I'm surprised they invite people to rate them here! As others say, photo packages with unhelpful sizes and quantities designed to extract the maximum cash and upsell you to packs with things you... See more
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Review summary
Created with AI, based on recent reviews
What people talk about most
Reviews shaping this summary
Baffled that school continues to use this company. Poor experience year on year. Very difficult to choose from individual photo options as the photos are so blurred and you cannot select them to show... See more
Company replied
I feel very coerced. The photos cannot be selected by size etc, only ordered as packages which means not getting the prints I want for different family members. There is some reference to digital down... See more
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Packages designed to trap you into spending too much on more photos than you need. Delivery also overpriced unless you again spend more. They also invest in Isreal through their use of Barclays Bank s... See more
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Company details
Information provided by various external sources
Founded by Horace Tempest over 80 years ago, Tempest Photography has been at the forefront of the photographic industry for nearly a century. As the first school photography company in the UK to move to full digital processing, with a digital laboratory that is the most state-of-the-art in Europe, you can be sure of first-class images, every time.
Contact info
H TEMPEST LIMITED, TR26 3HU, ST IVES, CORNWALL , United Kingdom
- 01736 751555
- tempest-orders.co.uk
1.9
Poor
2K reviews
Replied to 99% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 24 hours
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Trading on your emotions, not quality
Reassuring that other people find the photographers abilities are in question... but its our childs school photos so this company has that to trade on too! If it wasnt a school photo/ memory for our child I would not buy this. The price for this class photo is also dubiously high considering the quality AND £5 'printing and postage'. Clearly they use printing and postage to boost their bottom line... THANKS!
2 July 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello Chris, thank you for your review.
Tempest Photography always aim to provide the best photograph to capture their school memories , so I am sorry to learn that you are unhappy with the photograph that you have purchased.
To see if there is anything that we can do regarding the image itself or your order, please contact our Customer Service team on 01736 751555 (opt. 5, Mon-Fri 8:15am-4:15pm) where a representative can see if anything can be done.
Kind regards, Olly.
Mediocre Company
My God, do they deliberately train their photographers to be rubbish? Year after year at our children's school we get sent their atrocious attempts to take photos of children. They are always garbage and after 4 years of having 3 children in primary school we have yet to order their photos.
It's as if the photographer just cannot be bothered to arrange them, tell them to smile, move their hair, fix their collar or, in the case of group photos, move the big kids to the back.
A mediocre company with mediocre photographers.
1 July 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello Mike, thank you for your review.
It is disappointing to read that you are unhappy with your children's pictures. Unfortunately, our photographers do rely on the pupils being presented to them "photo-ready", as they are limited in their interactions with the children in terms of commenting on or adjusting appearance. This is in case they inadvertently cause undue upset or offence.
Should we be fortunate enough to photograph at the school again in the future, hopefully we will take an image that is more to your liking.
Kind regards, Olly.
Awful quality
Contacted customer service regarding the poor quality and blurriness on my daughters class photo, to be responded with its passed its quality inspection and its been stitched together.
Was offered a return, I paid £20 for ONE photo, but when your daughter has asked for a photo, of her first year in school with her friends. You would of thought they could at least make it look okay. My daughters dress is even so blurry. I could take a better picture on my phone!
DAY LIGHT ROBBERY!
26 June 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello, thank you for your review.
I am sorry to read that you are disappointed with the photograph that you have received.
When reading your review, it appears to me that the photograph is a vista photograph. This is a photograph where the children/teachers are taken in pods and these are stitched together onto a white background. This style is offered as an alternative class group photograph as discussed between the school and the photographer.
I have spoken to the representative who you communicated with and they offered a return so we can view the print ourselves and investigate further, or a refund. This offer is still available for you should you wish to accept.
Kind regards, Olly.
I've been trying to place my order for…
I've been trying to place my order for quite a while but I am getting nowhere. I have limited time off work in the week when I can phone my order in each time I call I'm on hold for a ridiculously long time. Each time I've been on the phone on hold so long that the phone cuts out, I call back and the line is closed! I simply want pictures of my children.
16 June 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello Steven, thank you for your review.
I am sorry to read that you are experiencing difficulties placing an order with our Direct Order team. They are experiencing a high number of calls recently, and they always aim to answer every call.
Please could you email me your name, number, requirements (such as references and products) and your availability to o.boston@htempest.co.uk and I will personally make sure a member of that department contacts you regarding this.
Kind regards, Olly.
Schools has to stop using this.
This is a ridicules service the schools are choosing to. There is no way to order a digital copy and nowadays digital copies are safer. Unfortunately schools choosing this and no other options, need to fight with the schools to change a provider who allow digital download. I was never asked consent to share hard copy or digital image of my child's photo to be used or distributed, but they says as they do not have consent to distribute digital images, then why can't they get that consent to use and distribute digital copy as well when they get consent for hard copy. Surprisingly, they ask permission to use the photos for promotion in the products when purchase hard copy, which is obviously going to be a digital copy. Also very very expensive. They are earning at least £300 for one photo from a class.
