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A marriage studio has closed its doorways leaving a group of photographers and videographers with out hundreds of {dollars} in owed funds and tons of of {couples} with out imagery from their large day.
South West Photograph and Movie, operated by Lee Brewer, instantly ceased buying and selling final week leaving some {couples} scrambling for a photographer for his or her weddings and others questioning when they may see images from their large day.
Videographer Sam Richardson was one of many many subcontractors that Brewer used to satisfy his appreciable bookings and he tells PetaPixel in regards to the awkward mess he has been left in.
“It has affected me massively. I’ve spent the final week selecting up the items and dealing with the remainder of the group attempting to assist as many {couples} as doable to retrieve images or movies and make new bookings,” says Richardson.
“In my view, I’ve simply been attempting to get the movies I’ve shot for {couples} to them and the association we make is ‘pay what you may’ as a result of I’m out of pocket they usually don’t wish to pay twice. I’m taking up new bookings for this yr and subsequent yr for affected {couples} matching the worth that they had agreed beforehand.”
South West Photograph and Movie, based mostly within the U.Okay., has blamed the pandemic for its finanncial woes with an e-mail despatched to clients stating: “It’s with upmost disappointment we wish to inform you that South West Photograph and Movie, formally Lee Brewer Images, has ceased buying and selling. We are going to not have the ability to present any of our companies to you at your wedding ceremony.
“We have now tried so laborious the final couple of years to outlive the COVID-19 pandemic. The monetary implications have confirmed an excessive amount of for us to recover from.”
Richardson believes that the enterprise haD gotten “in over its head” with excessive outgoings on issues like ads, salaries, and gear.
“The dimensions he was attempting to run it and what they have been attempting to pay for have been large. I didn’t suppose the worth was excessive sufficient to pay for the prices,” explains the cameraman.
“From what I perceive, it received to the purpose the place folks have been paying in full for subsequent yr and that cash was going instantly to pay for the gear and overheads for the right here and now.”
It’s doable that the enterprise was hit with an enormous tax invoice that it was unable to pay due to the mass cancelation of jobs throughout the pandemic.
The U.Okay. tax authorities has provided month-to-month repayments to many photograph companies, however it might be that this recurring invoice was just too steep for the marriage agency to deal with on prime of all the opposite related prices.
The case echoes that of Glasser Pictures, a marriage agency that closed its doorways final yr, refusing to supply shoppers refunds. They’re now dealing with a civil lawsuit in North Dakota.
To see extra of Sam Richardson’s work go to his web site and Instagram.
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