When you were a child, your mom probably had you take a vitamin every day, perhaps one of those fruit flavored Flintstones ones. This goes back to a very old thought process that says vitamins are good for you. Most of us simply accept that at face value, and for many of us, that habit continues into adulthood, although we change from Flintstones brand to something more appropriate, perhaps like Centrum.

In recent years, there have been various scientific reports and studies that claim to have thoroughly investigated the effect of vitamins on our systems. The one very interesting aspect of this is that those “thorough medical studies” have come up with very conflicting conclusions! Some of the conclusions state that vitamins are a waste of time and money and do nothing particularly beneficial for the body, while others claim that the supplemental vitamins and minerals that the body receives from a regiment of taking a vitamin a day should not be underestimated.

The truth of the matter is that both studies are right, but you need to understand WHY both studies are right. The truth of the matter is that people are different – drastically different, and lead different lifestyles. In this hectic day and age, most people don’t have the time to ensure that their three meals a day are healthy and filled with the proper amount of vitamins and minerals. Think about it, how many times per week are you just too tired to think about something nutritional, and the dinner plans quickly change to McDonalds or the phone number for pizza delivery, and you make amends by thinking that you will change your vitamin-deficient ways tomorrow, but tomorrow never comes?

There is no question about the fact that vitamins are beneficial to our general health, but the real question is HOW beneficial are they? That answer depends on your lifestyle as well as your general health. If your typical diet consists of fast food and pizza, your need for supplemental vitamins is much greater than someone else who puts a good deal of thought process into each meal preparation. In truth, there are significantly more people in the former category than the latter, unfortunately, just because we are a people that are always busy and always on the go, and the aspect of a good meal is typically saved for the weekend when we have more time.

Vitamins provide the enzymes that initiate the chemical reactions in the body to make things happen. Enzymes are the power houses of the body, because they initiate the biochemical reactions that are required for almost everything we do, such as healing, muscle contraction, food digestion, metabolism of proteins, and so much more.

Some vitamins are more important. For example, some studies have indicated that the vitamin B complex group is important for brain functions and can help fight and prevent Alzheimer’s Syndrome. For more information about Alzheimer’s Disease, you may want to visit Alzheimers Explained. Other research recently has shown the some vitamins taken in higher doses can fight and prevent other diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

One thing you can be sure of is that there are no studies that indicate that vitamins are a waste of money or that taken as directed, are detrimental to your body. So if you are not yet in the habit, get with the program and start taking a vitamin a day for better health!

Jon is a computer engineer who maintain a variety of web sites based on his knowledge and experience. For more information about Vitamins and their health benefits, please visit his web site at Vitamins Explained.

Woes of a Stop Smoking Hypnotherapist, A Day in the Life of a Stop Smoking Hypnotherapist, Tales from a Frustrated Meridian Therapist, Stop Smoking - Hypnotherapy? I have been grappling somewhat with what to call this article. The possibilities are endless.

Let me illustrate with the following common scenario.

Potential Client:
“I stopped smoking with hypnosis three times this year and it worked every time.”

What I wish I could say:
“What part of “worked” exactly do you not get?”

What I actually end up saying:
“Oh that’s great! Now there’s a new and exciting method that modern hypnotherapists use that you’ll find even better…”

Potential Client occasionally says:
“Oh no, I want none of that tapping stuff, oh no, not for me, I want hypnotherapy. I know it works.”

What I then really want to say:
“What part of “works” exactly do you not get?”

One day, I will have clients always ringing up about EFT, a great meridian therapy, for smoking cessation. Now, this is not the norm. Even people who have never had hypnosis before are convinced it is the best thing for them. Take the following scenario.

Potential Client:
“I want to stop smoking with hypnotherapy. My friend did it and was very successful.”

Me:
“That’s great. Hypnotherapy is very good for stopping smoking.”

Potential Client.
“Yes, it is. My friend did it a year ago and it worked. She stopped for 3 months. I was really impressed!”

What I wish I could say:
“What part of “worked” exactly do you not get?”

What I actually end up saying:
“Oh that’s great! Now there’s a new and exciting method that modern hypnotherapists use that you’ll find even better…”

Of course, meridian therapies like EFT and TFT, are relatively new compared to hypnotherapy or hypnosis. And we always want the familiar. The new is, well, just too new. And of course, there is no certainty that the new way will work. But if the old way didn’t work that well anyway, you have nothing to lose by trying the new.

