(urgent) why isnt my pinhole camera working?

Question

pleasssse help the tiny brain who really needs you to read this quite long question thingy:

i have tried several sites and none of them seem to have the method I'm to use, which is using oiled paper to act as the translucent screen. the thing is, ive tried it so many times but i still cant see a single thing (the image is so not clear)

please help, my little brain was given 2 weeks to complete it, and it was due today, but i skipped classes, so i have until tomorrow, unless i beg my mother to go and see my sister, who was rushed to hospital few minutes ago, so i'll prolly have another nephew, yay!

and the fact that my projects due tomorrow has nothing to yay about, so if u could lend me some excuses to miss school tomorrow it would be great, because ive tried about everything in my book, and its all been used more then once-

thank you so much for your time!!! and yes, i do feel like an idiot who doesn't know sthg that a preschooler would!!!

Answer 1

I'm wondering if the oiled paper is too thick to properly display the projection from your pinhole. Try using waxed paper, as it is probably more transparent and easier to see.

If you can't get a hold of waxed paper, try thinner paper. If that doesn't work, try a clear or maybe white plastic shopping bag.

Answer 2

Either the hole is too big and the picture is blurred or else the image is too dark for your to see.

In the first case, make the hole smaller (that will also make your image darker as a side-effect) and with sharp border. It should not be a rough hole with fibres sticking all around.

In the second case, use a thin oiled paper or wax-paper and view the camera in totally dark. Try covering yourself and your camera 'back' with a dark cloth with the pin-hole facing some bright object like a window in daytime or a bright lamp.

Another thing you can try to modify is by moving your screen (paper) a little closer to the pin-hole.