A question asked by someone just like you.

How does a camera put
pictures on a piece of paper?

You have noticed the lens on the front of a camera. It works to make an image on the back of the camera, a picture of what the camera is looking at. At the back of the camera is a film, a clear plastic sheet treated with special light-sensitive chemicals. “Light-sensitive” means that the chemicals undergo chemical reactions only when light hits them. Light-sensitive chemicals will make lighter and darker places on the film to form a picture.

These are only the basic ideas of how a camera works. You will find more about it in an encyclopedia under “photography.”