Pinhole Photography
Step by Step Guide - From production of the camera to developing the photos.
Creating the Camera
1- Take your chosen object which you want to make into a camera (As long as it's mobile it's use able) and cut a 1/2 to 3/4 inch square out of one of the sides. This will later act as your Pinholes' lens.
2- If you have any food container or anything which will leave debris behind clean it out with some tissue. Otherwise this will effect the next stage.
3-With Matt poster paint, paint the inside of your camera completely black. This prevents light bouncing around inside and ruining your photo.
4- Attach a piece of foil to the outside over where you created the hole in step 1. Secure it on with gaffer tape ( this will prevent any light getting in). This foil will act as your aperture (which controls the amount of light allowed in)
5- Put a piece of paper over the foil and create a flap which can cover and uncover the hole to start and stop exposure.
6- Place a pin hole (using a compass or similar utensil) in the foil where your small square is. This is where light will pass through to create you image.
Your camera is now complete. Congratulations!
Taking and Developing your photos
1- Measure the distance between your pinhole and where your photographic paper will be placed (on the opposite side of the container.) Then use this equation to calculate the time you roughly need to expose your paper for (your f-stop).
F-Stop = 72 < The distance in mm's (mine was 72)
0.8 < size of your pinhole (mm)
I was given the result - f-90 and I was told that that equalled, according to the fact it was an overcast day that I would need around 20 seconds of exposure time outside in daylight and 4 Minutes inside.
2- Take you Camera into a dark room, (an actual dark room, not just your bedroom with no lights on) take a piece of photographic paper cut it to the correct size and place it opposite your pinhole. I used a pringles tube so the paper stayed in the same place quite tightly, if not then i would recommend putting two pieces of rolled up gaffer tape where you want the paper to stick.
3- Ensure that the container is sealed tightly and take it to a photographic location of your choice.
4- Point your camera to the image you want. Remove the flap you created for the exposure times you have worked out and then place it back. Your photograph has been taken! You little photographer you.!
5- Take your camera back to the dark room. Remove the photo paper. DO NOT REMOVE YOUR PHOTO PAPER ANYWHERE ELSE, otherwise your photo will become overexposed and will come out completely black (not a brilliant image.)
6- Place your photo paper faced down in a liquid solution called the developer this will reveal your photo and you can see whether your image is a success. Remember your image will come out negative so do not judge your photo on colours, instead on whether you can actually see definition in the photo. Leave the photo in developer for 20-30 seconds.
7- Next place the photo in the 'Stop' solution for 20 seconds. This stops the developing process.
8- After place the photo into the last fluid, the 'Fix'. This ensures the picture stays on the paper and will be unaffected by any light or other stains.
9- Lastly place your picture in the 'Wash' or water as it's better known. Cleaning of any other solution.
10- Then dry your image and then you have your first Pinhole Picture! Congratulations!
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| My first Pinhole photo. Fantastic! |
Scanning and Inverting
Obviously, if you're following these steps you may have noticed your photos are backwards and upside down and completely in negative which means the white parts are black and vice-versa. These are the steps you need to follow to create a much more normal image.
1) Scan the picture into your computer. At SNC with photography, we had to scan our card, select the format, select send to email and then as I pressed scan it sent to my email. Any scanner will do.
2) Once you have it open it up in on adobe photoshop or any similar program such as paint shop pro or coral.
3) To invert the colours in the image, click the small icon with an arrow pointing down next to a series of small lines. It will show a drop down menu, where there will be options such as Brightness/Contrast, levels and curves. Go further down and click invert.
Another way to get this same option click options at the top left>Adjustments>Invert
4) If you're image is still backwards or upside-down. You can click from the same menu image rotation and flip horizontally and vertically until it looks correct.
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| This is how your image will be taken in the pinhole camera. |
If you've been following these steps with your newly constructed pinhole camera, then you will have a fantastic photo to make your chums jealous, put on your wall, burn or whatever you want.
CONGRATULATIONS Pinholer!
My complete collection of completed pinhole pictures.
In further posts I will be describing other pinhole photographers
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