full-Scale Studio

• Timothy "TMac" McCarty • Season 2 • Episode 35

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We trace Todd’s path from a basement darkroom to a thriving production company, focusing on film-era discipline, business choices, and the power of relationships. We share practical systems for shooting, hiring, and staying resilient while moving into documentaries and nonprofit storytelling.

• origin story from school darkroom to ad agency lead
• manual exposure discipline and SAKI workflow
• translating product lighting to automotive shoots
• forming an LLC, studio acquisition, and negotiation
• evolving from stills to video and hybrid sets
• building a team, internships, and studio rental
• short form content, nonprofit films, TV pitch development
• marketing by SEO, decks, and word of mouth
• navigating canceled jobs and cash flow realities
• creative purpose on big sets and solo shoots
• five-year aim toward legacy documentary stories
• hiring for humility, using proper channels, EQ in management

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TMac:

Humility is so undervalued. And from personal experience, what I know is irrelevant. It's what am I willing to learn? I see a lot of students who, like you said, they they may know some stuff. And I think having gear early leads them to believe they know some stuff, right? But not the right stuff about that.

Todd:

Oh man, that those last couple minutes, that's pure gold right there. Everybody listening, play that part back again because that's pure gold.

TMac:

Hello and welcome to another edition of the Zoom with our feet podcast. With me, your host, T Mack, professional photographer, videographer, and teacher. There's an old joke in the media production business that when there's a problem on the set, we're not in the media production business. We're in the communication and relationship business. My next guest, Todd Biss, has made a very successful career as a photographer, director, and highly sought-after production company owner because he is a master at relationships and communication. Our guest speaker is in the photo lab. Let's talk to a pro. Todd Biss, welcome to the Zoom with our feet podcast. How are you, sir? Hey, great, Tim. Thanks for having me. Thanks for being on. So the reason I started this endeavor was to help aspiring creators, photographers, videographers, know that those of us that seem like we're good at it started at some point, and how our journeys are all different and all important in who we are now. So I always start with your sort of origin story. I know personally your photography background and now your current gig as a media company mogul. So let's let but let's start back at the beginning and talk about your journey and how you started.

Todd:

All right. Let's do it. Um so it goes way back. I was pretty young. Uh in some ways, I think this was kind of cool that it happened this way. Because um my dad was a school teacher. He taught a class in biology, but he really loved um media production, I think is what they would have called it back then. Um and so he was into photography, he was into film, he was into communications, and uh that kind of spilled over into our home, even and so I started to see things, and photo magazines are coming into the house, and you know, back in the day when you're getting those subscriptions sent to your house every month, and so I was super intrigued by that. Excuse me, and uh so I I just always kind of had an interest in that, and he was a great storyteller too. Uh sometimes sometimes uh you wonder where the truth, you know, uh ended and and the rest began. But uh that it definitely intrigued me. And so I remember there was a point it was probably in seventh or eighth grade, I had some friends who played basketball for the school, and I had a little point and shoot kind of camera. Um, and I had some black and white film that I loaded up, and my dad and I at that point had built a dark room in our basement, and uh I shot some pictures of my buddies, and I went home and I processed them in the dark room and I made some five by seven black and white prints, brought them into school on Monday, and I was showing them around and they're like, Oh, these are amazing. How much? And I'm like, How much what? And they're like, How much are they? And I'm like, You can sell these, you can make money doing this, and so that's kind of when I went, This is pretty cool. I really like this process, I like the interaction with people, I like capturing moments. Um, and and then I realized, okay, there's the potential to make money. And so uh through high school I shot for the yearbook in the newspaper, which gave me a lot of hours behind the camera. And uh right out of high school, I started going to uh uh college in the evenings at the University of Akron and started working with um a couple different photographers who were uh commercial photographers, architectural photographers, um kind of across the board, some some different types of things, and I was like, oh man, this is a whole nother world. All I knew were portraits and newspaper kinds of things and weddings. Uh, but when I learned about the advertising world, I was like, this is really incredible. So I did that for a few years, um, like a very short amount of time, actually, because it's kind of a long story, but ultimately I ended up at an advertising agency as their top, you know, photographer uh when I was like 20. So I was pretty when this happened. It was a weird sequence of events. The guy the guy before me um had some had some um well let's just call it what it was. He had some drug issues and uh and had a tough time keeping it all together, so they had to let him go. And he had been bringing me in as an assistant, and uh it was pretty cool that uh uh I ended up in that space, you know, when I did, as young as I did. I when I first approached them as they, you know, when he was let go, they uh I went to them and said, Hey, I'd like to be the guy. And they said, Oh Todd, we think you'd be the first to admit that you don't quite have the experience to pull this off. So for the next six months, I think I had turned 21 at that point, they interviewed people and I did all the work, and then they came to me and sat down and said, Hey, we think we'd like to offer you this this position after all. And it was a really cool story. I was there for nine years and just learned a ton of stuff, man. I um did a little bit of video work mostly stills with them and then uh went out on my own after after nine years. So I've been self-employed for roughly 30.

