Homemade Shoebox Pinhole Camera with Sliding Paper Shutter

Not the most glamorous looking pinhole camera but the box was free and it was relatively easy to make. I would go into shoe departments at the mall and ask the sales people if they had any shoe boxes they weren’t using. I was always surprised when they would come out with a handful of boxes for me to choose from. I like the color orange, so naturally I picked this one.

I use 5×7 inch photographic grade two paper negatives. I currently use Arista EDU Ultra RC Grade #2 Black & White Photo Paper (Semi-Matte, 5 x 7″ and adhere a piece to the bottom of the box with doubling over a piece of blue painters tape. When you open the shutter, make sure the box is stable and won’t be moved by the wind/etc. I’ve put rocks on top of the box to keep it still. The exposure time will vary depending on how much light you have at the time. On a day with full sun, the exposure will be less than a minute. Point the camera with the sun behind it. Morning light seems to work best for paper negative pinhole photography. If you don’t want to fuss with making a complicated shutter mechanism you can just use black photo or electrical tape.

Works like a charm. Have fun!