When Chris Gray photographed his last wedding before new coronavirus restrictions virtually stopped the industry overnight, he already had a sense the future was bleak.
The March 21 nuptials at Leura's Fairmont Resort were held when outside gatherings were restricted to 500 people but Mr Gray could see the writing on the wall for his Springwood business, Chris Gray Photomedia.
"It's impossible to have good social distancing at a wedding, and that was clear from how much physical affection was on display throughout the day," he said.
"I was hearing lots of common stories from other wedding photographers in Australia who shot weddings that same weekend. Things weren't being done properly according to the restrictions and it felt unsafe - especially after the news story broke about a wedding in Stanwell Tops just a couple weeks prior that had 30 plus confirmed cases of the virus."
But whatever qualms wedding photographers had were quickly overtaken as tough new restrictions changed the industry.
Mr Gray said coronavirus stopped his three-year-old business "essentially overnight".
"At first I began carrying hand sanitiser and a mask with me at weddings and being more careful in general. Then the next week I was processing cancellations and postponements for the next five months of bookings."
The 21-year-old was working one day a week as a barista but the pandemic also cost him that source of secondary income.
Despite the havoc it has caused in his own life, Mr Gray's thoughts have never strayed far from the couples who have been forced to postpone often long-awaited wedding plans.
"It's been emotional for my couples," he said. "Many of them have now had their legal ceremonies so they can at least be married while they wait to celebrate on their new date."
While he has "managed to grab a couple of jobs shooting from my home for clients," he said this won't be enough to survive on.
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He is currently attempting to navigate his way through the range of government assistance rolled out to support businesses.
"I've been trying to keep up to date with all the announcements from the government and figure out what I can claim... [but] being so young also means I don't qualify for the same thing as most small business owners or sole traders [people have to be 22 to qualify for JobSeeker payments] so I'm looking at some form of the Youth Allowance."
Mr Gray admits the last few weeks have "been a whirlwind for sure" but he is determined to stay positive.
"I've joined a couple of fantastic Facebook groups of Australian photographers where I get lots of advice about how to deal with the impacts of Covid on my business. I couldn't have done it without that support and help from others. We're all figuring it out together and I love being part of the photographer community," he said.
