Have you ever made a pinhole camera? If you said yes, that’s just awesome!! Evidently, I missed the boat when it came to this nifty project. In fact, I’d never even heard of a pinhole camera until I was doing a mentorship in college, back when film was still king and digital cameras were considered fairly novel (whoa, I think I just dated myself there…).
So, let’s have some fun and PLAY. But first, we need to remind ourselves that this is more about creativity than making a good picture, because truth be told, they might just turn out kinda terrible. However, as long as we maintain the creative-fun mindset, we can call it a win. Sometimes we just need to give ourselves permission to play. (Alright, that was more of a pep talk for myself, haha.)
There are probably thousands of ways to make a pinhole camera. For this project, I’m going to show you how to make a pinhole “lens” out of your DSLR’s body cap. Mostly because I don’t even know where to get film anymore, and also because I’m lazy and already have a digital camera. And that means we can have fun with the images in post-processing, which is usually my favorite part anyway.
What you’ll need:
- A body cap for your camera (the plastic cap that goes on your camera when you’re not using a lens – I recommend using/ordering a spare one for this project)
- A small sheet of 1 mil copper foil (easily found in hobby shops or online), or you can use aluminum foil (because most of us have that already)
- A needle (the smaller the hole, the better your focus)
- A scissors (for cutting metal foil and tape)
- Some scotch tape
- Some painter’s tape (to use as kind of lens cover when not in use)
- A drill and drill bit
- Your DSLR camera (obviously)
Directions:
- Find and mark the center of the body cap. Then drill a small hole in the cap (drill from the inside out). The hole simply needs to be larger in diameter than the needle you plan to use. Afterwards, be sure to clean the cap of any debris.
- Cut out a small square from your copper or aluminum foil that will fit inside the body cap without overhanging, so as not to prevent the cap from screwing on properly. Then keeping the copper or foil taut, tape down the square sheet.
- Gently press down on your newly applied metal sheet to make an indention and find the outline of the drilled hole (don’t press too hard!). Once the outline of the hole is visible in the metal foil, take a needle and poke a small hole in the center of this circle indention.
- Clean the cap thoroughly of any dust or residue before attaching it to your camera! Also, you can cut a small square of painter’s tape to place on the outside of the cap as a lens cover when not in use while out shooting, to prevent anything getting into your camera. Please note that you should not leave this pinhole “lens” on your camera long-term, as dust and other unwanted things could find their way into your precious DSLR. Just be careful and treat your baby – I mean, camera – nicely.
Play Time:
Now you’re ready to play! It’s important to note that pinholes require longer exposures in order for light to hit the sensor, especially in low-light situations. Play around with your settings to see what works best for you (I recommend manual mode). Setting your ISO to 500 or more is helpful, and so is using a tripod if your shutter speed needs to go below 1/80 of a second. Just experiment and play around!
I can’t wait to see what you create!! Please share with us on Instagram and use #loofphotofunigpics.
Also, if you’re interested in this sort of experimental/lo-fi look, but don’t want to make your own pinhole lens, you can go on Amazon and buy a Holga lens (see links below). Holga is actually a type of “toy camera” (which is has an entire following and culture surrounding it), but the company also recognized that digital camera owners would like to play too. Using a Holga lens on your camera will create images similar to the pinhole style, and they’re also a lot of fun. Just keep in mind that these are toy lenses. Or… if you want to join in the fun, but don’t have a DSLR, they also make pinhole camera apps for smart phones.
Holga 60mm f/8 Lens for Nikon DSLR | Holga 60mm f/8 Lens for Canon DSLR
At any rate, happy snapping!! Don’t forget to share on Instagram! #loofphotofunigpics
PS: I have to admit that I tweaked the above image a bit in post-processing – though I don’t think it did much good, haha. Does it bother me that it’s out of focus and looks like something I’d normally trash? No… Okay, a little – or maybe a lot. I realize that I need to let go of my perfectionist tendencies and just have fun with it. It’s not like I’m over here trying to shoot for National Geographic with a pinhole lens… Sigh, I think I may need to practice the art of playing.
