How to Make a 5x7 Pinhole Camera

A camera, no matter how many buttons, digital sensors and screens, is simply a box with a hole in it. Some of the first camera were actually rooms with a tiny hole in one wall which projected an image onto the opposite wall. Later the portable version became the cameras we know today. You can make your own camera out of a box. This article will describe how to build your own pinhole camera and take a photo.

The camera works on the principal that a tiny hole will project an image through it in reverse. By placing a pin hole in one wall of a sealed box, and placing the box in front of the subject you wish to photograph, the image will be projected to the back wall of the box.

What You Will Need:
A box at least 7 inches wide
Two-inch square of aluminum foil
(Aluminum cut from a soda can also works)
Needle
Scissors
Glue
Black paint
Double-sided tape
Large square of black plastic or cloth
5x7 black and white photographic paper
Two strips of thin cardboard or poster board 1-inch wide by 5 inches long
One strip of thin cardboard 1-inch wide by 8 inches long

Making Your Pinhole Camera

First, paint the box completely inside and out. This will prevent light from reflecting back on your photo paper and helps you see any light leaks. If your box has a lid, paint the lid completely. If your box has flaps on the top, be sure to coat both sides and the edges of all the flaps.

Decide which wall will hold your photo paper. If your camera box is sitting on the floor, this should be one of the two largest side walls. Now, on the opposite wall, mark the exact center. Cut out a one-inch square hole from the center of that side of the box.

Use a needle to make a tiny hole in the center of the aluminum square. The tinier and cleaner the hole, the sharper and better your photos will be. The needle tip should just barely puncture the foil.

Place a thin layer of glue around the one-inch window, on the inside of your camera box. Place the aluminum square on the hole, centering the pinhole. You may use tape to hold the foil in place while the glue dries. You have created your lens.