Find out how to make a Pinhole Camera, inspired by their history in Scarborough

Photo from Pinhole Workshop September 2025, Beeforth Hive, Scarborough

For our second workshop, we created our own pinhole cameras. These are simply cameras without a lens and instead have a tiny aperture, and function a lot like a camera obscura. Through using sensitised photo paper, we can use the technique to make a permanent image.

For context, there has been many artists that have utilised the pinhole to create work or community projects as the cameras can be made into all shapes and sizes, as you will see. For example, The Trashcam Project saw refuse workers of Hamburg, transforming industrial wheelie bins around the city into largescale pinhole cameras, capturing a unique ‘bin’s eye view of the city.’

*Images taken from,* *The Guardian, ‘Disposable camera: the Trashcam photography project – in pictures’*

A further project involving pinhole cameras that were a little more organic was Derek Man’s ‘What Do You See, Old Apple Tree?’ which involved the artist partnering with The Orchard Project, London which is committed to the restoration and celebration of community orchards and Man aimed to capture and highlight the dwindling number of orchards in London. "I would create cameras at each location by halving the apples, carving out the front, attaching a lens made out of a piece of metal with a tiny hole in it, and then loading the film in a darkroom bag and light-proofing it with tinfoil,"

*Images taken from the,* *artists website*

We move next to the world’s largest known pinhole image, which has been labelled rather grandiosely ‘The Great Picture.’ The image was taken in 2006, and measured 111 feet high and 32 feet wide, and is thought to be the largest photograph made directly from a camera. It needed a large venue to host the image and was created in an aircraft carrier in

California before the space was going to be turned into a park. It took six artists and around 400 assistants to take the image and was created on a seamless piece of cloth, coated with 21 US gallons 80 L of sensitised emulsion and then hung from the ceiling at a distance of about 80 feet from a pinhole. The subsequent image was then developed by 80 volunteers during five hours in a tray that measured the size of an Olympic Swimming Pool, and was then rinsed using a series of Fire Hydrants.

*Images taken from the,* *The Smithsonian*

Another key aspect, about this workshop was creating our developer and fixer using more ecological methods, in this case we used an instant coffee fixer, a water stop bath and a salt water fixer. To find out more about the Sustainable Darkroom, do head to their website.

Follow along below the method we used to create and develop pinhole images in our workshop, we have referenced the recipes we used and if you have any tips do get in touch.

Making your Camera

Find an empty tin/tube, preferably with a lid, paint the inside black or cover in black-paper, if it is cardboard then cut a small/rectangle square in the tube/tin. (good examples include, small pringles tube, gravy granules, decaf coffee, nutritional yeast)
Cut out piece of aluminium in a small square, large enough to cover the size of the rectangle/square cut above
With a needle (the smaller the better) make a small hole in the aluminium, secure it within the camera
Use strong black tape to cover the hole with a little bit folded over as a tab that can be pulled back, this is the equivalent to your lens cap!
In a dark room (a windowless bathroom or cupboard etc) load your photo paper into the camera. Make sure it is opposite the whole, and can secure it in place with tape.
Still in the dark room, make the camera light-tight by covering the edge of the lid in thick black tape
You are now ready to take your photo!

Taking your Photo

Before taking an image you need to work out your exposure time, there are a number of ways to do this. But this guide below is taken from (makeapinholecamera.info)
Once you have figured this out go and take your image, make sure to keep the camera still for the full exposure, and to close the tab securely after it is taken.

Developing and Fixing your Photo

To make your image, you need to create a developer, instead of using harsh chemicals, we are here using more sustainable and less harmful substances. We are here using a recipe from artist and researcher Melanie King.
Measure out 75g of Soda Crystals in a jug and fill to 500 ml of warm water (around 20/25degrees), stir until dissolved
Once dissolved, measure out 25g of Powered Vitamin C and stir into the water mix, keeping an eye on the temperature
Now measure out 75g of instant coffee, doesn’t have to be fancy, cheap works best. Pour into the mixture and top up the water to 1litre, stirring until dissolved
For the stop bath we will just use tap water
For the fixer dissolve 300g of salt in litre of warm water
Place the three mixtures, the developer, water and fixer in three trays and head back to the darkened room to develop.
You can change your for phone into red colour mode here, as an equivalent to red darkroom light, so there is some visibility in the space for making your images.
Make sure there is no white light and open your camera, remove the photo paper and place in the develop for 2 mins, shaking the tray lightly throughout the 2 minutes. Next place in the water for around 30 secs/1 minute, then place in the saltwater fixer for 24 hours, keeping it in a darkened space throughout its fixing.
The image will display as a negative, you can use an app on your phone to turn it into a positive if you like.
Now you should hopefully have your image!!