How to Construct a Pinhole Camera

A camera, even a fancy one, is nothing more than a box with a hole in it. The hole, even without glass, acts as a lens to project an inverted image onto the back wall inside the box. The first camera was actually a room with a hole in one wall that projected the outside cityscape onto the back wall. Fancy cameras now take the idea and use glass lenses, digital sensors and other criteria to make better photographs. But you can make your own camera with simple materials in your home.

Things You'll Need

• Box (oatmeal box or squarish box about 7-inches wide)
• Scissors
• Thin cardboard or poster board
• 2-inch square aluminum foil
• 5 by 7 black and white photographic paper
• Black electrical tape
• Glue
• Needle or very thin nail
• Black cloth or plastic
• Double-sided tape

Instructions

Making the Pinhole Camera

1. Whether you use an oatmeal box or other box, you need to spray paint the inside and outside with black paint. This prevents light from reflecting and polluting your photograph. Do the same to the oatmeal box lid.

2. Determine on which side you will place the shutter. The back wall of your box should be wide enough to hold the desired size of paper for your photo. On the outside of the box, on the opposite wall, mark the EXACT CENTER of the wall. Cut a 1/2-inch square in the center on that wall.

3. Take the 2-inch square of aluminum foil and make a pin-hole in the exact center. This may be done very carefully with a thin nail or by twisting a needle until the hole is clean. The tinier and cleaner the hole, the crisper and more detailed your photos will be.

4. Place a piece of black tape on either side of the square of aluminum foil and spread a thin layer of glue completely around the outside edges. Be very careful not to cover the hole.

5. From the inside of your box, center the pinhole over the window you cut out earlier and press firmly. Allow to dry completely.

6. Take two strips of thin poster board, about 1/2-inch thick and 4-inches long. On the outside of your camera, place them just above and just below the pinhole. Only glue each end, leaving the center of each strip unattached.

7. Cut another strip of poster board about one-inch wide and 4-inches long. Bend the top back to create a tab. Slide the bottom end of the strip through the strips you attached in Step 6 to cover your pinhole. You should be able to slide this "shutter" up to reveal the pinhole and then back down to cover it easily without moving the camera.

8. Cut a section of black cloth or plastic and glue one end halfway around the top of your box. Allow it to fold over the back of the camera, covering the lid of your box. This prevents light from leaking into your camera around the lid.

9. Always load your camera in a darkroom. Place a piece of double-sided tape on the back of a piece of black and white photographic paper. Fold back the cloth and remove your lid. Tape the paper on the back wall inside your camera, exactly opposite the pinhole "lens." Be sure it will not move when you move the camera around.

Taking a Photograph

1. Select your subject and place the camera on a sturdy surface in front of it.

2. Without moving or shaking the camera, slide the "shutter" (the thin strip of poster board) back to reveal the pinhole.

3. After a few seconds, slide the shutter back to cover the pinhole.

4. Take your camera back to the darkroom, remove the paper and place it immediately in developing chemical. When you finish developing your photo, it will be a mirror image of the scene you photographed (or a "negative").

5. To make a "positive" print, place the developed photo upside down over another piece of photo paper and expose it in the darkroom (as your would with normal film). This print will be a the exact scene you photographed, not a mirror image.

Tips & Warnings

• Make several pinhole cameras to experiment with different sizes of holes.

• A square of tin from a soda can is an excellent substitute for aluminum foil. It is sturdier and lasts longer.

• A camera with automatic settings is able to read light and make the best exposure. Your pinhole camera cannot do that. You will have to experiment with hole long your leave your camera open to get the best details and best exposures. Remember, extremely sunny days will require less time than cloudy days.

• ALWAYS load and unload your pinhole camera in a darkroom. Do not expose the photographic paper to light until it has been developed in a dark room properly.

• Always keep your pinhole camera closed and the shutter closed unless taking a photograph.

• A fine pinhole will create sharper images.

• Photography paper can only be developed in a personal darkroom. Commercial film developers will not develop the paper for you. You must have access to a developing darkroom to experiment with pinhole photography. Check your local colleges and high schools to see if you can get access to their facilities.