Pinhole photography is lensless photography. A pinhole camera is a light-tight box or container with a tiny hole at one end and film or photographic paper at the other. Through the hole, rays of reflected light thrown from the exterior world enter the box and form an image. As light travels in straight lines, the projected image appears upside-down inside the camera. Pinhole cameras are used for fun, for art, or for science.
Pinhole cameras are small or large, improvised or designed with great care.
Cameras have been made of seashells, of salt shakers and watermelons. Cameras have been cast in plaster like a facemask, constructed from beautiful hardwoods, built of metal and fitted with bellows. Station wagons have been used as pinhole cameras, as have rooms in large buildings. Some photographers delight in making cameras out of surprising objects. But most pinholers start out with a simple cardboard box or a small circular metal or cardboard container.