German photographer who took early shots of The Beatles, shaped their style

NEW YORK — Astrid Kirchherr, the German photographer who shot some of the earliest and most striking images of The Beatles and helped shape their trendsetting style, died Wednesday in her native Hamburg, a week shy of her 82nd birthday.

Her death was first announced by Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn, who tweeted Friday that Ms. Kirchherr made an “immeasurable” contribution to the group and was “intelligent, inspirational, innovative, daring, artistic, awake, aware, beautiful, smart, loving and uplifting.”According to German publication Die Zeit, she died of a “short, serious illness.”

“God bless Astrid a beautiful human being,” Ringo Starr tweeted. George Harrison’s widow, Olivia Harrison, tweeted that Ms. Kirchherr was “so thoughtful and kind and talented, with an eye to capture the soul.”

Ms. Kirchherr was a photographer’s assistant in Hamburg and part of the local art scene in 1960 when her then-boyfriend Klaus

Voormann dropped in at a seedy club, the Kaiserkeller, and found himself mesmerized by a young British rock group: The five raw musicians from Liverpool had recently named themselves The Beatles.

Ms. Kirchherr had dreamed of photographing “charismatic” men and found her ideal subjects in The Beatles — especially then-bassist Stuart Sutcliffe. They quickly fell in love, despite a language barrier.

The Beatles in the early ’60s were nothing like the smiling superstars the world would soon know. They favored black leather and greased-back hair and gave wild, marathon performances. James Dean lookalike Pete Best was the drummer, and Paul McCartney was playing guitar, along with Harrison and John Lennon. (Best was replaced in 1962 by Starr, and McCartney moved to bass when Sutcliffe left and became engaged to Ms. Kirchherr.)

Ms. Kirchherr was liked and trusted by all of them, and her photographs captured a group still more interested in looking cool than in being lovable. She took indelible black and white portraits, including John, Paul and George in leather and cowboy boots on a rooftop; all five with their instruments on a truck; and a moody closeup of John with Sutcliffe looming like a ghost in back.

Ms. Kirchherr had an indirect influence on The Beatles’ transformation. The collarless jackets The Beatles favored in the early days of Beatlemania were inspired by her wardrobe, and her love of Mr. Voorman’s long hairdo — which became The

Beatles’ “mop top” — inspired the band to follow.

Her love affair with Sutcliffe was tragically brief — he died of a cerebral hemorrhage in April 1962, at age 21. Ms. Kirchherr later married twice, but both marriages ended in divorce, and she would long say that she never got over Sutcliffe’s death.

Ms. Kirchherr worked as a freelance photographer and an interior designer among other jobs, and in recent years helped run a photography shop in Hamburg. She and Mr. Voormann remained close to the other Beatles.