I’ve heard it said that if you believe you will succeed, or if you believe you will fail, you are right. There is a lot of truth in that. I have also heard it said, that as photographers, it is our responsibility to lead society.

As I write this we are in what is described as the worst recession since the great depression. It feels as if all the news is doom and gloom. I find myself being more careful in my spending, pulling back and even taking on a bit of a siege mentality. Now the more we all do that, the worse our economy is going to get. What can we, as stock photographers, do to help? We can stay positive and we can make positive images.

The bright side

One way I am approaching my stock photography that allows me to create positive conceptual images and still feel like I am being fiscally responsible is to create images that cost little to nothing.

A great example of that is a picture I created just a couple of days ago. The image illustrates the idea that no matter how dark things are, there is always a bright side. That even when you are in a raging storm, on the other side of those clouds the sun is always shining. The image shows a rainstorm of dark clouds, but above those storm clouds are light fluffy clouds and a shining sun.

Pictures of clouds, rain and sun

The storm clouds and rain were photographed on a road trip through Colorado. The transition was created using clouds I shot on a vacation in Hawaii. The light fluffy clouds were shot here in Marin County and the sun was added using the Lens Flare filter in Photoshop.

Shooting weather, pictures of clouds, rain, and sun are free. Photographs of beautiful landscapes are also free. I say pretty much because I have accumulated a lot of my weather and landscape files while on trips. I am also fortunate to live in the Bay Area where we have an abundance of scenic vistas ranging from mountains to the ocean, to draw upon.

In another case, again drawing upon my archives of clouds, I used Photoshop to create a smiley face in the sky. Total cost, a few hours of digital work. It isn’t the best selling image I have ever made, but pretty much every penny it does earn is profit. Some images I undertake require enormous expense, and I certainly do my share of them. But it always feels good to create an image with a high probability of selling that costs little to nothing to make.

Creativity and a positive attitude

In my final example, I have an image of a man’s hand holding a light bulb in front of the sun. I found a friend who modeled for me for no charge. Again, a positive image, about solar power, conservation, and even creativity, at minimal to no cost.

Powerful conceptual ideas that cost little to nothing are all around us; Ideas that are needed in the market, and that we can feel good about on several levels. I know that it helps me stay positive when I make images I am proud of, and it certainly helps my wallet when they sell. As a business owner it also feels good to stretch my dollars. As with so much else in life, all it requires from us is creativity and a positive attitude.

About the Author

Stock Photos of lions, cows, monkeys, mice, business and more: Amazing Stock Photos A huge collection of fascinating and unusual stock photos.

John Lund interviews photographer Jack Hollingsworth: Interview with Jack Hollingsworth Concept stock photos, Fine Art Prints, and printed merchandise too!

Ask all of the successful business women that you know and most if not all will talk about how mentors have them in various stages of their lives and careers. Most leaders never could have achieved the results they have without the support, interest and feedback of trusted advisers, mentors. But what happens for successful business women if they could use the help and support of mentors, but don’t have any?

The ideal scenario should always be to have a group of mentors or others who you can count on for honest feedback and support before you actually could use them. It’s often very isolating for successful business women so the support of a trusted adviser can help them avoid making costly and bad decisions. Obviously you need to start out by analyzing where you need mentors and how they can help you. Once that is done, how can successful business women go about finding one?

Secret 1 involves determining what attributes, attributes and other characteristics of mentors would be most helpful to you. Write down the five attributes that you want your mentor to possess. Analyze what combination would be most helpful to you. This could vary if you are looking for help with your career, a challenging business task or dealing with tough customers.

Secret 2 is to ask who your mentors could be. Potential candidates could be your friends, colleagues, family members, superiors or others. We would not suggest you just go out and ask them to be your mentor but that you first meet them and discuss some of your goals and challenges. Successful business women should realize Both mentors and mentees need to feel comfortable with the conversation so the required level of trust can be established. This is hard to force so don’t try too.

Secret 3 for those who you select as potential mentors is it important to ask for their permission to contact them on a regular basis. Perhaps you could say something to the effect of “Thank you for your time. I really appreciate it. Would you mind if I contacted you on a regular basis to get your feedback and advice.” This clarity is critical for successful business women to develop an effective relationship.

Secret 4 – Once you have your mentor, the next step is to actively work to establish a strong and effective mentoring relationship. For most successful business women it does not happen right away but will require ongoing planning and work.

There are several tips to making this happen:

Tip 1 – Always be clear about what you want or need to learn – you completed this self-assessment during your initial self-assessment activities so you should be able to elaborate on your need for a mentor

Tip 2 – Take several sessions for the mentor to learn about you as well as to understand what you want or need from them – They will need time to absorb the issues, concerns and challenges so they can determine the best way to help

Tip 3 – always be active and honest. While trust may take some time to develop, over time it is the most critical element to an effective mentoring relationship.

Tip 4 – be a good and effective listener. Failure to understand and incorporate the discussions with your mentor can be frustrating and de-motivating to both of you

Tip 5 – show initiatives and be proactive. You can’t sit back and wait for them to reach out to you. You must show in your actions that you are grateful for their support

Tip 6 – be ready for the challenge - this is common to many mentoring relationships because tough love is required to make it effective. You may not want to hear certain things but need to in order to be successful. Rather than get defensive or withdraw, successful business women use this advice to propel themselves to greater success.

Finding a good mentor is never easy but it is absolutely vital to the success of successful business women. The very best have many mentors throughout their careers who provide the support, perspective and feedback to help them make better decisions and avoid costly mistakes.

About the Author

Successful business women. Follow this link to get additional tips to find the support and feedback you need to be more successful.

Wayne Tarken is a coach, adviser and seasoned business leaders to women in business. He helps them achieve their business goals and professional aspirations. He has spent many hours researching and trying to find ways to help them be more successful. He has seen all of the mistakes that women can make. Why not learn from their experiences and mistakes?

He created this short article to help you improve your results and get what you want. Take his expert advice and get ready to reach your goals – http://www.CEOWomensClub.com