Moment photographer realises that he's lost all the pictures from a couple's wedding

Your wedding day is supposed to be the best of your life, and one you’ll never forget.

Well, one couple will really have to rely on their memories after the photos of their special day were tragically lost.

Their photographer Justin Gummow recounted the stomach-dropping moment he realised his work had been wiped in a video confession to TikTok.

In the clip, which has racked up more than 13.9 million views and 2 million likes in just three days, a glum Gummow tells viewers: “The worst thing that can happen to a photographer when shooting a wedding happened to me.

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"I was transferring the photos and the card got corrupted and I lost all the photos.”

He then turns the camera to his computer screen, showing a colourful mishmash, and explains: "Pretty much every single one of [the photos] looked like this."

Gummow revealed the extent of the damage to the photosjustinshootscanon/TikTok

Naturally, Gummow panicked and “bought a bunch of programmes to try and have the card restored.”

But still, the photos were irretrievable.

Admitting that he shed a few tears, he says he then resigned himself to calling the bride and telling her “that all those memories from her day that she paid a professional photographer to take are gone.

“And that sucked'.

He continues: "I called her and I did tell her and I said, 'Hey, I'm trying my damnedest and I've spent hundreds of dollars already trying to fix these photos and get them back, I can give you a refund, I will take reshoot photos for you and your husband. Anywhere you want to go, we can go and do portraits.”

But, he adds, the fact of the matter is that his equipment was faulty and, quite simply: “S*** happens sometimes.” Still, he acknowledges: “That’s not an excuse, and that’s not OK, and I’m 100 per cent responsible for it.”

However, this particular cloud did have a semi-silver lining in the end, Gummow goes on to reveal.

Looking at the screen on the back of his camera, he could still see the pictures and “they didn’t look that bad”. He says some still looked “kind of messed up” but he could see “the vast majority.”

"So I used the wifi on my camera to transfer the JPEG previews from the camera to my phone and so slowly I've been transferring all the photos that I can to my phone and I've saved a whole lot of them," he says.

The point of his story, Gummow explains, was that all was not lost in the end, and he hopes his ordeal might help someone else in a similar “s***ty situation”. Plus he "learned a whole lot of lessons" in the process.

Fellow TikTokers flocked to offer their admiration and support, or to share their own tales of woe.

“This happened to us, our photographer's insurance paid to reshoot the wedding. Paid to Re-rent tuxes and everything,” one wrote.

“This happened to me in 2018. I was sick to my stomach for weeks searching for a solution. Relieved to hear you found one,” commented another.

“I had this happen to me more than once. A couple [of] months ago BOTH of my cards got corrupted from the same session. [I] spent a boatload and got a card recovered. it’s honestly the worst feeling,” said a third.

A number of viewers said they’d hire Gummow in a heartbeat thanks to his dedication and integrity.

“Hearing all of this makes me want to hire you. You truly truly care and have tried everything to fix it and make it right. Some people would just lie,” one said.

“I wish I had a photographer like you. Accountability means a lot,” added a second

“In all honesty, I wouldn't ask for a refund if you told me all of this, I'd just ask you to do the best you can and if all else fails, schedule a reshoot,” wrote another.

Gummow didn’t reveal how the couple responded, but he maintained that telling the bride really was “the worst”.

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