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Discover unique workshop opportunities with Pinhole London
Elevate your creativity and wellbeing with our bespoke pinhole photography workshops — a hands-on introduction to traditional image-making and darkroom photography, ideal for community events, creative health and wellbeing, school and youth enrichment, and heritage projects. As an award-winning independent venture, we take a collaborative, inclusive approach, creating opportunities for people of all ages and learning needs to discover, record and learn through photography.
What is a pinhole camera?
A pinhole camera is the most basic form of camera possible. It consists of a light-proof container with a very small hole covered by tape. When the tape is removed, light passes through the pinhole and captures the scene outside on photographic paper secured inside.
Choose your workshop format
We offer four workshop formats — scroll down for details on each.
What we need from you
1.5 hours setup time and 1 hour pack-up time. Space for a 2m x 2m pop-up darkroom. A table for use inside the darkroom. Tables and chairs for participants. Sink access for rinsing prints. Outdoor access for taking photos. A projector for presentations.
Our team
All our staff are professional photographers with extensive experience working as artist educators. Pinhole London was founded in 2020 by award-winning artist Ben Nathan, who combines 20 years of community arts experience with a PGCE in Art and Design Education, ensuring a rewarding, inclusive experience for every participant.
Pricing and customisation
Our workshop fee covers all materials, pre-production and post-production work, delivery, transport and hire fees. Contact us for a customised quote.
Ready to book?
Send us an email: info@pinholelondon.org
1: Group workshop
Construct your own pinhole camera from upcycled materials and learn to capture and develop images in our darkroom. Perfect for all abilities, this 2–3 hour workshop can run twice a day, accommodating up to 10 participants per session. We bring our pop-up darkroom gazebo and all the kit and chemistry.
What happens in the group workshop
Introduction — an engaging introduction to the history and science of pinhole photography, including a live demonstration of the camera obscura.
Construction — participants work together to build their own DIY pinhole cameras from upcycled aluminium cans.
Creation — using their hand-made cameras, teams capture a photograph on light-sensitive paper, exploring the basics of exposure and composition.
Development — in our pop-up darkroom, participants develop their photographs using traditional techniques.
Exhibition — the session closes with a group exhibition, where participants view their negatives as positives using a smartphone. Everyone takes home their own photos and camera, and can be emailed a print-ready digital copy.
2. Drop-in workshop
Great for festivals and community events, this flexible workshop allows participants to use pre-loaded pinhole cameras and experience the developing process. Timing is adaptable to fit your event schedule. We use a tabletop all-in-one darkroom or our pop-up darkroom.
3: Night workshop
Night or indoor workshop Ideal for evening or office events, this format uses a tabletop darkroom, making it suitable for limited spaces. Battery-powered LED lights are supplied, giving great results for exposure times indoors or after dark. Can be combined with any of the other formats and customised to fit your event.
4: Camera Obscura workshop
Camera obscura experience Discover the camera obscura — the optical device that's the ancestor of every modern camera. Step inside our pop-up gazebo to see how it works and experience the world in a completely new way, then learn how to build your own DIY camera obscura from upcycled materials.
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