Bridesmaids may soon be forced to sign contracts agreeing not to put on weight or get pregnant before a friend’s wedding.

One in five brides-to-be is so concerned that her bridesmaids might let her down that she would ask her maid-of-honour to sign a written “pre-nuptial agreement”, according to a new poll.

Despite the fact that 61 per cent of brides picked a best friend as their choice of bridesmaid and 49 per cent chose their sister, 48 per cent would sack a bridesmaid who failed to stick to the rules.

The survey of 1,000 women, commissioned by You & Your Wedding magazine, asked women which clauses they would put in their contract.

It found that respondents’ biggest gripes were with bridesmaids who put on weight, became pregnant or changed their hairstyles before the big day.

A series of suggested clauses included that bridesmaids should not consume more than 10 units of alcohol or make any advances towards “inappropriate male guests” - or the groom.

Many women who had already married reported stories of their bridesmaids letting them down on their big day.

One woman said her maid-of-honour left her dress at a service station on the way to the wedding after deciding she didn’t like it, while another revealed a bridesmaid had left 30 invitations unsent in her desk drawer.

Colette Harris, editor of You & Your Wedding magazine, said: “Planning weddings can be a stressful time for brides and while our contract is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, the survey demonstrates that issues with bridesmaids are of concern to many readers.

“Perhaps official contracts are the way forward for brides struggling to keep the peace.”

Siobhàn Craven-Robins works with hundreds of brides a year in her role as wedding planner and has organised the weddings of celebrity clients including Joan Collins and Barbara Windsor.

“There has been a spoof contract like this on the internet in recent years but I’m not sure if the brides I know would actually use the real thing,” she said.

The bridesmaid’s contract is the latest American-style trend for brides. It follows the opening in Berkshire of the country’s first bridal boot camp for women determined to shape up to fit into their dresses.

Trudy Dixon, the director of Bridal Boot Camp, said while many of the bridesmaids that work out at the boot camp had complained about the colour or style of the dresses chosen for them, few brides she knew would resort to such draconian measures to keep their ladies in line.

“I’ve been a bridesmaid several times and if I was presented with a contract, I would suggest they found another friend to do the job” she said.

The Photo Marketing Association 2008 convention is winding down and has been a huge success and a centre for information and news on the latest camera technology.

 Major announcements on cameras have been wide and varied.

Follow this link to see the latest

I am beginning to get obsessed with taking pictures. Before they use to go in a box or on my wifes pc. I now publish the pictures using the free software and I can explain what I am trying to do, or what is happening, or just have a bit of a laugh. I like the new software they have released because now I can make even better books. Is the ISBN number on the books mean I have a full formal published book.

I keep finding myself looking at ever more complicated cameras and staring at books in WHSmith and coming up with new pictures and new books I can create.

Anything new anybody else has done or tips please put a comment

A behind the scenes look at how photographers get those cool underwater shots. The Fresh 20 campaign for water ad shows Keira Knightley floating gracefully underwater entangled in film. This is the final shot:

“You’re not taking photos of my ambulance.”

News photographers often find themselves in situations where their subjects aren’t keen on being pictured.

But that unwillingness usually extends only to human beings. In this case a paramedic was telling me I couldn’t take a picture of his ambulance. Yes, his ambulance.

There’d been an accident in the city centre and he was treating a patient. Trying to photograph the patient inside the ambulance would have been intrusive, but I was simply photographing the scene, with the ambulance’s doors closed.

Neither the law of the land, not the Press Complaints Commission, by whose code we abide as journalists, legislate against photographing motor vehicles on a public road.

But there’s a general attitude that privacy is paramount, that pretty much everything represents an intrusion into that privacy, and that journalists are the worst of all offenders.

Almost entirely not true. The truth is that photographers are, more or less, allowed to photograph anything that happens on public property. That’s the law.

Friday, 01/25/08 - At the 2008 Photo Marketing Association Show, (PMA 2008) Samsung will introduce the GX-20 – its highly-anticipated, next‑generation DSLR. A 14.6 mega-pixel DSLR, the GX‑20 extends the range of Samsung’s acclaimed GX-Series and boasts an impressive feature set that will garner the attention of any professional or photographer or enthusiast. The GX-20 is highlighted by its proprietary, high‑performance CMOS sensor. The Samsung CMOS sensor is equipped with 14 mega-pixel resolution, can capture 14-bit RAW images, and maintains outstanding noise performance, even at a high ISO setting of 6400. The GX‑20 also incorporates improved sensor-based shake-reduction as well as a double dust-removal system, which is designed to prevent minuscule specs of dust from ruining a perfect image

Our very popular FREE photo album creation software has been enhanced to incorporate some great new features.

The changes are firstly quality changes at our end giving even better quality. We have also added new functions in the photo adjustments tool. Click on the spanner icon in the editor and you will now have the ability to control contrast and brightness, flip the picture horizontally and vertically and a nice new feature is the ability to add shadow to your pictures. Another great new feature is the edit photo tools which is accessed by double clicking on any of your pictures in the editor. This now has the ability to use masks which allow design features to be used such as the heart mask which places the picture inside a heart shape. Try it and see how you can design even better albums. We have also enhanced the preview screen giving you a better feel for the complete book, it really is now a proof of your book.

Download the FREE software and create even better albums

Images showing the best of winter weather. Send us any more that you have and anything showing Christmas