If you are thinking of stopping smoking, really as long as the method works, go for it. Keep an open mind and keep trying until you succeed for good. Try a meridian therapy like EFT or TFT. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Complementary and alternative health education and empowerment is my passion. I am committed to empowering people to take control of their health and wellness. WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Alternative complementary health expert and author Suzy Zacharia, author of the new book at http://www.stop-smoking-ebooks.com , publishes her alternative health regular ezine. If achieving your optimal state of health and happiness is your goal, then subscribe now FREE at http://www.newageinternationaltraining.com/contact.php .

If you’re having trouble managing your debt you’re not alone. More and
more people are sinking into debt and wondering what the heck happened
and how they can fix it. If you want to get out of debt and stay that
way, there are some fundamental debt and money management skills you’re
going to need to learn.

* Learn to Manage Your Money

Just like mutual funds have money managers making the decisions on what
stocks to buy, hold and sell and when to perform these actions, you need
to become your own professional money manager. Not only will this help
you get out of debt, it will help keep you out of debt, as well as reach
other financial goals you may have, such as buying a new home, sending
a child to college, or retiring.

Some important money management tips include:

1 - Pay cash for things whenever possible. Try not to use credit cards
at all. Consider keeping only one credit card, that is for emergency
use only. Don’t buy things you want but don’t need until you have the
cash to do so.

2 - Budget, budget, budget

I’m not saying you have to start recording every penny you spend. Not
many people can do that for very long. However, you should know what
your monthly bills are, when they need to be paid, and how much income
you take home each month. Make sure all your monthly bills get paid
before you spend any money on items that you don’t need. This is especially
true when you are trying to get out of debt. Once you are out of debt (not
including longer term debt like your car or mortgage), you’ll have more
disposable income to spend on other things, as well as save for other
financial goals. But if you are in debt, getting out should be your
number one financial priority.

* Use Professional Advice

Understand that at time you’ll need to seek the advice of a professional
such as a CPA or financial planner. I’m not saying you need to hand
everything over regarding your finances for someone else to manage (and
pay them huge commissions at the same time) but putting a financial
plan in place, and having a CPA do your taxes, may be a very good idea
that will save you money in the long run.

* Keep Learning

Constantly learning about financial management and how to manager your
personal finances and investments will help keep you out of debt once
you are debt free and keep you on track for your financial goals. By
always learning about the topic, it will be in your mind and you’ll
be less likely to slip back into bad habits and find yourself in debt
again.

Learn more about how to use debt management tips with Freddie Johnson’s free articles on debt relief, debt consolidation, debt management and credit repair tips at http://www.mydebtconsolidationtips.com

1. It’s not going to rain while you do your shopping anymore is it?

2. Does going from shop to shop drive you mad and do your kids claim that they have the dreaded “leg ache”. Not anymore they don’t.

3. When you find an item you’ve been looking for, I doubt you’ll hear the words “I’m sorry we don’t have any left”. the internet doesn’t run out …ever.

4. Shopping online is now more secure than ever and you wont get mugged by the local crack-head.

5. If you have kids, you need to do more shopping on the internet. And if you don’t have a car …Bob’s your uncle.

6. Do you feel that technology is passing you by at a rate of knots?

Start now, and enjoy it. Ordering online is much easier than the “video timer”

7. Have you ever lost your purse/wallet or had an argument over wether it was a tenner or a twenty?

Not anymore - if only you tried it just the once.

8. Remember the last time you went shopping and the kids were moaning about having the shopping all over their feet in the back. you guessed it. These days even when you do your grocery shopping they deliver it to your door. No more loading and unloading if you do it online.

YOU NO LONGER HAVE AN EXCUSE - SO GET WITH IT - THE 21st CENTURY NEEDS YOU IN IT

Try it now and see how you feel at http://www.discountonlineshopping.co.uk

At the Search Engine Strategies conference in New York City last week, Danny Sullivan’s presentation set the tone and created a value proposition for the entire event.

His hour and one-half “Introduction To Search Marketing” was one of five concurrent programs to kick off the three day event. The folks at the Hilton on 6th. Avenue had to string three large rooms together, with half a dozen huge screens and lots of audio so the people packed all the way into the back of the last room could hear and see what he had to say.

Danny is generally considered a leading light for anyone and everyone when it comes to articulating how search engines work. But that was not what filled up these rooms.

