One of the goals of our weekly In Focus photo essays is to increase the number of "regular people" who appear in the Tribune — they might not be winning awards (or, conversely, robbing banks), but the tasks and events of their lives closely mirror those of thousands of readers who can relate. Remember when you had your senior pictures taken? Your first hike up Camelback Mountain? That perfect plant you got at the nursery, or the time you needed to swing by the hardware store to grab something? We’ve turned each of them into a photo essay over the past few months.When we asked if we could photograph customers at Optical Shop of Aspen, it seemed like a win-win situation. The chain carries some pretty unique brands that would make for good photos, and by extension the store would (hopefully) see traffic from readers whose interest had been piqued by the photos. (And, really, with all the construction going at The Borgata shopping center, I thought the store might appreciate a little press right now.) The local staff I spoke to seemed enthusiastic.Corporate HQ in California, however, wasn’t so thrilled. Their response: "We are a luxury operation. This is not the sort of coverage we would be interested in participating in."Loosely translated: "Photograph everyday people wearing our products? No way!"Part of brand management is to make products aspirational, and one of the easiest ways to do that is to put it on beautiful people. That’s why models are hired — not just as clothes horses, but even sometimes just to hang out in bars at events, to "pretty up" the place. I use professional models for larger photo shoots because they’re experienced at providing the best photos in the least amount of time, which is important if you’ve got 40 outfits to photograph in six hours.However, OSA’s summary rejection still rankles me — more as a potential consumer than as a journalist trying to arrange a photo essay. OSA doesn’t want to let me, the everyday customer, be photographed wearing their luxury glasses? Then I, the everyday customer, will shop somewhere else, where they’re not as horrified by the prospect of me wearing their merchandise. (The locally owned chain Nationwide Vision, meanwhile, was thrilled to participate.)See the photo essay, which we photographed at Nationwide’s office on Southern Avenue in Mesa, in today’s Tribune and under the "Life/Family" tab at www.eastvalleytribune.com.

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