How To Make a Pinhole Camera

Remove the plastic top and bottom from the oatmeal box.

Add a bead of white glue around the lip of the bottom and reattach it. This will ensure no light comes in through the seam.

Spray paint the inside of the oatmeal box with black paint and let dry. Repeat if necessary. Also spray paint the bottom. Let it dry.

While the top is off, add contact paper to the box top, then spray paint it black. Make sure it will still fit on the box.

Use the craft knife to cut a 3-sided rectangle—a long door—about 1.5 inches wide and half an inch tall into the side of the box.

Cut a 2.5-inch square out of heavy aluminum foil.

Using the No. 16 needle, carefully poke a hole into the center of your aluminum square—then sand the hole on both sides with the sandpaper to remove any burrs.

Re-drill the same hole, and re-sand it a second time.

Dab a little epoxy on the edges of pinhole plate with a cotton swab, making sure not to come anywhere close to the pinhole, and place the plate on the inside the oatmeal box, with the pinhole centered in the rectangle you cut earlier.

Add a strip of electrical tape on all sides of the plate to further secure it into place. This will also help it from sliding as the epoxy dries.

Add a small piece of tape to the outside of the small door that can keep it closed, then put on the box top.

When you’re ready to load your pinhole camera for a shoot, take it into a completely dark room. While in the dark, remove the photo emulsion paper from it’s wrapping, and place it inside the pinhole camera, curved around the edge, emulsion-side facing the pinhole.

Close up the box tightly, making sure no light can get in.

To shoot a scene, point the doorway toward your subject and open the door for about a 20-second exposure.

After you’ve taken your shot, return to a dark room and remove the paper, making sure to put it back in the lightproof bag it came in.

Either develop the photo yourself in a darkroom, or take your paper your local high-end camera shop to develop it for you.

Don’t forget to eat your oatmeal.