TMac:

So wow. Well I think the editorial photography that you learn in school probably to sort of a marketing advertising is a sort of natural progression. You understood story and you understood sort of what what to do, and you were also learning the technical side. So the next question is because the biggest question photographers get is about this scary thing called manual mode. So that high school experience, you were probably teaching yourself the triangle. Tell me how you did it. Because I think we all sort of Yes, we all sort of end up in the same place, but we all kind of attack it differently. How was your experience when you learned basic settings?

Todd:

Yeah, you know, that's a great question. I because I remember being in high school um really starting to figure this out. I think there were some things from my dad that I picked up on. I mean, everything was manual. Um, and so I start to understand shutter speed, and then you know, his magazines are coming in. Uh, and so I'm seeing demonstrations on you know shutter speed and how it impacts the image, and you know, slowing the shutter down to track with somebody who's running and creating that motion blur or trying to freeze an image, you know. Um, some of the sports aspects really taught me a lot. So that was the shutter speed portion of it, and then just understanding the depth of field through the F-stop. Like I started to play with that really shallow depth of field. Side note, I have clients who just call it depth of field, and they say, I really want some depth of field. I'm like, Oh, you're gonna get depth of field no matter what, because that's not a I mean, that's everything. Now do you want shallow depth of field? It's a package deal. Right. So you can't just say I went depth of field, because yeah, you get you get depth of field. Uh, but anyway, so just starting to look at that or trying to hold things in focus for a long, long distance. I think it was progressive, and I think it was a lot of trial and error, maybe reading some articles. It was not by going to the website or YouTube, I'll tell you that, because that did not exist. Uh, so um, so yeah, I think it was just probably a lot of that trial and error. I remember shooting some stuff. I mean, I was shooting minus the minus the black and white stuff. My early some of my first shoots, I remember I was shooting codachrome and ectochrome. So there's just no latitude on exposure. You you either got it or you didn't. And um, so that was, you know, I'm I'm I'm shooting a roll of codachrome, drop it in the little Kodak, Kodak uh box and ship it out, you know, uh, and then come back in a week when they tell me that it's ready, and then I'd open it up and be like, oh man, I I totally missed, you know. And sometimes I would make notes like frame one, I shot it at this exposure. Shame frame two, I shot it at this. Yeah, right. And so then I'd go back and compare my notes with that frame and figure out what's happening. That's when I started to realize like the drastic difference in f-stops from like I remember um there was a point when I had a girlfriend that I remember uh shooting, I went to shoot some really beautiful shots of her in the woods, you know, and there's this dappled light. Well, dappled light is not great if you've got a direct beam of light coming from the sun through the trees, hitting a person, face, different spots, and then the rest is in pure shadow. You know, that can be an eight-stop difference. And in, you know, in the ectochrome or codochrold, it it's ruin. You can't do anything with that. So there were some really strong moments of learning uh in those early days.

TMac:

I I also think that those of us that were lucky enough, fortunate enough to start in the film world developed, I think what you're describing is a mindfulness. Always in our mind when we were making attempting learning settings changes, we all knew that it was either good or ruined. Yeah. And so there was this, you know, I always liken it to uh carpentry when you measure a hundred times and cut once. We thought about the settings a hundred times and then made a decision and went with it. Oh yeah, and then had to wait a week or two to find out whether we were correct or not. So that develops a mindfulness about the process that what I've found in teaching um sometimes is lacking. Slow down, work your brain, what's your process? It's all still the same. Yes, it's digital. Yes, you can go and and do it again, but you can still be mindful in your process about how you shoot.

Todd:

Well said. Well said, Tim. I think that that's a great way to look at it because it it really did create a mindfulness. So, side note, I taught some classes at the University of Akron for a spell, um, just like three semesters or so. And it was an upper level, I think they called it fashion portrait or something like that, or portrait fashion class. Um, and I was shocked at how many people who had multiple photo classes came into that class not understanding shutter speed aperture, Kelvin temperature, ISO, you know, those things. And so after my first semester, yeah, I kind of developed a process. I I said, when you turn on that camera, as soon as you turn it on, I want you to think Saki. Uh sounds like the drink, but a little different. S-A-K-I. Yeah. So I wanted you to think, I want you to think of, I was just trying to think of an acronym that would have a ring that you could remember. So shutter speed, aperture.

TMac:

And college kids would love the alcohol reference, I'm sure.

Todd:

So I want you to think shutter speed, aperture, Kelvin temperature, and ISO. So there's a mindfulness, like that camera comes on, you're thinking about four things, and you're setting those things with intention so that you're not going, oh, I'll just fix it in post, you know. And um, so yeah, I think that's been really helpful. And I encourage my whole team here, and I even remind myself to do that when I flip on a camera, like, check them all, don't just start shooting too many times. I'm I'm not paying attention, especially in the digital video world, like where where is my Kelvin temperature set and what is what is my balance as I look around.

TMac:

So I that's so funny you say that because uh my my uh stumble is I'll go out at the end of my driveway and do a bunch of moon pictures at you know 125, and then the next thing I'm sitting on the crew sideline getting ready to shoot, and I'm in single shot at 125. And the great thing about the the the mirrorless now is you look into viewfinder and it's dark because of the EVFs, but it's like when I was at these DSLRs, I did it all the time. I'd hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, and it went boom, and that was it. That was all I got of the sequence because I had forgotten to go through, I wasn't mindful enough.

