How-to guides
How to light a property so security cameras work at night
Lighting designed for people walking to their cars is often wrong for cameras. Even, downward light with no fixtures in the lens's view does more for night footage than a more expensive camera.
VuePoint
Most night footage problems we see are lighting problems: a bright wall pack aimed straight at a camera, a lot lit in pools with black gaps between them, or a building that relies on each camera's built-in infrared to cover a hundred feet of open ground. You do not need a lighting engineer for the basics, but you do need to look at the site from where the cameras sit.
What cameras want from light
- Even coverage. A camera sets exposure for the whole frame. Bright pools next to dark gaps leave the gaps black and the pools blown out.
- Light falling on the subject, not into the lens. Fixtures should point down and away from the camera's view.
- Enough light to stay in color, where it matters. Color footage of clothing and vehicles is far more useful in a report than black-and-white IR. Many newer cameras stay in color with modest white light.
- Steady light. Some cheap LED drivers flicker at a rate that shows up as banding or rolling bars on video.
| Approach | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Camera's built-in IR | Short ranges near the building, doors, small yards | Range listed on the box is a best case; reflections off nearby surfaces; black-and-white only |
| Separate IR illuminator | Longer runs, perimeters where white light would bother neighbors | Power draw, especially on solar; still black-and-white |
| White-light fixtures | Parking lots, entries, package areas; color footage | Fixture aim, glare, neighbor complaints, local lighting ordinances |
| Motion-activated white light | Back doors, side yards, low-traffic areas | Cameras need a moment to adjust when lights snap on; frequent triggers from animals or trees |
A night lighting walk-through
- 1
Go out after dark with the live view on a phone
Look at each camera's picture while you stand in the areas it should cover. Lighting that looks fine to your eyes can look very different on camera.
- 2
Find the black holes
Walk the lot and note spots where you disappear on screen. Those are usually the gaps between light poles, behind dumpsters, along fence lines and at the back of buildings.
- 3
Find the glare
Note any fixture visible in a camera's frame. Either re-aim the fixture down with a shield, or move the camera so the fixture is behind or beside it.
- 4
Check the backlit entries
A camera outside a lit lobby looking in, or inside looking out at headlights, records silhouettes. Add light on the outside face of the door, or reposition the camera.
- 5
Check color versus IR
See which cameras flip to black-and-white. If a camera covering a package room or an entry drops into IR, a small amount of added white light may keep it in color.
- 6
Record what you change
Write down fixture changes and camera adjustments with the date. If an issue reappears, you will know what was done and when.
Timers, photocells and motion
Photocells turn lights on at dusk, which is what you want for cameras. Timers drift with the seasons and need adjusting after daylight saving changes. Motion lights work at low-traffic doors and are a cheap way to keep a camera in color when someone appears, but if trees or animals trigger them all night, they also trigger motion alerts. If your analytics start false-alerting after a lighting change, see why analytics false-alert all night.
Neighbors and ordinances
Many cities and counties restrict light trespass and require shielded, downward fixtures. Full-cutoff fixtures aimed at your own property usually satisfy both the ordinance and the cameras. For HOAs and apartments, light aimed into residents' windows will generate complaints faster than any camera.
Lots with no power for lighting are a separate design problem. The no power, no network deployment guide covers illuminator load on solar, and the parking lot guide covers pole height and lighting for open ground.
Common questions
- Is infrared enough for a parking lot at night?
- Usually not on its own. Built-in IR is designed for shorter ranges, and footage is black-and-white. Even white lighting across the lot gives cameras more range and keeps them in color, which matters for describing vehicles and clothing.
- Why does my camera look worse after we added a floodlight?
- The light is probably in the frame or too close to the lens, so the camera exposes for the glare. Re-aim the fixture down and away, shield it, or move it a few feet from the camera.
- Do motion-activated lights help cameras?
- At low-traffic doors and side yards, yes: they put light on the subject when it matters. In areas with frequent triggers from trees or animals, they can cause a stream of motion alerts.
Still stuck?
Send us the details and we'll tell you what we'd check next — whether or not the cameras are ours.