His expertise about search engines is well known by the media and by anyone who has been around the development of search engine strategies for over a decade. But at least 60% of the people in the audience were not there for that reason either.

The majority of the attendees were there because of the five concurrent sessions, this was the only introductory one - and they were new to search. Some of us wanted to hear Danny because we’d heard his clear descriptions of the way things work before.

But for most of the people in the room this was their introduction to search and Danny did not disappoint. He gave us all confidence in our decision to be there, reassured us that what looked too big and complex could be sorted out, and he helped everyone get focused so we could choose the remaining sessions more objectively.

His personable style put us at ease with virtually no acronyms and SEO shorthand during his talk. I don’t know about you but I am sick to death of presenters who have to pepper their talks with expressions like “revolutionize seamless bandwidth”, “engineer leading-edge action-items” or “incentivize wireless infrastructures” because they think it’s more important to impress us than it is to communicate with us.

Danny used concrete nouns that created real life images of things we are familiar with, like shoes. That alone gave us confidence that no matter how daunting the search marketing environment might be, here was someone who could explain in it plain English.

Danny began covering search engines in late 1995, when he undertook a study of how they indexed web pages. That study later evolved into the Search Engine Watch site that he founded and edited through November 2006.

And never once did he mention that his talk was part of his farewell tour. In fact it was another day at the office - except that his office is in an English village. His wife and two young sons joined him on his trip to New York and sat in the front row until the siren call of Toys R Us beckoned.

One of the nice touches, something only those of us in the front of the room well before kick-off time saw was when he flashed a photo of their sons on the screen for them. It was so fast I’m sure not many people other than the boys saw it. All I got was a quick shot with a Kermit hat on one of them.

After that, no matter what he was selling - I was buying. Everyone I spoke to, none of whom really knew who or how important he was - said the same thing. He will be the face of search for them going forward.

His core presentation featured a massive amount of information on 77 slides. He went through them smoothly, has done this before - telling us from the start not to worry too much about the details because there was a major presentation for each of the content areas he was presenting.

We could sit back and simply absorb the logical flow.

As he moved through the overview from free search results, to search engine PR, and advertising I could sense that each of us was considering what is important to us - so we would know which of the following sessions we should attend and why.

What became clear for me was how the 20/80 rule applies to most of the thins we do when it comes to search engine marketing. That’s when 20% of our activity will provide 80% of our results.

I was all ears, wanting to know what we are already doing right and what we can get the greatest leverage out of so we can just forget the rest. We want our site to achieve what it can achieve with a reasonable amount of money, time, and effort.

Along those lines he said that page content is critical. Since we write stories for business owners to read, page content is already critical to us. He said that our title tags are important and this is something we’ve been working on for the last three years. Our older content is indexed without regard to putting keywords in the title, so we’ll just leave them the way they are.

He said that design issues had an impact on searchability and I was so thankful that our designer and our savvy software engineer were of one mind when they created our site. Another check mark on the positive side of the equation.

And he talked at length about linking with other web site and how important it was to be linked with trusted web sites where our readers already are. This was something we had never really done anything about - but I left there with some specific ideas of who we should be linked to and a conviction to work on getting links in the future.

With this new found knowledge a lot of people left the session knowing that there were things within their control, stuff they could actually do right now, that will end up influencing their search engine ranking.

Then they can concentrate on the hundreds of other things that will make incremental differences depending on the mood of the spiders and other crawlers tomorrow an the next day and the day after that.

Danny left us with three important tips.

First he said, don’t ignore the free listings and the search engine PR because small changes like those above can reap big free rewards.

Second he said that we should not rely solely on free listings because they can and do change without notice. If you positively have to be number one on a search engine, consider buying ads that put you there.

And finally, that the next two and one half days of sessions and the exhibitors on three floors of the hotel will build on everything we had just heard.

And he was right.

To paraphrase Danny, now editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land, do what has the greatest leverage for you, do the best you reasonably can when you do it, and then move on.

If you want to know a lot more about search engine strategies visit our directory of over 300 search engine marketing and optimization articles at http://www.ibizresources.com/seo_articles/index.html Wayne Messick is an experienced business consultant whose web site http://www.iBizResources.com offers business owners a wealth of free information and business insights.

Recently, I was asked, “What is the most common question you
get on caring for house plants?” The answer without a doubt
be “How much do I water my plant?” I wish I could give a
simple answer but I can’t. The easy reply would be “once
per week” or “every day”, but then that advice would not be
useful.