Todd:

Right, right, all right. Mindfulness, that's a great point.

TMac:

So so ad agency work um led to what next?

Todd:

Yeah, so I was at the ad agency for nine years, and that helped me develop a lot of relationships with a lot of people, which was great. Uh, I continued to work with that ad ad agency up until they actually uh dissolved um just this year, in fact. Um but it gave me a lot of experience with a lot of different things and uh a lot of local work, a lot of industrial work. Uh, did a lot of work with here's kind of a fascinating side story. One of their clients was Mac Tools in the early days, and um so I shot everything in their catalog, right? I was shooting thousands of sockets and wrenches and highly reflective and paying attention to all the angles and the shapes. White backgrounds, yeah, yeah. And product shot. When I when I went out on my own, had the opportunity to do some work with Summit Racing, and so for the first time I was rolling cars into the studio, and I'm like, oh man, these things are as reflective as a socket. I need to pay attention to now instead of laying little pieces of of black or gray or white down to bounce the reflection, I'm doing the same thing, but I'm doing big four by eight sheets of gator board or foam core, black on one side, you know, white on another, or or rolling in drapes. Even got some drapes around here, like just just thinking about it's the same thing. It's just I went from a socket to uh, you know, an automobile or a truck. So um yeah, so so that that move uh from ad agency, all that continued, continue to work in in that world with uh a lot of different ad agencies, sometimes direct to manufacture. Um, that's actually become more common lately, less agencies and more direct work. Um but it's man, the the variety of experiences is massive.

TMac:

So the first big decision was was really to form an official org company. Did you formalize it right away or did you work as a freelancer?

Todd:

Yeah, no, I formalized it right away. I actually had a friend who uh we decided to become partners. Um her name's Connie Collins. We worked together on some things, uh, and right off the bat when I we formed our partnership and we created our LLC. Um So smart. Yeah, right off the bat before I left the agency. Um also when I left the agency, they were they were growing and expanding, and they needed the space that I was using as their as their photo studio. Uh, they needed that for other people. And I said, How about this, guys? What if I go out of my own, buy all this equipment off of you in in some sort of a payment plan or trade, and uh, and then I'm your go-to guy, and you can have this studio, and you don't have to worry about you know how do you manage all this equipment. It was kind of brilliant. I don't make a lot of smart decisions, but it meant that they had no equipment and they had me two blocks away in another studio, and uh so that meant that a lot of work came my way from that agency uh for many, many years. So I I wasn't the only one, but um, but it it worked in my favor.

TMac:

Well, you're way smarter than me because it took me all of that television freelancing I did, I did it as a DBA, not an LLC, and I regret it to this day. So when I decided during COVID to sort of go out on my own in photography, um I I did the same thing. I said, I I gotta do this right, I gotta form this, draw it all up, get it signed off on, pay my business taxes, blah, blah, blah. And it's been the smartest decision I I could have made. I just think, God, I should I would have had an EIN instead of uh, you know, doing all that as Social Security and W4 and all that jazz. So very smart move. Well done, sir.

Todd:

Well, I can't take all the credit. I'm sure there are people around who are making those recommendations. I'm not the most savvy business person out there. And it's a pain. I mean, like you said, you're you're doing all these extra taxes and all this kind of stuff. I mean, there's definitely advantages to some degree both ways, but for me, and sounds like for you, this is definitely the way to go.

TMac:

So yeah, and it's it's great for where I am in life and what I'm um, the kind of work I'm doing. I'm I'm certainly picking and choosing what I do. I don't travel very far, you know, that kind of stuff. Um, you, however, are still working your tail off. Which leads me to my next question, which is all right, so you've got all this experience. You form your um your LLC, but you also make a decision to refocus or evolve, maybe is the right word, to do more video. Tell me about that um transition, what led up to it, and where it's gone uh up to probably today.

Todd:

Yeah, all right. So wow, a lot has evolved. That's a good word for it. So when I left the agency, um I have had three little girls. My wife was such a support, and she said, she said, Hey, if we're gonna try this, let's try it now. What I don't want is for you to be 60 years old and and be saying, What if? What if we would have tried it? So um I credit her with a lot of that because I don't think I could have done it without her backing and her support.

TMac:

Well, as an aside, both of us were smart enough to marry nurses.

Todd:

So carry on. Right. You're exactly right. So um, so when we when I left that and and I was partnered with my business partner, I mean, we did everything we could to make ends meet. I mean, uh, yeah, you got you've got a family at home and you're just trying to figure out how to how to keep keep food on the table. So yeah, we're shooting weddings, we're shooting senior pictures, and um there was a point when we thought, you know, we both have a little video background and some experience. Um maybe we need to to bring that into the collective. Uh and it's an interesting process. I'll give you the details on this just as a side note. Um we so we started doing some video things and we quickly realized like that that's an expensive undertaking, uh, even at that time, to keep up with you know the changes and making sure you've got good audio and all the things that are absolutely critical to good video. This is this is a bit of a monster. We did it for a few years, and then we thought, I I don't know, maybe we need to refocus on just photography. Interestingly enough, we actually sold that portion of our business, which was primarily like wedding videos. Uh, we sold that portion of our business to a friend and we focused on just photography for a while. And then we reached a point where we said, no, you know what, we missed that. There's some there's some uh improvements in equipment that have happened. I think we would get a little longevity out of out of some of these cameras that we'd purchase. Um and we just had some opportunities come up that we thought, let's try and do some more storytelling, uh, including some short film things, um, which we can talk about later. But that evolution um was was really good for us uh after we after it wasn't, and we sold that part out, we reached the point where we were like, no, let's give this a shot. We were getting a little more consistent work from folks. There were times when we were doing stills shoots that we thought, why don't we partner um this with video? We're taking the time to light it. If we're not shooting with Strobe, if we've got continuous going, then then let's capture some video. And you know, fast forward a few years, eventually um my my business partner wanted to do more just writing. She was more of a writer than writing and directing. So uh she went and focused on that. We we made the split, changed the name of our business. I had some folks consult with me who said, Todd, you're really kind of the you've kind of become the trademark of this. Just use your name for this. So we switched our name to Todd Biz Productions, um, and uh then just continue to push forward in the video world and and land some nice jobs. And uh we've I think our max number of employees was eight, um, including myself. We're at we're at six right now. So um uh yeah, it's just been a real interesting process. We do do a lot of travel. Um, I was actually just in Guatemala last week shooting for a nonprofit. Um sometimes that gets a little tiring as I'm getting older. Uh I don't think I've traveled as much as you have with your stuff, but it's I don't know, it's uh it's an interesting it's an interesting thing to to consider because it does take a toll. Um but yeah, so um as the we were in a much smaller studio than what we're in now, I decided that this would be a great spot to kind of shoot this in. But um, yeah, so three years ago we were able to purchase this building and and took about a year to really finish it out. It was an old uh it was an old uh built in 1920. It was a truck garage for the brewery across the street. Um yeah, it's really cool. So Thirsty Dog Brewery is now there, but it was uh uh the Akron Brewing Company or something like that in 1920. So this space was where the trucks would roll in at night, and uh then they it's kind of the whole thing has a slight crown to it, and there's drains on the outside edge. Um, and so there are uh they would wash, they would hose everything all the mud off the trucks and stuff, and everything would just drain to the sides. And so, but it's a fantastic studio now. Uh, I would welcome anyone to reach out to me, and I would love to have you come and see it, Tim, as you have not. Oh, I would love to see it. Yeah, it's about 8,000 square feet, so it's a good size, and uh it's it's really special to to be here and get to do things here. So um yeah.

TMac:

Big door so you can do you have a big door so you can bring in your cars and right over here.

Todd:

We have a 14 14 foot door. So um and we make it available as a rental space too, because we do shoot on location so much. We really tried to build it out in a way that it would be a great place for other people to use as well.

TMac:

So now you're doing are you doing a combination of short form long form? Are you still doing marketing-ish? What was the what was the focus? So I would say in this sort of last section.

Todd:

Gotcha. So I would say, you know, it's interesting, especially with the whole social media world. Um, the bulk of it is still short form. Uh we have we have a couple projects in the works right now. Um, two of them would be feature-length documentaries. So we're still starting with these things in in place. We're doing some fundraising right now and working with people who want to do some fundraising. And then we've got one. Um, I hesitate to talk too much about it. It's there's still some unknowns, but but uh we're working on something that we're gonna pitch to HGTV uh that I'm super excited about. Um I have never done that before. I don't know what that entails. Uh but the this person came to me with this idea, and uh I I think it's a great one. And so we've we're we're about halfway through the edit. Um, we've already shot everything and uh and and I think the concept is fantastic. So who knows? We'll see where where it goes, if anywhere, but it's been a great experience for us. Um the bulk of our other stuff is we'll do promo videos for some of the nonprofits that get a can get a little longer, you know, up in that five, ten, fifteen minute length. Um, but most of it is real short form stuff. Um we've done a couple short film type things, um, more narrative type things. Um one of my guys is doing a lot of uh music video stuff, he just kind of does that on the side. I let my team do if there are things that we're we're not doing and it's not in competition with us, um they can they can jump in and do it. So it's cool. They all um they all we have a great rapport and they all come to me with different ideas and things that they you know periodically want to try or or venture out into. And uh I'm like, hey, I think that's a great idea. 90% of the time, it's like that's a great idea, and use whatever equipment we've got here for for you to work on your stuff with.

TMac:

So Zoom Pod will be right back.

Speaker:

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TMac:

Do you have someone on staff doing project development or marketing of your group? How? I think I um especially for students who who don't understand the sort of larger picture, you still got to generate business. How are you generating business?

Todd:

Yeah, I do not have a person on staff full-time. I have uh because we're a smaller team compared to some big, bigger production companies, um we all wear a lot of hats, and the bulk of that is on me. Um the the second tier of that goes to our producer, Autumn. Uh she just has uh a great mindset to to do a lot of that kind of stuff. She's just pretty sharp with that. Um and then I've had other folks in and out at times. There are a few people we've hired. There are uh we've uh the developer, like we launched our new website recently, um, both the Akron Studio Rental site and Todd Bis Productions, and just some of the SEO things that he tweaked is amazing. We're we're getting more more and more calls and email inquiries and things like that. Um so but a lot of it is at this point word of mouth, but we just did a presentation today that you know I learned about this architectural firm and and we put a presentation together and worked it out to go do it for them. So um built uh built a PDF and showed some stills and some video. And um so yeah, it's it's a ton of work uh for most people and that I know. Every once in a while I hear stories of people who you know just things fell in their lap, but it's so rare, so much of it is just being diligent and just the grind of getting your stuff out there.