11 June 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello Siva, thank you for your review.
By reading your review, I am under the assumption that you are referring to group photographs. We do not offer our group images digitally to customers due to issues regarding parental consent and child protection. Parents have provided consent through the school for us to take the photographs and provide hard copies for sale but have not given us permission to release the image for third party distribution or amendment.
As I am sure you can appreciate, we must adhere to the strictest guidelines in order to maintain child protection. There are circumstances whereby if we released the digital group image, that could be purchased by a customer and then forwarded to someone else who is not allowed images of those children or uploaded to social media and the location of that child’s school being exposed which would jeopardise a child’s security.
At the time of enrolling your child into the school, you should have been provided a consent form to sign. If you have any further queries regarding this, please contact the school directly.
Kind regards, Olly.
Rating for the app to order pictures…
Rating for the app to order pictures only… It is horrible, took an hour to order 3 pictures. I had to re-enter the same information multiple times, it is freezes all the time. Probably the worst shopping app I used for a long time
8 June 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello, thank you for your review.
I am sorry to read that you found our e-commerce platform difficult to navigate on your phone.
The main reason that you must input the same information multiple times is for child protection. However, I have forwarded your review onto the relevant department who will assess your comments further.
Could you also please email a detailed experience when ordering to the email address customerservice@htempest.co.uk as we are always looking on ways to improve our websites?
Kind regards, Olly.
A Happy Parent
For some reason, I didn't have my children's reference number and so I contacted Tempest direct and the lady couldn't have been more helpful. She was patient and took the time to check I had received the ref number correctly. Easy online process to order and very happy with the result. My children both looked lovely in their group photo with their friends. Just a point I perhaps feel I do need to make and why I haven't given 5 stars, is that some of the children looked a little unhappy in their class photos, so perhaps it might be worth the photographer just trying to capture a few more smiles and checking the photos before calling it a wrap! Otherwise, thank you Tempest!
5 June 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello Melissa, thank you for your four-star review!
Tempest Photography always aim to provide the best possible service for our customers, so therefore I am delighted to read that a member of our team excelled in this particular issue.
We also always aim to capture the best of the children that are presented so I do understand why it is not a five-star experience for you, however, I have passed your feedback onto the relevant department who will pass the feedback on further.
Kind regards, Olly.
Awful photos
These photos are, without exception, the worst photos ever taken of our children. Every year the parents at our school share the horror show that is their child's photo, and every year we ask the same question "are these people really photographers?". Honestly, we would get better quality photos if the kids were just allowed to take pictures of each other. Then to rub salt in the wound they attempt to charge an extortionate amount of money for these disasters. The only reason they are still in business is because school administrators are too busy / lazy to switch companies and the prices are so high that they can cover the cost of the "photographer" (random person they pulled off the street with a camera) with the couple of overpriced sales they make. Seriously Tempest, sort yourselves out or exit the market. You're a disgrace to the world of photography.
5 June 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello, thank you for your review.
Tempest Photography always aim to capture the best photographs of the children that the school present to us, so I am sorry to read that for many years this has not been the case.
It may be worth contacting the school to express your disappointment and for them to contact us to see if there is anything we can do to improve your particular images if at all possible.
Kind regards, Olly.
Expensive & limited gift options
Tempest photography very expensive as the rest of the reviews say. Downloads are not available, as printing them myself would be much cheaper. Again like others have commented its nice to have a keepsake but I have 2 children who have had their class photos taken that has cost me £52! I understand there is cost involved with professional photography but why cannot there be other gift options which would be cheaper?!
5 June 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello, thank you for your review.
We do not provide digital images of any group photographs due to issues regarding parental consent and child protection. Parents have provided consent for us to take the photographs and provide hard copies for sale but have not given us permission to release the image for third party distribution or amendment. As I am sure you can appreciate, we must adhere to the strictest guidelines in order to maintain child protection.
Whilst I understand that you are aware of the overheads attached to the group photographs specifically, Tempest Photography also provide schools and PTAs with an excellent fundraising opportunity through a sliding commission on every photo sold. This commission helps support school programs and resources.
However, I shall certainly pass your feedback onto the relevant department to assess your comments further.
Kind regards, Olly.
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello Ed, thank you for your review.
I am sorry to read that you are deeply unhappy with our website. Currently, the only option to purchase our products on our websites is by using your full card details. These are not stored on our system for bank compliance, known as PSI-compliance.
However, I shall pass your feedback onto the relevant department who will assess the comments further.
Kind regards, Olly.