From my years of experience, plants as they move inside must
acclimate to the new environment which includes not only
leaves but also the soil and root systems.

The correct answer on watering house plants would be to
water when the plant needs water and not when the watering
bug hits. Every plant lives in a microclimate which consist
of plant type, soil make up, air temperature, humidity,
Drainage of soil, root system health and other factors all
play a part in the “when” of house plant watering.

For example, houseplants during the winter in a hot, dry
room may require more frequent and complete watering for the
plant to survive. Compare that environment to a
microclimate, which may be cooler with lots of moisture.

The variety of the plant may also be a factor, not only with
a plant like Cacti that comes from a natural environment of
low moisture levels, requiring less water. But also, new
houseplant hybrids, which can go for longer periods between
watering, like some Dracaenas.

The simplest rule to follow is the well-known finger test.
If the top half-inch of soil feels dry to the touch, the
plant probably needs water. It’s important to remember,
over-watering plants can cause as must damage or problems as
under-watering. Roots staying in constant contact with water
usually result in root rot.

Very often, those new to indoor plant care carry share an
excitement with a tendency to provide over care keeping
their plants too moist or wet. This creates waterlogged
soil. A root system suffocates with no air and oxygen for
the roots to breathe.

Houseplant owners should focus more on watering the soil
completely and not frequency only. For a “complete watering”
the whole soil mass and root ball should become completely
saturated and the excess water allowed to drain. I use a
5-gallon bucket and totally submerge the growing pots of my
houseplants, to make sure the entire soil and roots are wet.
I do this on weekends. This works best for me. By watching
your plants it won’t be long until you soon discover your
plants needs.

Professionals in plant maintenance water and groom indoor
plants on a scheduled basis, follow their lead and develop
your own watering and care schedule. Your house plants will
do much better.

If your house plants miss a watering from a long weekend or
business trip, no need to worry, they will be OK. Like most things
in life, regular maintenance gives better results; try to
keep your plants on a schedule.

Thomas Fryd shares 25 years of plant care and landscaping experience at
http://www.plant-care.com
His article on the Schefflera Arboricola - The Dwarf Umbrella plant looks at one of the best house plants available today.

Internet paid surveys can make you extra income to pay off bills, buy your latest dream toy – an Xbox 360 or PS3 and supplement your main income. But there are some simple rules of engagement you should be aware of to aid you when taking these free online paid surveys.

A Little about Internet paid surveys

Internet paid surveys are generally offered and conducted by marketing research companies or even branding companies with in-house market research arm. They often represent the product developers or creators, ie the businesses behind the consumer brands. These customers need information that would assist them in making business decisions concerning the market trends, market needs and how to launch their new products. Market research companies then find pre-qualified participants and conduct targeted survey with them. The details and results are compiled and analyzed for use by their clients. In the process, survey takers are paid monetary rewards for their participation.

What are the general rules of internet paid surveys?

Expect to fill a screening questionnaire at the market research company offering internet paid surveys. The questionnaire is meant to profile you according to your hobbies, interest, skills, knowledge, education, occupation, age, gender and locality. These questions are important to the online survey companies in matching your profile with the internet paid surveys they have. Your personal details are safe with them as they do not sell your information to a third party.

Be truthful when filling up your details. Of course, the trick to qualifying for more surveys is to indicate interest in almost every profiling question listed. Check those boxes in interests or hobbies which you do know something about so that you can give meaningful and honest opinions when requested to do the surveys. Yet, do not be surprised that some companies do not need you to take a profiling questionnaire first before accepting your application. This is the case for survey companies that offer free internet paid surveys in general topics and interests.

Registration at the survey company is free. If some market research company charges you, do not use it. A legitimate market research company should never charge you registration fees. But do not mistake this with websites that offer you lists or directories of online paid survey companies. I will explain more later.

Once you are registered, you should be expecting to start taking an internet paid survey within the next hour to about two weeks later. Do not be overly anxious if it takes a bit longer. The surveys will arrive sooner or later. Provide your genuine responses and feedback about the services or products listed in the questionnaire. Sometimes, you may be called to use a free product sample and give your assessment of the product. Such products can be shampoo, conditioners, vitamins and the like.

Internet paid surveys normally take a few minutes to less than one hour to complete and can pay you a decent amount of money from $2 – 50. This is perfect if you can spare a few hours everyday to complete them.

