Hole it in one

You’ll be amazed at the results you can get even without a lens

01 Cut it out

Using scissors, cut out a section of the drinks can (be careful as the edges will be sharp). Make sure it’s small enough to fit into the inside of a body cap. Push a needle through the metal until it just pokes through. The smaller the hole, the better.

02 Drill and stick

Drill a hole in the centre of the body cap. It should be bigger than the pin prick. Tape your pricked metal to the back of the cap, making sure the pinhole lines up with the hole in the body cap. Attach the cap to the camera.

03 Choose a subject

Anything with vibrant colour will make a good subject. The lack of a lens means there’s reduced clarity in your photos, so a subject with a lot of subtle texture probably won’t work very well. Look for simpler shapes and strong contrasts.

04 Go long

The pinhole’s aperture should be much smaller than that of any lens you have. This means less light, and less light means longer exposure times, so use a tripod. Use your self-timer or a remote to reduce the risk of camera shake.

05 Go slow

There is no aperture to control, and the other settings will depend on how large your pinhole is. Shooting outside on a sunny day, set ISO100 and 1.6 sec as a starting point, and increase or decrease the shutter speed as needed.

06 Zoom in

If you want to increase your focal length, use extension tubes. These are designed to sit a lens (or our pinhole) further away from the sensor to extend the focal length; the further the body cap is from the sensor, the longer the focal length.