TMac:

Who's just gonna say you're grinding?

Todd:

Yeah, yeah. And I'll tell you, I mean, it doesn't it's people see the stuff that we have now and they're like, oh, you know, you're so lucky. And I'm like, man, there are still years where you know this year in particular has been a challenging year. It's like, no, it's just tough sometimes. We had we had so this side note, we had two jobs scheduled for the beginning of 2025 um that totaled probably about 110 to 120,000. And as soon as the discussion, not even anything, I'm not trying to go political anywhere here, the discussion of tariffs, they yanked both both jobs went away. 100 to 120,000 just instantly. Yeah, and one is an international trucking company, uh, transportation company. So no wonder they I can't blame them, just just that discussion, uh, that fear. They're like, we're not gonna spend the money to you know send you to these four locations around the world to shoot that. So, you know, it doesn't necessarily matter how long you've been doing it, it's still a lot of work. And there are still times where you know, I'm just looking at things going, okay, I've got a I've gotta make payroll tomorrow. So, do we have everything we need in the bank to hit payroll and all the insurances? And you know, it's it's not I say self-employment is not for the weak of heart. Um, it's kind of fascinating. My wife says, uh, uh, what's the difference between a large pizza and a filmmaker? You know this one, Tim? Large pizza can f feed a family of five.

TMac:

I love your wife. Um that is so that is so her. Um you know the the a part of uh a part of uh when I taught media, media production at the college level and was advising students uh when I did my stint at Ashland University, I uh insisted that all of my media majors walk yourself over to that business school, take an entrepreneurship course, take a marketing course, take a XL 101 course, and they're looking at me like I'm from Mars and I'm going, if you want to do this, there's a well over 90% chance that you are going to be working for yourself. And if you are even halfway successful, you're gonna need a team, and now guess what? You're a business. So mark your little self right over there and get three or four courses under your belt uh because of basically what you just described. It has nothing to do with media, it's a business.

Todd:

You are 100% correct, and that is great advice, Tim, that you gave those those students. And I would say that to anybody. If there was something that I would change, I would have spent and and I the way my path went, I ended up in a job that was why I was planning on going to school. So I never finished college, I moved right into the position. But there are many times I wish I would have gone back, even if I was taking night classes and just done spent more time on the business side because it is so much about the business. If you don't have that part figured out, I've seen so many creatives fail because they don't have the business side of things figured out.

TMac:

What um which leads me to this question: what have you learned about yourself creatively and you know, sort of uh as a manager that you didn't know before? Because even in your evolution, as you've grown, if that's the right word, what have you learned about yourself?

Todd:

Man, I don't even know where to start on that one. There's a lot that I've learned about myself. Um there are some a lot of it is the things uh first of all, I think we it's really important that we understand ourselves. Um some things I realize about myself pretty quickly, some it took me a while to figure out. If you don't spend the time to understand your strengths and weaknesses, it it'll bite you in the butt eventually. Um because you if when you know your strengths, you can lean into your strengths. When you know your weaknesses, you can ask for help. Or you can hire to your weakness, as my as my uncle always said. Um and but if you don't know, you you could be floundering and and wondering why you're this isn't working or that's not working. And um, and I know people, I used to assume that as we grew old, we grew wise, and I don't believe that anymore. Uh because I've watched some people grow old and not become any wiser. Um, and it's a fear of mine. I want to I want to keep learning, I want to keep knowing not just tech uh items or or even um approaches to you know a shoot or whatever, that's important as well. But just about myself. So I've learned that I have good people skills, so I try and lean into that. We when people say what are you guys best at? We're good at a lot of things, but I really say shooting people, whether they're pro models or talent or or people that are have never been in front of the camera before, we do a great job of making them feel really comfortable, which makes them come across to the camera in a in a much better light. Um people skills with my with my team, uh I've learned a lot about um uh filling, making sure there are no voids in communication. I'm not perfect at it by any means, but I have learned if there is a void, then we fill it with negative thoughts. If there's an emptiness, we fill it with negativity. So if there are times where a conversation needs to be had, I need to have it. Um because even if it is a hard conversation, um yeah, oh man, there's a million things that could go off on with this kind of stuff.

TMac:

Teaching, you know, there's also a teaching part of this as well. Um, you know that this may only be a brief stop for them, and you want to make sure they know how to do what you just described that you've been doing with yourself, no?

Todd:

Yeah, no, you're right. You're right. And I would say probably obviously with my team, who most of them are are have been with me for years, and obviously they're new folks that come uh get added here or there, but especially with interns. So we often have two interns a semester, and to analyze their strengths and weaknesses, to carefully give direction uh and correction, that's that's not correction is not an enemy. Correction is something that we that we need to have, and and uh I want I want that in my life. I want to have people in my life who are willing to say hard things to me. I don't like it at the time when they do, but man, when they do, um I want to pay attention. Uh, and especially if I hear it from more than one person, if I once I hear it from the second person, I'm like, okay, this must be a thing. Right. Yeah, the lights are going off.

