Pinhole Camera: How to Make Pinhole Camera
Enlarge Image Anybody interested in photography, must be aware of the pinhole camera that doesn't require any lenses and can be made in the comfort of our homes! Constructing a pinhole camera is interesting and can form a good project for middle school students. While making a pinhole camera, one learns about the basic working principles of photography. Knowing 'how to make pinhole camera' will help you try this project at home...
What is a Pinhole Camera?
A pinhole camera is an extremely simple camera that is made from a shoe box, an oatmeal box or a canister. Instead of lenses, the pinhole camera consists of photographic film or photographic paper. The shoebox or the enclosure that contains the set up has holes and shutters in it, so that the pictures can be taken through them.
Pinhole Camera Construction
Constructing a pinhole camera is very easy and the first step you need to do is to collect the important requirements for making the pinhole camera. The necessary parts of a pin hole camera have been discussed further and they will help you to know 'how to make pinhole camera'.
Opening of the Pinhole Camera
The entrance for the light is known as the pinhole opening. The size or the aperture of the hole decides how much light will fall on the photographic paper or on the photographic film.
Mechanism of the Shutter
Like every camera has a shutter, the openings of the pin hole camera are provided with shutters, which is something like a tape or cap that fits over the hole. The basic idea behind the shutters is to open and close the hole for letting the light to pass into the pinhole camera.
Light Preventing Box
The most important part of the pin hole camera is the light preventing box. The inner walls of the pinhole camera are covered with black papers, in case the pinhole camera is made from wood or cardboard boxes. Cans and tin boxes are preferred as they can be easily made light proof.
Support System
When the image is being taken, any movement in the pinhole camera makes the image appear blurred, so to fix or stabilize the image on a tripod stand or in some box becomes important.
Photographic Paper
Parallel to the pinhole camera and at the opposite end of the box, the photographic paper is mounted. When the distance between the film and pinhole is decreased, the size of image decreases and when the distance between both is increased, the size of image increases.
How to Make Pinhole Camera
Following are the steps that one can take to build a pinhole camera:
- Collect the following things:
- Large lid box (shoebox)
- Black tape/Black Spray/Black papers
- Paper/ cardboard cutting knife
- Photo paper
- Choose a box that has a large lid. Search your store room or shoe racks where you can find the old shoe boxes.
- Make a hole in the center of the box at its one side. The circumference of the hole must be around 0.125 inches.
- The pinhole will be acting as a lens for the pinhole camera.
- Make sure that the only light that enters the pinhole camera is through the hole. Close any other leak or hole in the box that you are using.
- Paint the box with black if it is of cardboard or wood.
- Create a shutter for the pinhole by using the duct tape.
- Load the photographic paper safely in a dark room. Ensure that no light is exposed to it. Do it in a closed dark room. Once you have placed the photographic paper, carefully seal the box.
- After you are done with the placing of the photographic paper, take the camera out and place it in sunlight. Place the pinhole camera in front of the object whose picture you wish to capture for about 30 seconds to four minutes.
- You have taken the photograph, now it's time to develop its film!
After you have taken the photograph, bring the pinhole camera in the dark safely, without letting it get exposed to light. If the room is not very dark, use the LED orange lights to avoid any light that can spoil the photographic paper. The photographic paper will act as the negative for your photograph. To get the positive, you have to keep the negative and positive together facing each other. The negative film must be on the top and the positive below it. After you have turned on the light for some minutes dip the positive into the developer and water, made for this purpose. Let the paper dry for sometime and then you are ready with the pic!
These were some pinhole camera instructions and how to make pinhole camera. Since, very bright sunlight is required for good pictures, ensure that you take the pic on a sunny day. Don't move the camera while taking images as the image can be blurred. So, if you try, you can definitely learn to make pinhole camera very easily.