Unreasonably expensive
So expensive and we have only few options and seems like they have monopoly in School protograpgy
31 May 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hi Kasun, thank you for your review.
I am sorry to read that you find our prices and packages to be expensive. We do offer an extensive range of various products, but we introduce new items on a regular basis, so hopefully there will be a product available in the future that meets your requirements.
If you would like any further discussion with regards to ordering our any of our packages, please contact our Direct Order team on 01736 751555 (opt. 3, Mon-Fri 8:15am-4:15pm) where an advisor should be able to help you further.
Kind regards, Olly.
Greedy Fat Cats!
As many others have stated, the prices charged by Tempest are extortionate, to say the least. £20 per photo at a minimum cannot be reflective of the labour and overhead incurred. Taking one primary school with seven classes of approximately 30 children. If only half the parents could afford to purchase a keepsake of their child's school years, that's over £2000 revenue for one day!! And this is done several times each school year!! It's no wonder they reported profits of 4.5 million and 1.3 million in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Why not give parents a fair opportunity to maintain the precious memories of their children growing up? The schools also have a lot to answer for by repeatedly contracting Tempest at these prices; the only answer is to boycott purchasing their photos.
29 May 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hi Stewart, thank you for your review.
We understand that school photography is a personal and important purchase, and we’re sorry to hear that you were disappointed with the experience.
Our pricing reflects more than just the print, it covers professional photographers, high-quality equipment, post-production work, and a secure online ordering system. For larger group photos, the cost also incorporates specialist staging, organisation, and setup to ensure every child is captured clearly and safely.
Tempest Photography provides schools and PTAs with an excellent fundraising opportunity through a sliding commission on every photo sold. This commission helps support school programs and resources.
We do appreciate your comments and will share this with our management team.
Kind regards, Olly.
Unreasonably expensive
Unreasonably expensive. Tempest have monopoly on school photography. It means it is not parents choice to select them, instead schools work with them and we have no choice but to buy from them.
I'm sure that they are many different local better photographers, much cheaper that schools can work with after properly wetting them.
27 May 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello Ali, thank you for your review.
We understand that school photography is a personal and important purchase, and we’re sorry to hear that you were disappointed with the experience.
Our pricing reflects more than just the print or digital file, it covers professional photographers, high-quality equipment, post-production work, and a secure online ordering system. For larger group photos, the cost also incorporates specialist staging, organisation, and setup to ensure every child is captured clearly and safely.
Tempest Photography provides schools and PTAs with an excellent fundraising opportunity through a sliding commission on every photo sold. This commission helps support school programs and resources.
We do appreciate your comments and will share this with our management team.
Kind regards, Olly.
Outstanding Service – A True Gem at Tempest Photography!
I recently reached out to Tempest Photography with what I thought was a long shot – trying to recover my old school photos from nearly 10 to 15 years ago to purchase. To my absolute delight, I was put in touch with Paula, who went above and beyond to help me.
From the very first interaction, Paula was incredibly communicative. She kept me updated every step of the way, and what seemed like a daunting request turned into a smooth and surprisingly quick process. To my amazement, she was able to locate my photos, and I couldn’t be happier.
I’m so grateful for her help and thrilled to have these memories back after all these years.
Thank you so much, Paula – you’re an absolute star!
28 May 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello Amundeep, thank you for your five-star review!
Tempest Photography keep all images on our system for approx. 10 years so there is never any harm in asking if we still have the images on our system. Whilst there are normally certain measures that would need to be addressed, I am delighted to read that my colleague Paula provided outstanding service and was able to fulfil your requests.
I have passed your feedback onto her directly, and should you have any more queries, please do not hesitate to contact her directly or our other representatives on 01736 751555 (opt. 5, Mon-Fri 8:15am-4:15pm) or via email customerservice@htempest.co.uk.
Kind regards, Olly.
Extortionate!!!
Extortionate!!!! We have 2 daughters of our own and also have 2 boys we care for long term. The cost to just have 1 photo each is eye watering. Discounts should be made available to children in care. Saying that, prices should be much lower. TYou are just taking advantage of an exclusive opportunity and ripping parents off. I would have bought so much more if the prices were reasonable.
19 May 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello Chris, thank you for your review.
We do offer an extensive range of various products, including multi-image packs and electronic downloads. I am sorry to read that from the selection available, there is not something which is exactly what you are looking for. We introduce new items on a regular basis, so hopefully there will be a product available in the future that meets your requirements.
Whilst I understand from your review that you have placed an order, thank you very much, if you have any further queries on which would be the best pack to suit your needs, please contact our Direct Order team on 01736 751555 (opt. 3, Mon-Fri 8:15am-4:15pm).
Kind regards, Olly.
Extortionate delivery
The proof never came home and the link wouldn't open without the special code. Part of the blame obviously lies with school as I didn't get through ordering information and by the time I realised I'd missed something, I'd missed the free delivery to school window. Not a very reliable system!