TMac:

So yeah, there's well that well that's that's learning.

Todd:

Yeah, yeah, it really is. It really is.

TMac:

So so I always tell people, so my track was basically photography first, you know, from like 10 to college, found TV in college, went off and did TV for do I have to say almost 30 years, 20, 25 years, got rescued and have been teaching for 20 years. But I for me, creating content, shooting pictures, shooting video is good for my soul. When I need that, uh those deposits to be made, I pick up a camera. How does creating content make you feel?

Todd:

Yeah, so I'm with you on that. It's interesting. Um there are some shoots that we've had. We had one in this studio not too long ago with Audio Technica, where we built a set where we had, I mean, it was really elaborate. Probably 20, 20 people here. We had talent, we had, you know, a little bit of a little bit of everything. And there's some stuff we did for some um uh like body lotions and shampoo and things like that. Same kind of thing, set build, hair and makeup uh stylist, and set stylists and all this stuff. You get a collection of 20 people who are at in many ways the top of their game. It's it's a bit of a rush. I mean, it's a lot to to manage, but um, I'm like, I love that collaboration, I think it's so cool. Um, and so building that, building content for things like that, because of the collaborative nature of being with all these people that are so good at their particular craft, I absolutely love that. Flip side, I'm in Guatemala. My wife has become my assistant, who knows uh she's gotten pretty good with her with her iPhone, but other than that, you know, she can throw out some words like saturation and depth of field. She doesn't actually know what those mean, but actually she probably does by now.

TMac:

She'll never hear this, you're perfectly safe.

Todd:

Um but so it was it was me and a camera. Uh this is video. Sometimes it's stills, but when it's sometimes when it's just you and that tool, uh, it's so good. It's so fun. And so then I find myself pushing myself. The stories were so compelling. This was uh this was a non-profit that's that's creating prosthetics for um people in Guatemala uh in the jungle who have either been born with birth defects or were in moto accidents um or you know some kind of tragic machete wound that they've you know lost a limb or whatever. And um, and so to tell those stories and to think about, you know, where where can I how can I like slide the camera across here all handheld and and create a little reveal of this this story that's happening because I slid behind this building or or tracked with a person or dropped the camera to the floor as this person walked away with their crutches and their and their one foot, but then three days later I'm gonna shoot them walking back. Now they have two feet and no crutches, you know, just things like that. It's like um I love I love that element of of storytelling and kind of you're pushing yourself in either situation. You're pushing yourself when you're in a on a set with 20 people, but you're also like really challenging yourself uh when it's just you and a camera, and I I still love that. That has not gotten old.

TMac:

There were minimum 125 people on a golf show, probably closer to, you know, for like a US Open or or one of the big Ryder Cup. There were 175 people on the crew.

Speaker 3:

Wow.

TMac:

And everybody was top of their game, and everybody was grooving. And I will admit that I miss those moments. I miss um that uh that rush, it's all live. Um you know, shooting a golf ball flying through the air is not for the faint of heart. And and once I realized what it was and how to do it and the nuance of it, man, there was there was nothing better. However, you know, traveling 35 weeks a year to do golf and the roadie part of it was what drove me to teaching. So I I I get what you're saying, and I I I love that you boiled it down to just you and the camera and making telling stories with the tool because you're not thinking about what we talked about, kind of circle back at the beginning. You're not even thinking about it. Your fingers are doing the walking, and you're worrying about story, and you're thinking ahead, and you're doing all of that stuff. And I I you know I totally take that. And and I would love, not the setup and the teardown, but man, I have still convinced myself that I could go up a camera tower and hit the damn ball. I'm ready and and still be able to still be able to do it. I'm probably lying to myself, but it keeps me, it keeps me going. And I think it's um it was so well said um how you put that after all of that and the business and all that, boiled it all back down, you and the camera. That's so that's so well said. So here we go. I would lose my teacher card if I didn't ask you um what keeps driving you, right? You partially answered that question. But what's the next step for you and your business? Where uh, you know, hate to go all teacher on you, but five-year plan.

Todd:

