How to Make a Shoebox Pinhole Camera

Making a Demonstration Camera

Create two openings. On one of the box’s smaller sides, use a pin or needle to punch a round hole that is roughly 0.8 inches (2 mm) in diameter in the center of the box’s side. On the box’s other small end, use a pen or pencil to trace a rectangle with a border of about a half-inch to an 1” (1.27 to 2.54 cm) between the edge of the outline and the edge of the box on all sides. Use a utility blade to cut along the outline.

Create a frame for a screen. First, measure the inside dimensions of the shoebox’s smaller ends. Use a pen or pencil to trace an outline of these dimensions on a sheet of cardboard with the help of a ruler. Use a utility blade to cut along the outline. Slide the cardboard cutout into the shoebox, covering the larger opening. Use a pen or pencil to trace the outline of the opening on the cardboard inside the box. Remove the cutout and cut along the new outline to create your frame.

Add a translucent screen. Lay your cardboard frame on top of a sheet of translucent plastic. Trace the outside of the frame on the plastic with a pen or marker. Remove the frame and use scissors to cut out the plastic. Lay the plastic cutout over the cardboard frame and staple them together along each side of the frame. Insert your screen inside the shoebox once you are finished so that it covers the large opening. A plastic shopping bag will suffice as cheap, ready-at-hand material for your screen.

Demonstrate your camera. Set your shoebox camera on a flat surface. Aim the pinhole end at a well-lighted object. Cover the shoebox with a large black cloth. Pull the cloth black to uncover the pinhole. Drape the cloth protruding from the other end over your head. Block out as much ambient light as possible so you can see the well-lighted object projected through the pinhole onto the translucent screen inside your shoebox. This is a very basic device, so even objects that are well lit still appear only very dimly on your screen. However, it still demonstrates the basic principle of how an analog camera captures images on film if you use your hand as a shutter.

Building a Functioning Camera

Make your box as light-proof as possible. Reduce the amount of ambient light that it might create. Open the box and hold it up to a light source. Use duct tape, electrical tape, or any other kind that is opaque to block out any light creeping in through any cracks or splits. Spray-paint the box black, both inside and out.

Create a film holder. Measure the inside dimensions of one of the box’s smaller ends. Use a ruler and a pen or pencil to trace an outline of these dimensions on a piece of cardboard. Add an extra inch to two sides to create wings. Cut out this outline with a utility blade. Fold the wings back so that you can stand your film holder up inside the box. Spray-paint this cardboard cutout black as well to keep the inside of the box as dark as possible.

Make an aperture. In the center of one of the box’s smaller sides, cut a small square hole, roughly a half-inch by a half-inch (1.27 cm x 1.27 cm). Now cut a slightly larger square from a roll of tin or aluminum foil. Tape this foil square over the hole. Be sure to secure all edges so no light creeps into the box from around the foil. Use a pin, needle, or thumbtack to poke a hole in the foil. Finally, stick a small strip of electrical tape over your aperture to use as a shutter. Tape your foil to the inside of the box so the electrical tape doesn’t rip it off the box when you open your shutter.

Load your camera. Do this is a dark room. Remove a sheet of photographic paper from its box and tape its edges along the film holder, with the paper’s glossy side facing the aperture. Insert the film holder back into the box with the paper facing the aperture. If needed, paper-clip the wings to each side of the box to keep the film holder in place. Replace the shoebox’s lid and seal the edges with electrical tape to keep light out. Double-check that the shutter is still in place before leaving the dark room. When putting the film holder back into the shoebox, use the photographic paper’s longest side to determine how far away from the aperture it should be placed. For example, a 4x6 sheet of paper should be placed 6” away from the aperture.

Take a picture. Set your shoebox on a flat surface well away from anything that might disturb it. Aim the aperture at the object whose image you wish to capture. Lift the shutter and expose the film. Close the shutter over the aperture again after 30 seconds. When you use your camera for the first time, use it in a setting with controlled lighting so you can replicate the shot later.

Develop your film. In a dark room, fill one plastic container with developer, fill another with water, and fill a third with fixer. Remove your photographic paper from your camera and place in the first container. Agitate it in the developer for a couple minutes. Once an image begins to emerge, transfer it to water. Once you have rinsed it, place it in the fixer. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then hold under running water for 15 minutes to rinse off the fixer.

Assess your image. Learning how long to expose your photographic paper will require some trial and error. Plan on taking a series of test pictures of one object in a controlled setting. Once you have developed your first picture, note how light or dark it is. If the image appears too light (or doesn’t appear at all), increase your exposure the next time around. If it appears too dark (or is totally blacked out), decrease your exposure. Note that your developed image will be in negative, meaning that something that is black in real life will appear white, and vice versa.

Making an Eclipse Viewer

Block all light from entering the shoebox. Fetch a roll of duct tape, electrical tape, or any other type that is totally opaque. Open your shoebox. Hold it up to a light source to see if any cracks, joins, or holes are permitting light to enter the box from the outside. If so, cover those areas with tape to keep all unnecessary light out. Do the same with the cover to the shoebox.

Create a square hole to aim at the eclipse. Use a pencil or pen to trace a 1”x1” (2.54 cm x 2.54 cm) hole on one of the box’s smaller ends. Place it near the edge of the box’s bottom, but leave about a half-inch of space between the hole and the edge so you don’t accidentally tear the edge when you make your cut. Use a utility blade to cut the hole along your outline. For safety’s sake, always have the sharp end of the blade facing away from you in case it slips.

Cover the hole. Cut out a piece of tin or aluminum foil that is slightly larger than your hole. Cover the hole from the inside and tape the foil’s edges to the inside of the box. Use a pin, needle, or thumbtack to prick a very tiny hole in the foil. Aim for the center. Make sure the foil is pulled taut when you tape it. Otherwise, you may end up only pushing the foil with your pin or needle instead of poking a hole through it.

Add a “screen.” Cut out a piece of plain white paper that is roughly the same size as your foil. Place it inside the box, directly across from the foil, in the exact same position along the box’s other smaller end. Tape it in place along its edges. Close the box with its cover once you finish. When the foil end is aimed at the eclipse, the sunlight should penetrate the foil through the hole you poked and then strike the piece of paper that you just taped up at the opposite end, just like a film projector aimed at a theater screen.

Cut a square viewing hole. Trace another 1”x1” (2.54 cm x 2.54 cm) outline to cut along one of the box’s longer sides. Use your utility blade to cut the hole out. Peer inside and make sure you have a clear view of the white screen. If you placed both the foil and the white screen near the bottom of the box, you can judge the best angle for viewing the screen from the top before closing the box. If the lid to your box is totally detachable, you can also use other lids to cut new viewing holes if your first attempt does not provide a good view of the screen.

Use your box. Seal the lid with opaque tape to keep any more light from creeping into the box. Just before the eclipse begins, aim the foil end of the box at the sun. Check its shadow to make sure the box is lined up perfectly with the sun. As the eclipse begins, peer into the box through the viewing hole. Look for a circle of light projected onto the white screen. Track the moon’s shadow over this circle of light as the moon passes between Earth and the sun.