Theodore Henry James Charmbury was born on May 14, 1879 in Nuthurst, Sussex, England. He apprenticed as a photographer in Aldershot, Hampshire before immigrating to Canada in 1900. On December 21, 1900, Charmbury arrived in Prince Albert, North-West Territories (now Saskatchewan), where he briefly apprenticed with photographer William James before establishing his own photography studio. Charmbury married Aphra Roundtree Jones in Prince Albert on April 29, 1902. The Charmburys had nine children: Gordon, Robert, Harry, Phyllis, Rose, Pat, Jeanette, Theodora (Mike) and Aphra. Theodore Charmbury also travelled throughout the North-West Territories taking pictures and worked briefly in real estate with Clarence M. Turner.
In 1918, the Charmbury family moved to Saskatoon, where Theodore Charmbury established Charmbury's Studios. Gordon and Harry Charmbury assisted Theodore in operating the studio, which did portraiture work, weddings, funerals, harvest scenes, and theatrical group pictures. Two fires, in 1931 and 1942, destroyed many of the early negatives that Theodore Charmbury had accumulated. Around 1938, Theodore Charmbury retired and his son, Harry, became proprietor of the studio, which he ran until 1970. In 1942, Gordon Charmbury returned to Saskatoon after working as a photographer in Toronto, Ontario to assist Harry in operating the studio. In 1957, Gordon Charmbury moved to Calgary, Alberta to take over the family's studio, which he operated until his retirement.
Theodore Charmbury died in Saskatoon on December 5, 1945. Aphra Charmbury died on May 20, 1946. Gordon Charmbury died on August 7, 1980 in Calgary. Harry Charmbury died in Saskatoon on August 15, 1993.