Depending on how much time you can spare, there are opportunities for focus group discussions. These take longer to complete but the cash rewards are significantly higher. At times, you can even get to earn $100 onwards for a one to two hour discussion. If you love talking and interactions, this is suitable for you.

These are the simple rules you have to know about free internet paid surveys. Earlier, I mentioned that there are websites that offer lists or directories of companies that offer internet paid surveys. These sites went through the trouble of researching on market research companies to give survey takers a compiled listing of the ones that are most reliable with high payouts. Read my survey blog to find out more.

Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Discover where to find the highest paying free internet paid surveys at his popular blog http://Free-Internet-PaidSurvey.blogspot.com and start earning some extra cash today.

Stress, it is something that comes up in all of our lives. However, stress is one of the key factors in the ever growing problem of obesity. Recent studies have shown the more stress there is in a person’s life the greater the chance of them becoming obese. Luckily there are a number of ways for reducing stress that can help those of you that experience high levels of stress. The first way is to make sure to set aside time to relax and do something you enjoy. Put all thoughts of whatever it is that puts stress on you out of your mind and concentrate on doing whatever it is you enjoy. If you are on a schedule then schedule the time and use a timer or alarm to keep track but for that time put everything aside. It can be something as small as taking a nap, or reading a book.

Meditation

Meditation is a great way to reduce stress and increase concentration and cognitive speeds. By meditating, clearing the mind and relaxing the body you can allow stress to flow from you. Not only that but often times meditation can provide the answers to questions or problems that are causing stress in the first place.

Exercise

Not only can exercise work to relieve tension in the body and the mind but it is a good way to fight obesity. If you are stressed consider going for a run, or heading to the gym. Even just putting on some dance music and dancing can help relieve tension, reduce stress and keep your muscles and body in shape.

Taking regular time off

This is something that most people don’t do. The human body simply wasn’t designed to work the way we work our bodies. Taking time to rest and recharge is essential to removing stress and thereby preventing obesity.

Diet

There are a lot of things in the diet of average people that are causing an increase in toxins. Highly processed foods, fast foods, and fatty foods are all contributing factors. These toxins put unnecessary stress on the body, slowing its processes down and making it a less efficient machine. This is also a form of stress and a definite contributing factor to obesity.

If stress is a major part of your life and you are obese or are in a risk category for obesity consider the before mentioned ways of reducing stress to help make sure you can fight against obesity and make sure you stay healthy as well as happy.

A webmaster of Obesity Therapy website; a one stop obesity resource center.
http://obesity-therapy.most-effective-solution.com

Wedding photography is an exciting field with many photographic hobbyists looking to make some extra money on the side providing cheap wedding photography.

After paying hundreds for just the dress alone, never mind the church, the flowers, the reception and all of the food and drink. It’s very tempting to book a cheap wedding photographer; after all, the photography is probably the last thing you want to think about.

Choosing your wedding photographer is the most important thing to do when planning your wedding. In fact it should be the first thing you do.

First-class wedding photographers get booked up months in advance so don’t leave it to the last minute to book. However saying that, there could be a few dates not booked, so give them a ring and see if your date is free.

Obviously everyone wishes for the dress to be beautiful, the flowers stunning, the food to be delicious and the reception to be charming. The wedding photographer, however, really should be one of the top things on your list of essential items.

If you choose a poor quality wedding photographer, it will be felt in every photograph that you look at.

Nothing is more significant than your wedding photography. Why’s that? Well, just think about it - what happens when your wedding is over? The flowers are dead, the dress gets freeze-dried (or whatever it is the cleaners do) and put in a box, the cake is eaten, and a year after your wedding you won’t even remember what you ate. All you’ll have left from this day are your memories - and your photos are the doorway to those memories.

Down to the tips:

1. Does the photographer have many different photographs from the same wedding to show you?

   I’d be concerned if they were all from the same wedding.

   Proper professional photographers have taken wedding photographs for many different brides and that should reflect in their work.

   On the other hand if you only see one photograph from each wedding I would suspect that the photographer only gets one good picture from the whole day.

   You need to know that they are consistent and have taken photographs at many different weddings with at least three different pictures from each wedding in their gallery or book.

   As an average guide, photographs from three recent weddings are appropriate.

2. Does the photographer listen to you?

   A photographer that talks all the time about how great they are is someone you should be wary of. If a professional is not prepared to listen to you then they are not very professional, I mean how do they know what you are looking for?

