Somerset's Premier Photography Company

Established in 1969, we are a friendly, family run business (now in it’s third generation) with over 50 years of partnering with hundreds of schools and thousands of families all across Somerset. During this time we’ve worked tirelessly to establish a renowned reputation for providing outstanding quality along with exceptional service.

Based in Southampton, our story began over five decades ago when Stan and Molly Cardwell set up shop in Church street, where we’ve remained to this day. We started off by covering a wide range of clients across Hampshire. Meanwhile, Tony and Ruth Simons founded Simons Studios in Winchester in 1971.

“I would highly recommend ordering your school photos from Cardwell & Simons. We are never disappointed with the photos that we receive of our two grandsons, they manage to capture them both so well. In addition, their Customer Service is outstanding. When ordering recently I emailed a query to them, I could not believe the almost immediate response I received from the General Manager. He resolved my query politely, promptly and efficiently. I look forward to displaying this years photos of my Grandson's.”

“I had a tiny technical hiccup when ordering school photos. Mr Simon literally could not have been more helpful. Over and above. I’ve always ordered from these guys and the quality has been excellent. Fantastic customer service also. Really lovely to have personal service from this small business.”

“I've ordered now 3 times, and each time I am so happy and impressed with the quality of the pictures. Not only have I been ordering, I've even been on the other side working and can see how professional the set up is. Even with problems with logging in have been sorted in minutes. Couldn't recommend a better company. Cannot wait for the next lot of pictures to happen.”

“I just wanted to say a huge big thank you for sending us your photographer today. He was amazing! All our staff commented how fab he was with the children, his patience and the way he dealt with our special educational needs children was outstanding!

With a lot of hard work, passion and innovation, it wasn’t long before Cardwell Photography and Simons Studio were two of the fastest growing photography companies in Somerset. In 1992 we merged together and have gone from strength to strength since then. We’re extremely honoured to now be one of the most popular photography companies in Somerset!

Tony’s and Stan’s ethos was always to give back to the community. Fifty years on, we’ve raised more than 10 million of benefits for our clients and that number is increasing each year!

We have always believed that photography was about more than just a business, it was an opportunity to support education, establishments, and communities while providing treasured pictures for parents and families. In this corporate age, it feels even more important to offer a family-run business that puts the community at the heart of everything.

We proudly offer the highest commission structure on the market, enabling clients to raise substantial funds of their own as well as offering parents and families beautiful pictures of their children with high quality yet affordable products.

From former photography students with first class honours and master’s degrees to veterans with decades of experience. Our fully trained, highly experienced and award winning team of professional photographers craft heart warming images for you that will be cherished forever.

We’re thankful to have our very own state of the art digital laboratory enabling the most stringent quality control along with the quickest turnaround times. Every aspect of our work is done in house, from the editing and uploading to the printing and packing. No worries, delays or errors from working with third parties.

You can rest assured knowing that every stage of your photography is handled directly by us and us alone. Our expert team of 30 local staff members brings over a century of time tested professional photography experience and expertise which is often imitated but never duplicated.

To all our past and present clients and families, thank you so much for your loyalty, support, and custom over the last 50 years and to our future clients and families………… Welcome to The Cardwell & Simons, we look forward to working with you!

If there are any questions, issues or anything at all that we can help with then please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re available 24/7 and always more than happy to help!

Somerset's Premier Photography Company

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