Meet the expert: James Donovan is a Swindon-based wedding and portrait photographer with more than 20 years' experience. James works with a second shooter and the most up-to-date equipment to achieve top-quality photos. James says: When choosing a photographer, it's important to remember that they'll be telling the story of your special day through amazing images that will be treasured for a lifetime. Once the day has been and gone, it's the images that you'll be looking back on. From the very first contact, I build a story of the wedding day by getting to know the couple and their venue, chosen theme, colours and plans. I enquire who the bridal party and family members are in preparation to capture wonderful images. It's important to consider which package you'd like. You may want your images on a USB stick or presented in a beautiful wedding album, most of which are storybook-style albums. Top tip: When viewing samples of photographer's wedding albums, ask to see a full one and not just their best shots from different weddings. Discuss what style of photography you want, for example, formal or relaxed, candid or a bit of both. I prefer to capture a wedding in an unobtrusive, relaxed way whilst including some lovely bridal party shots and group images. Top tip: Ask whether there'll be one or two photographers on the day because having a second shooter provides you with full coverage of the getting-ready session and final preparations, and adds a different perspective to your wedding story. Let your photographer know how long you require them for, for example from the preparation through to the first dance and evening party. You can decide to book them until after the speeches or cutting of the cake but make sure that this is agreed in writing before the day. Top tip: Determine whether the final images provided will be in high resolution for quality purposes. You may want copies in a lower resolution for social media.