Shropshire Magazine

One of Charlie Styr’s impressive photographs.

Neil Thomas presents a snapshot of one young photographer’s enthusiasm and skill with a camera

Charlie pictured at Shrewsbury School with a copy of his book.

If parents nag most 16-year-olds, it is generally to tidy their room or wash the dishes. In Charlie Styr’s case, his mother Karen nagged him to get on with the book on photography which he had been commissioned to write.

Charlie acknowledges as much in the fly leaf of Click: The Ultimate Photography Guide for Generation Now. 

“Without her nagging during the summer, the book may never have been completed,” Charlie confesses.

The result is billed as the first ever ‘how to’ photography book written for teens by teens. Published by Amphoto Books (an arm of Watson-Guptill Publications), it hit the bookshelves in the US in April – where it has already been favourably reviewed – and in the UK last month, available in leading book stores and on Amazon.

The book is a showcase of some of the best photography by teenagers in the world. Page after page is illuminated by works of intelligence, imagination and skill, a stunning collection of ideas, colour and light.

The cover of Charlie Styr’s book Click.

Click opens with the basics of photography and then looks at the most popular topics, from taking great shots of people to nature photography, close-up work, using light and capturing action. It’s 25,000-plus words are packed with techniques and tips.

That a quietly spoken, level-headed, charming young man from Whitchurch was approached to put together this ambitious work speaks volumes for the reputation Charlie has forged among young photographers across continents.

The principal reason is that in 2006 he started the Teenage Photographers’ Group on the hugely popular website for enthusiasts, flickr.com. 

“It became very popular with a few thousand members,” says Charlie in his understated, modest way. 

In fact, the group became phenomenally successful and today boasts nearly 10,000 members, having been home for than 135,000 images from teen photographers around the world. 

Charlie was already an award winner in his home county, having scooped first prize in a Shropshire Star/Shropshire TV photography competition but the flickr.com group earned him worldwide appreciation. It also led to his being approached by a commissioning editor from Watson-Guptill Publications, Julie Mazur, to put together this book. He was just 16.

Charlie’s role was to write the book and to help select the photographs from thousands of candidates.

Crazy

“It was such a crazy thing to be asked to write a book but it seemed a great thing to do,” says Charlie.

“I had a laptop and some very generous deadlines and really enjoyed doing it. There are tips but I’ve tried not to make it too technical. A lot of photography books can be too technical, I think, and they put people off, so I’ve tried to make it entertaining.

A Charlie Styr image.

“Although it is aimed at teenage photographers, I hope other people will enjoy it too.”

Charlie was helped by American writer and photo editor Maria Wakem, a freelance writer and editor who has contributed to  publications like ELLEgirl, Men’s Fitness and Women’s Health and Fitness, and lives in New York with husband Matthew. As in Charlie’s case, this is her first book.

“Maria was a great guide and I valued her expertise,” he says. He is also grateful to the members of the Teenage Photographers Group on flickr.com for allowing their photographs to be used.

“There were one or two issues about payment but most realised that this book was a great showcase for their work,” says Charlie, who also writes a photography blog (www.theapblog.com).

Needless to say Charlie studies photography, along with maths and economics, at Shrewsbury School, where he is a sixth-form boarder. He plans, though, to read economics at university.

“I’d like to keep photography as a hobby,” he says of the pastime that he took up at the age of 10 when given a camera by his grandmother. At 18, he has come a long way in a short time.

• Click: The Ultimate Photography Guide for Generation Now – ISBN 978-0823092376.