I was in a store last night where I wandered upon a display of fine wine, brandy, sherry, liqueur, etc glasses. The photographs of the individual glasses were absolutely stunning! They literally took my breath away. That's not an easy thing to do to a man that makes his living photographing glass but I have to give it to them, it was an absolutely brilliant job!

But heading the whole display was a group shot of several glasses and decanters with the worst lighting imaginable. I thought it might be me so I asked someone else who was looking at purchasing brandy snifters. She agreed with me, in fact our conversation started another similar conversation with three totally unrelated people. None of us could understand what the creator was thinking when they developed the display but we all agreed that they were not doing themselves any flavors by having that group shot as part of the display.

The incredibly elegant individual shots were done on an absolute black background, with the appropriate liquid in the glass, and the thinnest of absolute white highlights on the edges which gave the glass a glow throughout. The simple composition actively reached out and grabbed potential customers with its brilliance! I wanted to buy some and I don't drink alcohol! I don't know if a better job could have been done visually.

Yet heading the whole display was this group shot that highlighted the lighting more than the product and the attention to the lighting was how badly it was done! I could not take my eye off of the reflections of the multiple softboxes shown I each piece of glass.

I believe the problem stemmed from the creators insistence that the shot be done in a single shot. This required several softboxes across the scene to balance the illumination. The problem with multiple light sources and glass is they all get reflected and the composition then becomes about the reflections and not the subjects.

Please note that I have used the phrase "creator" and not photographer. I have done plenty of jobs where the customer insists on making choices contrary to my advice. Usually one look at what they want to do brings about a change of heart. The reason I point this out is because I doubt that a photographer who possesses the skills needed to create the individual shots would do what was done to the group shot. So was another, less capable, photographer used for the group shot? Did the creative director insist on this type of lighting? Did their schedule get out of control and force them into poor decisions? Whether they know it or not, there is plenty of room for improvement in their creative marketing strategy.

So what is the purpose of my article today? Perhaps it's an opportunity to learn from others mistakes. Perhaps it's a cautionary tale of some of the more challenging aspects of photography. Perhaps it's a testament to the high level of performance required for all facets of sales and marketing. Suffice to say; "Just don't shoot yourself in the foot" probably sums it all up.

Doug Loman is a commercial and fine art photographer in Milwaukee, WI

You can see some of Doug's work at http://douglomanphotography.com/ or keep up with him at Doug Loman Photography on Facebook. Doug also has a blog called The Composed Photographer which can be found at http://douglomanphoto.blogspot.com/