How to Make a Homemade Pinhole Camera

Pinhole cameras can be made out of any canister large enough to accommodate the film or photographic paper you're using — coffee cans and small candy tins are popular household items to retrofit. However, there's no simpler design than the shoebox camera, a project that even young kids can help with and understand.

Things You'll Need

• Shoebox
• Dark construction paper or black paint
• Scissors
• Black electrical tape
• Tape
• Aluminum foil
• Pin
• Rubber bands
• Roll of film
• Empty film canister

Instructions

1. Paint the inside of the shoebox black or line it with black construction paper. This will prevent reflections that may ruin the photographs. Additionally, cover every corner and the top of the shoe box with black electrical tape.

2. Cut a small hole, about the size of a quarter, in one of the long ends of the box. Tape a piece of aluminum foil over the hole you just made. Take a pin and poke a single, small hole in the center of the aluminum foil.

3. Cut a flap of black construction paper and tape it over the aluminum foil. Tape the top end of the flap to the box securely, but leave the other strip of tape at the bottom of the flap a little loose, so you can pull up the construction paper to let in the light and expose the film.

4. Take your project into a completely dark room or place your project under a dark comforter. While in the dark, pull out a piece of unexposed film, cut it and tape the edges of the film to the inside of your shoebox on the opposite end from the pinhole.

5. Still in the dark, place the shoebox lid on the shoebox and wrap two or three rubber bands around the shoebox to hold the lid down.

6. To take a picture with your homemade camera, just point it at the subject and lift the flap for about one second. Once you take a picture, replace the flap. Put the shoebox in a dark place, remove the piece of film and place it in a film canister. You are ready to reload your camera and try again.

Tips & Warnings

• Try exposing the film for shorter or longer periods of time to get better pictures.

• Experiment with different boxes to get the picture size you want.

• Film is easier to find and have developed, but you can also use fast photographic paper and create contact prints.

• Buy a cheap, lightsafe changing bag so that you can reload your pinhole camera wherever you are taking photos.

• Be careful to keep everything dark when cutting and taping your unexposed film.

• Keep the lid shut tight once the camera is loaded. Don't open the lid in the light or the film will be overexposed.

• Keep the front flap tightly covering the pinhole or the film will get overexposed.

References

• Kodak: How to Make and Use a Pinhole Camera