No, that's a great question. Um and an interesting one because of the timing of this year. I think I've been really intrigued. Maybe some of this is just getting older, but I've been around a lot of people lately uh who are older than I who have some stories of some adventures and things that they've tried. Some of them are ministry related, some of them are just interesting stories, and they're they're up there in years. And you know, I know you you've worked with our friend Tom Wilson and done some of these uh World War II stories. Like, some of these stories are are these folks are passing. Oh, I like where this is going. Yeah, and so so I'm like, man, I feel like I want to dive into some of this a little bit more. Quick, quick story. I'm working at this young life camp in in British Columbia, uh, just volunteered to help get it ready for the summer. I'm I'm pressure washing this deck for six days. It's this huge deck and this camp in this in the middle of nowhere. I mean, it's so cool. And there's this older gentleman, probably early 70s, uh, and he's sanding this boat, right? He's getting it ready because they're gonna put another coat of paint or do some things to fix it up, and he's working on this boat that's there that helps shuttle supplies to this camp. And I hear kind of under his breath when I let off the the trigger of of the pressure washer, I hear him say, I drove this boat here when I was 17 years old. And I said, What? What? And he said, I uh yeah, I drove this boat here when I was 17 years old. And I was like, This is crazy to me. Like, and then he proceeded to tell me some of these adventures of of of him coming to this camp when it was like really rough, and how he and his wife, you know, took over and be you know, years later became the people who ran this camp. And I'm like, who's telling these stories? Like, so I contacted the organization and said, Hey, can can I can I be the one to start to tell this guy's story if I do some fundraising? And we were and they were they're super excited about it. So we'll see where that where that leads. I hope it leads to something. But man, I I think while I've always had a love for storytelling, and I still believe that that can happen to a degree in the commercial world, um, there's something special about real human stories, and uh, and you know, I've always loved the documentary, and I think there are some that are just told better than others, and I I want to become the guy that tells them well.

TMac:

So well, you're gonna you you're gonna really laugh. Now, I literally, within the last week, just had a conversation with our aforementioned friend Tom Wilson about the very same thing. He and I are looking at each other, talking about just where we are and what we've done together and all this stuff. And full disclosure, the three of us, um, when you were in your formative years, made a film together that I still remember because I got to shoot. Tom was involved, you were producing. Um, it was a fantastic experience. So I say all that to say we were just talking about um back nine kind of conversations about we should make documentaries again. So we now have it recorded and on tape, so that means we've got to do something.

Todd:

It has to happen now.

TMac:

Uh that's cool. So so speaking of endings, here's the here's the pay it forward. Again, I lose my teacher card if I don't, you know. Um the pay it forward is clearly you mentioned interns, you've hired plenty of people. So my focus is it's sort of a two-parter. Um, and you've probably hired a range of skill levels. So tell me what you look for in a potential hire, A, and then we'll talk about uh a different set of circumstances if you deem them to have management potential, because that's my demarcation line. I have a lot of students say, I want to shoot, I want to shoot, I want to shoot. And I say, okay. And then they'll say, Well, I I I don't have to go to college for that, right? And I'm like, well, no, not really. But at some point in your career, when your back hurts and your knees hurt, you're gonna say, you know, maybe I'd like to manage some shooters. And then that's where the college degree probably is your is your best bet. So what do you look for in a potential hire for interns?

Todd:

So we actually do have like a whole form that they that they fill out that kind of talks about their background, and that gets us a good start. Uh, and then we bring them in and we sit down with them and have them meet the team. So I quickly look for how they interact with people. And not everyone's gonna be, you know, these incredible outgoing folks. Some people are more introverted, and we've had we've had both in the past year, uh, a wide range of that. But I I want people who I know I'm gonna uh feel that I can trust with clients. They're gonna be professional, they're gonna be respectful, they're gonna be social, they're gonna give a firm handshake. Uh, all those things that that just I don't want to have to worry about that when I'm with clients, they're gonna be appropriate. Um uh and then I want someone who we had a few situations over the last two years where they just knew everything, which was a miracle, Tim. How could they know everything? How could they know more? How could they know more than me and my team? And and more than um Yeah, I'm not gonna say I'm not gonna say too much more because if I get too specific, it's some great stories, but get myself in trouble. Uh I hear you. So um yeah, so the sense of humility, a desire to learn, um, in many ways, those things are even more important than their skill set because you can teach some of this, you can teach some of that, and you can teach some personality things as well. But um I'd you know, I'd like to see a good portfolio, I'd like to see a great, you know, highlight reel or whatever. Uh, and that gives me good ideas about what their potential is and what their skill set is. I like to um learn about their interests, uh, to to see like where would they be a good fit. We really try and plug them in, like, man, I just love stills, or I just really love whatever it is, editing, you know. I just love the post-production, whether it's in stills or video, or I man, I'm I'm really about lighting, or I I just want to be behind a camera or whatever. Um I think that's kind of nice. Some can come in and just say, I I don't know exactly where my primary interest is. I just know that I want to be involved in this field. That's okay too. Um, I worry a little bit when it's somebody who comes in and says, I do everything, I do everything. Oh, okay, but what what do you really want to do? What do you really and sometimes they come in thinking one thing and they leave with something else. That's fine too. Uh, because now they've seen it. Um so yeah, it's it becomes I think in general, if I were to sum it up, it's more about the person and their personality than it is about their skill set. That's the when it comes to management, um a lot of that I see over time. Um I think that again I think that having having a good collection of skills, having done a lot of different types of work to then be able to move into management is important that you have all that other stuff. But man, that's where it really moves into um uh emotional intelligence, I think is a discussion worth having. Um, and I think people that again understand themselves, their strengths, their weaknesses, they learn how to work with people. Um they're not afraid to say I made a mistake, they're not afraid to acknowledge where their shortcomings are. Uh in fact, they they go after those things, they figure out what they are, and then they correct them when possible and uh or at the very least become aware of them. Uh if you're not aware of them, you you you know, you just I think people just end up floundering. Uh so if a lot of those things are in place, then you can start to see how does this person work with a team? How do they correct someone who needs correction? Man, that's a that's a big part. I hate conflict. I hate you know leaning into areas of conflict. I've got a friend, a very successful business person, and he said, I love it. And I was like, You love it? And he's like, How how do we change if there's not conflict? How do I encourage somebody or help somebody grow if there's not conflict? And I'm like, I don't know, but so I mean he's way more successful than I am in business, so maybe there's something to be learned there, you know. But the point is that in life, if you're not, you know, tucked away in your room by yourself, you're gonna be interacting with people and there's gonna be conflict and there's gonna be challenges. Um, and you can't be afraid to go after those things and address them, both for yourself and for other people. Um, yeah.

