How to Make a Pinhole Camera With Household Items That Takes Pictures

Paint the inside and the outside of the can with flat black paint. Any can with a tight lid, such as a Pringles can, a rolled oats can or a quart paint can, will work. Allow the paint to dry.

Cut a 2 inch-by-3 inch piece of heavy aluminum foil, and place it between two old playing cards. Push a No. 10 sewing needle near the center through the two cards and the foil, creating the pinhole for the camera. Turn the needle while pressing it through to make the pinhole rounder. Push the needle all the way through, pulling it out the far side.

Make a quarter-inch hole in the center-bottom of the can with a hammer and an awl. Tape the pinhole over the hole in the can. This is now the front of your pinhole camera.

Cut a 1 inch-by-3 inch rectangular piece of black construction paper. Place the construction paper over your pinhole as a shutter. Tape the top of the construction paper to the edge of the can securely.

Bend the shutter up to put a crease in the paper, and then tape the shutter securely across the hole. Fold under a tab at each end of the tape, sticky sides together, providing a place to grab the tape and raise the shutter. Only create a small tab on each side, leaving plenty of sticky area of the tape exposed to secure the shutter closed.

Load the photographic paper in a "dark room," or a closet or other place that is sealed to outside light. The only light should be a dim red light from a flashlight covered in three layers of red cellophane. Cut the paper to fit inside your camera, and tape it to the inside of the lid with the shiny side up. Put the lid back on the camera.

Secure the camera to a surface with tape. Arrange your scene in front of you, and then lift the shutter without moving the can. After exposure, the film will have to be unloaded in a dark room and put into a light, tight container to take it to be processed.