17 May 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello, thank you for your review.
I am sorry to read that you experienced issues with retrieving the proof/link from the school.
If you received a link, you would not have received a physical proof., which may explain why you never received a proof at home/
The delivery charge only applies if the order is placed outside of the free 14-day back to school delivery option. It is not simply covering the cost of a stamp - it is a fee for individual handling postage and packaging and postal insurance, so should your order be lost or damaged in transit, we replace the items free of charge.
Should you have any further queries, please contact our Customer Service team on 01736 751555 (opt. 5, Mon-Fri 8-15am-4:15pm) where a representative should be able to advise you further.
Kind regards, Olly.
Rip off
Rip off. What on earth cost £22.50 just for a single digital copy? Very expensive and poor choice of bundles to purchase.
13 May 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello, thank you for your review.
I am sorry to hear you are unhappy with the pricing of our digital download. It is important to understand the nature of the product. You are not simply buying an electronic file (for customers wishing just to have an electronic memento, we would suggest the Image to Mobile product), you are buying it with the license release for unlimited printing/file sharing, so the more you use and share the file, the better value for money it becomes.
However, I shall pass your feedback onto our Marketing department who will assess your comments further.
Kind regards, Olly.
Tempest were amazing
Tempest were amazing. I cannot fault the service at all. It was great. Shannon put in extra effort to help resolve a problem we had and supplied us with photos we loved. Thank you
9 May 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello Lewis, thank you for your five-star review!
At Tempest Photography, we value our customers and their feedback, therefore I am delighted to read that Shannon has provided amazing service and has corrected your problems without an issue.
If you have any further issues, please do not hesitate to contact us again on 01736 751555 (opt. 5, Mon-Fri 8:15am-4:15pm) or via email customerservice@htempest.co.uk. I have passed your feedback onto Shannon as well.
Kind regards, Olly.
Very poor company
I’ve unfortunately been quite disappointed with Tempest Photography over the years. I’ve never been impressed with the photography or the print quality, but this year’s class photo was particularly poor — very dark and dull. In the past, the photos were often overexposed, but compared to this year’s, the older photos actually look much better!
When I contacted Tempest Photography to explain that the photo was very dark, I attached a comparison showing all the past class photos together and requested a lighter reprint. As a graphic designer familiar with photo editing, I know this kind of adjustment is quite easy. I even scanned their photo, brightened it myself, and sent them the comparison.
Unfortunately, they responded that they would not adjust the image and offered only a refund if I returned the print. I wanted to keep a memory of my son’s last class photo at his current school, so I was left with no good option but to keep a poor-quality print. Due to the low quality, even scanning and reprinting it myself isn’t really feasible. (I also asked about purchasing the digital file but was told that’s not an option for class photos.)
I would caution schools looking for a photographer to carefully consider before choosing this company.
I can see Tempest Photography has replied to my review on the 12th May, but I respectfully disagree with their comment.
The photos from previous years were indeed overexposed, but they still looked better than the recent print, which I found to be of much lower quality. I was able to brighten the new photo myself as mentioned above, in the same way those earlier ones were brightened, so the issue doesn't seem to be about exposure but rather the overall quality of the original image.
Unfortunately, I wasn't given the option to purchase a digital file, which would have allowed me to return the print for a refund—something I would have preferred.
7 May 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello Raquel, thank you for your review.
I have located your original enquiry and I have looked at the image myself. Unfortunately, as the class photograph was taken outside, there are certain factors that are out of our control, such as weather conditions.
Due to these condition that the sun was behind the children casting a shadow over them, we are unable to brighten as this will affect the entire image, including any overexposed portions in the photograph itself. Therefore, regretfully, the only option would be to return for a refund.
Please accept our sincerest apologies for being unable to help you further. In this instance, our inability to help you further is a rare occurrence and I have certainly raised this further with the relevant department.
Kind regards, Olly.
very expensive had to try 5 times to…
very expensive had to try 5 times to get card details accepted. Useless cyber customer services. Wouldn’t use if we had a choice but they know you don’t have a choice so show no interest to help and also know if you miss the deadline e they charge an extra £5 per print!!!
2 May 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Tempest Photography
Hello Michael, thank you for your review.
At the time of your review, we had issues with our e-commerce system but this is now fully functional, so please accept our sincerest apologies for this error.
We do have a Customer Service that is fully manned, and they can be contacted on 01736 751555 (opt. 5, Mon-Fri 8:15am-4:15pm) or via email customerservice@htempest.co.uk and a representative should be able to help you further. We also have a fully manned Direct Order team who are contactable on the same number but option number 3.
We charge an extra £5.00 per order as this is our delivery charge, and this is only required should you miss the free delivery back-to-school window or for home delivery. This is not applicable to our digital downloads, and this is per order, not per print.
Kind regards, Olly.
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