Your creativity as photographers is leaving me speechless. I am so impressed. So, this week I want to challenge all of you with a little DIY {do-it-yourself} project. Your imagination is important this week because we are diving into Pinhole Photography!

So what exactly is Pinhole Photography?

A pinhole is the simplest, most basic form of camera. There’s no lens, just a tiny hole that lets light into a dark box. This creates an upside down image on the opposite side of the pinhole. In traditional pinhole photography, you would create a camera out of simple supplies such as an oatmeal box, aluminum, and film. There are so many different ways to create your own pinhole camera. The possibilities are endless! Also, most pinhole photographs you will see are in black and white. That is because in classic pinhole photography, black and white film was used to process the images.

However, since we are living in a digital world, I thought it would be fun to make a digital pinhole camera. It’s easy and inexpensive. Working in a digital medium gives you the opportunity to experiment with your exposure times and really get inspired!

Digital Pinhole Photography
Week 10: 3/2 – 3/8

Here’s what you need.

• Black paper {i.e., construction paper}
• Aluminum foil
• Tape

That’s it!

1. Take your lens off your camera. You won’t be needing it!

2. Cut a sheet of  black paper to the size of your lens hole. Cut a small hole in the center of the paper. The size of your hole will determine the depth of field. Carefully tape the paper onto you camera. You want to make sure it is securely on there so no additionally light is getting into your camera.

3. Take a piece of aluminum foil and place it over the black paper. Make sure the foil is nice and smooth and tape it onto your camera. This, again, will block out any additional light.

4. After you smooth the foil over the camera, you should be able to see where the hole is on the black paper. With a fine needle, carefully prick the aluminum foil in the center of the hole. Do NOT push the needle all the way through. You want to make sure the hole is tiny, almost to the point where you can’t see it!

5. Start shooting! Your DIY pinhole is now complete!

If you have an extra lens cap laying around, you could use that in place of the black paper. Simply, drill a hole into the cap and screw it onto the lens hole. 

For Point and Shoot Users

Don’t have a dSLR? Don’t worry, you can try this with a good old point and shoot as well! Make sure to set your lens to the longest telephoto setting available, then use your camera’s manual focus mode {if you have it} to focus on infinity for the most authentic pinhole effect.

Before you go running off being all creative, there are a few things you want to take into consideration.

Pinhole Photography Tips

1. Long exposures: Pinhole photography works best with a long exposures. Because your opening is teeny tiny, you need to compensate for the light with a long exposure. This means you may have to set your exposure for a minute or two.  Remember, the smaller the pinhole, the sharper the image, but the longer the exposure.

2. Watch out for camera shake. Because you are using a long exposure, you will have to compensate for camera shake. Use a tripod or a remote shutter.

This week is all about creativity! I can’t wait to see what you come up with your DIY pinhole cameras. Make sure you post your photos on Facebook!

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