1. Do you actually like this person?

   You will be spending the most important day of your life with a stranger, make sure you like them. If the photographer’s personality clashes with yours, you could be in for an unhappy day - or at least an awkward one.

   Why risk being unhappy on the most important day of your life? That’s why reading the photographer’s personality is, in my opinion, more important than analyzing their portfolio. Will they be officious? Offensive? Aloof? When you talk with a prospective photographer, get a feel for them and see if they are someone you’d want to be friends with.

   If the answer is “yes”, then put them high on your list!

2. A Professional has style.

   A professional photographer will have a distinct style and taste. The photographs may be in black and white or in colour; you may see lots of manipulation in the images or none.

3. An amateur photographer posing as a professional will not have much of a style.

   Their images will look uninteresting and vulgar. If their style is all over the place then you can bet your life that they are not professionals.

4. What are the images like?

1. Are the images flat?
2. Too dark or too light?
3. Can you see the details on the wedding dress or is it just a white blob?
4. Do the people in the pictures look awkward or distracted?
5. Do the group photographs look messy?
6. Are the backgrounds in the pictures cluttered?
7. Do the backgrounds compete for attention for the people in the picture?
8. Are the people looking at the camera?
9. Do they still have their heads?

If you answer yes to these questions then I would say that the photographer is not a professional.

There are exceptions though; with the Photojournalistic style, most people in the pictures are not looking at the camera and the backgrounds can be a little distracting.

Also ask the photographer where the photograph was taken; sometimes they have done the best that they can do. This is especially true with registrar weddings, where the registry offices are usually situated in or near industrial areas where the backgrounds are not very pretty anyway.

1. Does the photographer seem professional?

   This is the most difficult one to gauge as many people know to dress smartly and it’s easy to learn the technicality of the camera, the terminology to explain the photographs and sell their presentation.

   You can never know for sure but there are a few pointers:

1. Ask them if they do photography as a full time career?

i. If they answer yes then it’s one point in their favour.

ii. If they say no, then ask them what else they do. If it’s a completely different field, like building or office work, then they aren’t a professional photographer, they will have nothing to lose if they mess up the photographs of your wedding.

1. How long have they been in business?

i. Anything under a year is suspect, mainly because they will probably not have enough experience with professionally covering weddings outside the seminars and courses.

ii. Two to three years is good, the photographer has probably had enough wedding experience to know what to expect and how to deal with any situations that may arise.

iii. Anything over three years is very good (as long as it is their full time employment) as it shows that they are doing pretty well and they should have a good reputation.

Ask about the photographer with your friends and acquaintances; see what reputation they have achieved. If it’s good then they can be trusted, if not then don’t trust them, think of it as a confidence rating.

1. How many weddings have they photographed?

i. This is important, if they give you a figure under 20 then be on your guard and take all of the other answers into account when finally deciding on whether to book them or not, especially take into account how many years they have been in business. If they have only done 20 weddings in two years, then perhaps you shouldn’t book them. 20 is a very low number of weddings for two years; you can expect an expert photographer on average to photograph at least 20 weddings per year.

ii. If they give you a figure over 200 and they’ve been in business for only a couple of years then they are blatantly lying. There is no possible way for them to have covered so many weddings in two years.

iii. For a business that has been operating for two years, a reasonable figure for weddings covered is 60.

1. Does the photographer go on seminars and courses if so which ones?

i. If they haven’t been on any courses or to seminars and say that they are completely self-taught, then they are definitely amateur photographers. Professional photographers frequently attend seminars and courses to keep fresh, and their skills honed to a fine point.

ii. If they have been on a few courses when they started up then they are not committed to quality and excellence within their photography and probably cut corners a lot. Be wary of these.

iii. If they attend general courses, not specific to wedding photography then question their commitment to their craft.

iv. If they go on specialist courses on wedding photography quite often, then excellent! This proves that they are committed and focused on their craft.

I frequently attend specialist courses on specific styles of wedding photography. This is to keep me fresh and at the peak of my profession. I do learn from books and practise often but you can only get so far learning by yourself and there is absolutely no substitute for hands on experience and training.

1. Does the photographer have a contract?

   A photographer who doesn’t have a contract is not to be trusted. If you purchase any kind of service, from plumbing to photography there must be a contract. This is to protect you from anything that can go wrong and also so you know exactly what you are getting. The contract can either be long and complicated or short and sweet.

