Photography

• Photography is the process of making pictures by

means of the action of light. Light patterns
reflected or emitted from objects are recorded onto
a light-sensitive medium.
• The word comes from the Greek words phos
("light"), and graphis ("paintbrush"), together
meaning "drawing with light"
 Pinhole Tips/ Helping Hints
• Stay within view of my door.
• Place camera on a solid surface when
shooting.
• Make sure aperture is covered tightly when
not shooting.
• Get CLOSE to your subject.
• Put your initials on the back of each picture
before shooting.
 Pinhole Tips/ Helping Hints Cont.
• Dry hands before touching unexposed photo
paper.
• Develop prints in batches of up to 5 at a time.
• Perma-Wash, Final Wash, squeegee and blow dry
(time permitting). If short on time, place on drying
rack and pick up the next day.
• Carry wet pictures in a tray
 Pinhole Tips/ Helping Hints Cont.

• Knock before opening darkroom doors

• Open darkroom doors 1 at a time
• Keep paper safe closed
• Agitate all trays constantly
• Be kind to the tongs
• Keep cameras away from sink
• Put away your camera at the end of class
Camera Obscura
• The name Camera is
derived from camera
obscura, Latin for "dark
chamber”.
• The earliest ones were the
size of an entire room!
• It functioned much like a
modern camera, except
there was no way at this
time to record the image
short of manually tracing
it.
The Pinhole Camera
Pinhole Camera Parts
A Pinhole Camera is a camera
without a lens.
Pinhole Camera: What it is & how it works…
• The light producing the image passes through a small hole
(the aperture.)

• In order to produce a reasonably clear image, the aperture

has to be a tiny pinhole on the order of 0.5 mm. or less.
Pinholes…Good and Bad
 Aperture
In optics, an aperture is
a hole or an opening
through which light is
admitted.

Picture made with small aperture

Lenses have adjustable

apertures. Each aperture is
assigned a number, or F-stop.
Picture made with large aperture
Pinhole Camera: What it is & how it works…
• The shutter of a pinhole camera usually consists of a some
light-proof material (like black tape or a finger) to cover
and uncover the pinhole.

• Pinhole cameras require much longer exposure times than

conventional cameras because of the small aperture;
typical exposure times can range from 5 seconds to hours
or days.
 Shutter
In photography, a shutter is a
device that allows light to pass for
a determined period of time, for
the purpose of exposing
photographic film or paper. It
controls Motion.

Picture made with slow shutter speed Picture made with fast shutter speed
 Exposure:
• An Exposure takes place when light
strikes film or sensitized paper.
• There are three variables that control
exposure.
1. The size of the lens opening (aperture)
2. The duration of the exposure time (shutter
speed)
3. The amount of light illuminating the subject.
 Proper Exposure

When a photograph is properly exposed,

like this landscape by Ansel Adams,
there is detail in every area of the scene.
 Proper Exposure Continued
• Because a pinhole camera is primitive,
getting a proper exposure takes some trial
and error.
• However, once you determine the correct
exposure time you will enjoy consistent
results. (As long as you use the same
camera & the same amount of light!)
 Overexposure
• When too much light
strikes your film or
sensitized paper, the
result is called an
overexposure.
• Notice the lack of
highlights (white
areas) and “blocked
up” shadows.
Underexposure
• When too little light
strikes your film or
sensitized paper, the
result is called an
underexposure.
• Notice the lack of
shadows and “blown
out” highlights.
Correcting Exposure with a
pinhole camera
1. Start with an exposure of 30
seconds.
2. If your photograph resembles
the one on top (overexposed),
do your next one for 15
seconds.
3. If your photograph resembles
the one on the bottom
(underexposed), do your next
one for 60 seconds.

TIME EXPOSURES
ACCURATELY WITH A
WATCH!
 Negative/ Positive

Positive Image Negative Image

Sample Pinhole Photographs
Sample Pinhole Photographs
 Pinhole Assignments
• Double Exposure
• Panning
• Close-up Portrait
• The Ghost

• Shoot at least 2 images for each assignment.

You will turn in your best 3.
• (10 points each)