DENVER — They are photographs that only come along just once in a lifetime. A first-time mom was excited to see the professional photographs of her newborn son.
But now Ryan Howard wonders if a Groupon deal was nothing more than a rip-off.
The business is called A MoMent Photography by Amy Barlow in Lakewood. On her website, Barlow vows to capture preciously fleeting moments in time, preserving memories for generations to come.
“He was born on June 5 of this year and we couldn’t be happier,” Howard said.
So when Howard and her fiance, Charles Holmes, got a Groupon gift for a newborn photo shoot, they couldn’t wait.
“He’s growing and developing and changing and they change every day,” she said.
She was happy A MoMent Photography would freeze those initial days of Declan’s life of just 13 days old.
“We planned the session and it got cancelled twice,” Howard said.
But instead, the experience turned into a moment she wishes she could forget.
“The phone’s been completely off. I can leave messages, which I have multiple times. We were in email contact before the photo shoot. I emailed her, messaged her on Facebook and nothing,” she said.
What turned into a three-week wait to get the precious pictures is now nearly double that.
And she’s not the only mom with complaints. Barlow’s Facebook page is peppered with comments from unhappy moms.
“We can’t get that time back,” Howard said.
They are fleeting moments — gone in an instant — and Howard worries Barlow will do the same.
“It’s just very frustrating, very sad that we are not able to see those pictures. I am just really worried we’ll never get those pictures,” she said.
She is grateful for the snapshots she got at the hospital. But she worries the beautiful, creative ones of a professional photo shoot may only exist in her memory.
“We can go get pictures again. But it’s not going to be the same — ever again,” she said. “All I want are the pictures. That’s all I care about.”
Groupon was asked if it was aware of the problem. It said it has taken Amy Barlow off its list of merchants they do business with.
Howard will get a refund, but she said it’s not about the money. It’s about those moments she can never get back again.