   The photography contract guards against a photographer not completing their end of the bargain. It also protects you from them taking your money and running. It also allows you a legal entitlement to the service you have paid for and also tells you what you are allowed to do with the photographs. The contract should also have a section attached which tells the photographer all of the details of the wedding.

2. Does the photographer ask you about the photographs that you would like taken on the day, do they ask you about family relationships and family politics?

   The photographer should ask you about the photographs that you would like on the day, a wedding is a great event that gathers together many estranged family members and there is usually only this day to photograph them all together. Many relatives will be coming from far flung places and the photographer must know to get these important people.

   A wedding is a very emotionally charged event and the photographer should ask and know about any potential problems between family members so they don’t start any fights.

   As well as knowing all of this, the photographer should ask for a liaison within the wedding party, it’s usually an usher from both sides of the family, some one who knows all of the family members by sight. Remember the photographer has probably never met your family before so appointing them someone who knows everyone that will be there is paramount to getting everyone you would like photographed in the right place at the right time.

3. Price: “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is!“

   I honestly wouldn’t look at your photography budget the same way I would look at the budget for example; your wedding dress.

1. You might get lucky and find a cheap and talented photographer for under £500 for a whole day coverage, but like most things in life you get what you pay for and you will most likely end up with nothing like you asked for, poor quality, badly composed photographs or no photographs at all!

2. If you can find the budget to move out of the bottom range and into the next level (say, £500 to £1,000 for half day coverage) you will expand your choices of truly professional photographers greatly and you will no doubt end up with gorgeous photographs that last a lifetime.

3. If you move to the next level (say, £2,000 - £4,000) your choices expand exponentially, because now you’re not limited to the photographers in your local market, you can begin to source from photographers that are willing to travel nationwide.

4. The price of the service is obviously important to you, as you have probably already spent thousands on the wedding itself. There is no point scrimping on the photography. As mentioned above, everything else gets eaten, forgotten or put into storage, the photography pretty much the only thing you will have from your day to show everyone.

Everyone has a budget, try your best to stretch that budget and book a professional photographer for as long as you can get them, you won’t regret it.

Michelle Jones an expert photographer working for Catkin Studio, a professional Wedding and Portrait photography company. She has been taking professional Photographs for over five years and is highly commended for her work. Michelle attends many seminars and courses on both Wedding and Portrait photography and takes photographs in both classical and contemporary style.

See http://www.catkinstudio.com for more information.

When you first begin to play golf this is of the mistakes you are likely to make.

You come to the course, you’re relatively new to the game of golf, and your first tendency is to put everything you have in your tank into your golf swing.
That’s the America way, right? You have to ‘try’. You have to put in a lot of effort. If you don’t, then you must not be taking yourself seriously as a golfer. Yeah, sure.

As you play a little more golf, it doesn’t take you too long to figure out that this approach will kill your golf game. I have firsthand knowledge of this, trust me.

I had a friend, John, who many years ago introduced me to the game of golf. John wasn’t a very big guy compared to me, but he could always out drive me (at first). And, he seemed to do it effortlessly. I hated him.

One day early on, I asked him how he could consistently out hit me.

“You swing the golf club like it’s a baseball bat. It’s not. Don’t hit the ball, stroke it. Think about the difference. When you figure it out, with your size, you’ll out hit me by a long ways.”

John and I then had a long conversation about the mental approach to the game of golf, and he introduced me to two words that I believe are the lifeblood to any good golfer: consistency and control.

John had me associate the way I approached putting to the way I would drive off the tee. “In many ways, they are the same. You easily maintain control of your body while putting. It should be the same off the tee. Control and consistency. If you can’t control your golf swing, how are you going to control where the golf ball goes?”

John was making a lot of sense. Early on as a golfer, I was completely out of control and hoping for the best. It was only when I downsized my approach and started ‘stroking’ the golf ball that I began to see better results.

With every golf swing you take strive to maintain that control and stroke the golf ball wherever you are on the course; leave the hitting to baseball players and boxers. When you are able to do this your golf swing will give you the consistency to become a better golfer.

Stan Thomas has been playing golf since before dirt covered the earth. He knows he’ll never master the game, but he can’t deny the quest.

He invites you to visit his websites:

http://www.golfimproveswing.com/

http://www.squidoo.com/golfimproveswing/