TMac:

I you know, it's so funny because uh uh humility is so undervalued. And from personal experience, what I know is irrelevant. It's what am I willing to learn? And we can all learn something. I, you know, uh true story. Last year was my first year shooting the MLS and the Columbus crew, and I got invited to join uh a small group that covers all the games. I've been shooting for a zillion years, but I was the new person in the photo room, and I acted like it. I made sure I wasn't sitting in anybody's spot. I didn't, you know, I wasn't uh I still have a big mouth, but I was respectful and introduced myself to everybody and you know, all of that. And I'm, you know, gonna be 65 next year. And I tell that to and I tell that to some students sometimes, and they go, what? You know how to shoot. I go, it's not about whether I know how to shoot or not. It's how do I respect those who this is their room, not mine. They're full-time photographers. I am a uh I could be considered a professional photographer. I make money at photography, but I'm not a work-aday professional photographer. They own this room. This room was built for them. I'm a guest. And and the students will look at me and I'm going, the lesson there is it's not whether I can shoot or not. It's what is my attitude? And do I respect them and this room enough to treat it in that way? And it's funny that I I see a lot of students who, like you said, they they may know some stuff. And I think having gear early leads them to believe they know some stuff, right? But not the right stuff. How about that?

Todd:

Oh, Tim, man, that those last couple minutes, that's pure gold right there. Everybody listening, play that part back again because that's pure gold.

TMac:

That's six, and I can remember driving to Columbus for the very first game, and I I I I I had two hours to like work this through in my head, and I'm like, don't screw this up, knucklehead. You know, respect the room, talk to the boys, shoot your tail off, and then shut up.

Todd:

Yeah, it's really true. It's really true. And I'm flashing back to some situations with with interns. And uh I'll throw this in about that. Um, when I remember, which now I remember pretty regularly uh to have conversations with interns before they start, you may have an idea, and it may actually be a good idea. Um make sure we have enough of a relationship, like you've been with us for a few months before you throw that idea out. And when you throw that idea out, you're not throwing it out, you're coming and whispering to me or to my producer or to my DP and uh the idea, and then we will determine if it's a good idea or not. You're not saying it in front of you know the the client and everybody else. Um that's a little word of advice. Proper channels, yeah, yeah. So Tim proper ways. Yeah, to your point, man, again, you're about to be 65. Having that respect for the people that have been there and doing it, I mean, let and then then start to, you know, as time goes, sure, there's there starts to become a little more mutual respect, but let your let your imagery and your storytelling be the thing that speaks, not not your mouth and your pride.

TMac:

And what was really funny is I you know nobody knew about my history, nobody knew I was even coming from Canton, Ohio. I was just a part of this small group that works for somebody here in Stark County who runs a website and he's got a bunch of photographers, and he he said, Would you like to do this? I know you're a soccer nerd. And I said, Oh, yeah, man, I'd love to do it. So it's it was a great experience. But what's really funny is like you said, there's a proper way to do stuff. And if you let your work speak for itself, well, all of a sudden I start, you know, first couple of games, and I post a little bit on my Facebook and Instagram. Next thing you know, these guys are following me, and then somebody said, Hey man, nice, nice work on the last game. Wow, thank you. Right? It's like it'll come to you.

unknown:

Yep.

TMac:

Let it come to you.

Todd:

Yep. Well said.

TMac:

T Bis. Thank you so much for being a part of the project. I can't thank you enough. Um many good uh many good uh experiences, more. Let this business run, dog.

Todd:

And then let's go make some docs. There you go. Thank you, Mr. McCarty. I appreciate you having me on board. And uh it's been a lot of fun. Look forward to doing some more things with you in the near future. See you down the road. All right, peace.

TMac:

Thanks again to Todd Biss, Master Communicator and owner of Todd Biss Productions in Akron, Ohio. You can see all of his team's great work at Toddbiss.com. Are you looking for gear or a cool photography t-shirt? You can trick out your kit and your wardrobe at the Zoom With Our Feet shop. Use our affiliate links from Small Rig, Adorama, and Printeak. Remember, anytime you purchase using our links, we get a small commission that doesn't affect the price of your item. The Zoom With Our Feet Podcast is a production of TV Commando Media. Our theme music is by Novembers and their Funky Groove Cloud 10. Be sure to take a peek at the other great episodes of the Zoom Pod at zoomwithourfeet.com, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Until next time, creators, do what you love. But love what you do.

Head Shot

Timothy "TMac" McCarty

Host