How to make a pinhole camera
To make a pinhole camera you need these items:
1 x container (e.g. biscuit tin, chocolate powder carton etc.)
1 x sharp knife
Black Gaffa/Duct tape
A very thin, sharp pin
Black matt paint and a brush (or black spray paint)
Aluminium foil (Tinfoil) or a soft drink can
A pair of scissors
Step 1: Find a container that has a removable lid and is made form a light proof material.
Step 2: Paint the inside of the container black and and maybe the outside as well to prevent light from bouncing around and make the sure the lid of the container is light proof.
Step 3: cut a rectangular hole half way up the container of about 2cm in size.
Step 4: Cut a 2.5cm piece of aluminium foil and use a pin to make a hole in the centre.
Step 5: Attach the tinfoil to the container making sure it covers the hole.
Step 6: Make a shutter flap out of card/tape making sure it covers the pinhole.
Step 7: In the darkroom (under the red safe light) cut a piece of photographic paper to fit inside your container. Secure it in place with a small piece of tape if necessary. It should stay completely still throughout the exposure. Securely attach/replace the lid of your container and close the shutter.
Step 8: Take the camera outside and find a suitable subject. Ensure that the camera is stable and can't be moved during the exposure. Open the shutter and expose the paper. Depending on the size of the pinhole and the brightness of the light your exposure can be anything from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. Make an educated guess and use your first image as a guide.
Step 9: Close the shutter at the end of the exposure and take the camera back to the darkroom carefully remove the camera and place it in the chemicals. Wash the print and let it dry.
Step 10: There are two methods for creating a positive from your paper negative:
In the darkroom
Make sure that your print is dry. Get a flat sheet of glass bigger than the image and another sheet of paper roughly the same size as your negative. Place the new (unexposed) piece of paper shiny side up underneath the enlarger. Place your paper negative on top of this and the glass on top of both. Select an exposure time of approx. 8 seconds. Expose the image. Remove the bottom piece of paper and develop as before.
In photoshop:
Scan your paper negative. Import this scanned image into Photoshop. Select Image > Adjustments > Invert. Adjust the Levels if necessary.
1 x container (e.g. biscuit tin, chocolate powder carton etc.)
1 x sharp knife
Black Gaffa/Duct tape
A very thin, sharp pin
Black matt paint and a brush (or black spray paint)
Aluminium foil (Tinfoil) or a soft drink can
A pair of scissors
Step 1: Find a container that has a removable lid and is made form a light proof material.
Step 2: Paint the inside of the container black and and maybe the outside as well to prevent light from bouncing around and make the sure the lid of the container is light proof.
Step 3: cut a rectangular hole half way up the container of about 2cm in size.
Step 4: Cut a 2.5cm piece of aluminium foil and use a pin to make a hole in the centre.
Step 5: Attach the tinfoil to the container making sure it covers the hole.
Step 6: Make a shutter flap out of card/tape making sure it covers the pinhole.
Step 7: In the darkroom (under the red safe light) cut a piece of photographic paper to fit inside your container. Secure it in place with a small piece of tape if necessary. It should stay completely still throughout the exposure. Securely attach/replace the lid of your container and close the shutter.
Step 8: Take the camera outside and find a suitable subject. Ensure that the camera is stable and can't be moved during the exposure. Open the shutter and expose the paper. Depending on the size of the pinhole and the brightness of the light your exposure can be anything from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. Make an educated guess and use your first image as a guide.
Step 9: Close the shutter at the end of the exposure and take the camera back to the darkroom carefully remove the camera and place it in the chemicals. Wash the print and let it dry.
Step 10: There are two methods for creating a positive from your paper negative:
In the darkroom
Make sure that your print is dry. Get a flat sheet of glass bigger than the image and another sheet of paper roughly the same size as your negative. Place the new (unexposed) piece of paper shiny side up underneath the enlarger. Place your paper negative on top of this and the glass on top of both. Select an exposure time of approx. 8 seconds. Expose the image. Remove the bottom piece of paper and develop as before.
In photoshop:
Scan your paper negative. Import this scanned image into Photoshop. Select Image > Adjustments > Invert. Adjust the Levels if necessary.
How does a pinhole camera work?
A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens but with a tiny aperture (the so-called pinhole)—effectively a light-proof box with a small hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through the aperture and projects an inverted image on the opposite side of the box, which is known as the camera obscura effect.
Steven Pippin's
Steven Pippin is famous for taking pictures using pinhole cameras. These are two examples of his work. In the image on the left there is a man walking in the image this gives the effect he is transparent. The image is darker around the edges because the light can't get in there, in the background of the image there is a washing machine and a brick wall. This makes this image more interesting but also doesn't distract you from the subject of the image. In the image on the right, you can see a man riding a horse this is nice as it makes a nice effect as if you can see through the horse.
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