Pinhole Cameras

A camera is a device that records images either as a still photograph or as moving images known as videos or movies. The term comes from the camera obscurer, an early mechanism of projecting images where an entire room functioned as a real time imaging system; the modern camera evolved from the camera obscurer.

A pinhole camera is a very simple camera with no lens and consists of either a strong cardboard box or a tin.

To make a pinhole camera, the whole inside of the tin or box needs to be painted black, so there is no light reflected inside. This is because light sensitive photo paper is used to process the image. Light can only be let in when you take the picture. To create an image using a pinhole camera, you need a hole cut in the box or tin; this can be anywhere you want. Tin foil also needs to cover the hole and then make a cardboard flap, to create the shutter. Allowing the light to come through, a small pin hole is pressed through the tin foil, to create a pinhole image. Once you’ve decided what image to take, lift the shutter up and hold it up for the correct amount of time. Then when developing it in a dark room, your image should start to appear.