Photo of a senior business woman seated at a desk. Picture of senior business woman executive sitting at a desk; a benevolent looking woman, vital and wise from her years of experience. She is smiling at the camera, looking at it over the top of her reading glasses. Senior Woman Executive, Seated At Her Desk and Computer. A mature woman with white hair sits confidently in her office in front of her computer. She exudes kindness, wisdom and generosity. Her hands are clasped together with her fingers interlaced.

A confident, happy and competent woman executive is the picture of vitality and is obviously comfortable in her own skin. As a senior woman executive she can draw on many years of experience to make the decisions her position requires. She representative, in a positive way, of our aging work force and the decision of many workers to postpone retirement in the face of increased costs of living and the devastating effect of the recession on their investment portfolios. In many cases such senior personnel opt for shorter work weeks and reduced pay checks. They have more time to enjoy life but still have purpose in their lives as well. Mentoring others is also an increasing role for executives reaching retirement age and beyond. It is important for our society not to waste the resource that our older workers are. For the first time, in just a few years, there will be more people in our population over 65 than under 18. We must find ways to help our aging population remain a productive asset rather than becoming a financial and even social drain or burden. The model in this stock executive is actually a lawyer, a woman who went back to school after having children, and getting her law degree. Increasingly, as Einstein stated, the ability to learn is more important than knowledge. Advances are coming so fast, change coming faster and faster, that the need for re-training, the ability to switch careers as necessary, is a becoming necessary skill for all of us. It is important for photographers, when creating stock images, to create positive images for dealing with the issues of aging both in business and in society as a whole. We need to shoot photos that show our older generations as vital, active, healthy, fit and involved. By providing uplifting images of the elder members of our communities we can actually move our societies in a positive direction. As in this case, it can be helpful to use real people for your photography rather than professional models. It often helps to get that "real" moment with genuine feelings...images that the audience can quickly and readily identify with. I photographed this woman, my girl friend's mother, in my own office. She turned out to be a really great model...I love that twinkle in her eye, and the genuine warmth in her expressions. Mentoring. Mentoring can be not just important to the person being mentored, but to the mentor as well. It can bring satisfaction, joy and meaning in to the life of the mentor. Mentoring enhances the quality of life for both parties.