How-to guides
How to position security cameras: height, angle, field of view and night glare
Most unusable footage comes from cameras that were mounted where the bracket was easy to reach, not where the picture needed to be. Decide what each camera is for first, then set height, angle and field of view to match.
VuePoint
A camera can only do one job well. A camera framed to show the whole parking lot will not show a face at the door, and a camera framed tight on the door will not show which way the person walked off. The most common mistake on properties we look at is not bad hardware. It is one camera being asked to do two jobs and doing neither.
Decide the job before you pick the spot
Give every camera one of two jobs: identify (capture a usable face or plate at a choke point) or overview (show movement, direction and context across an area). The pixel arithmetic behind that split, including the IEC 62676-4 detect, recognize and identify thresholds, is covered in how far a camera can detect, recognize and identify.
| Identify camera | Overview camera | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Doors, gates, package rooms, stairwells, register | Lots, yards, perimeters, courtyards |
| Typical height | About 7 to 9 ft | About 12 to 20 ft, higher on poles |
| Downward angle | Shallow, roughly 15 to 30 degrees | Steeper is fine |
| Field of view | Narrow: a few feet across at the subject | Wide, but not so wide people become specks |
| Lens | Fixed or varifocal set tight | Wide fixed or varifocal set wide |
Positioning a camera, step by step
- 1
Stand where the subject will be
Walk the path a person or vehicle actually takes. For an identify camera, find the point where everyone has to pass within a few feet: the door threshold, the gate lane, the package-room entry. That point, not the wall nearest an outlet, sets the camera location.
- 2
Set the height
For faces, mount roughly 7 to 9 ft up. Lower is better for faces but easier to tamper with; higher makes the camera look down on the tops of heads and hat brims. For overview, go high enough to see over parked vehicles and fences, often 12 ft and up.
- 3
Keep the downward angle shallow for faces
If a camera points steeply down, it records foreheads and caps. Aim so the subject's face is roughly level to slightly below the lens when they reach the target point. Move the camera back from the door rather than up above it.
- 4
Frame the field of view
At the target point, a face should fill a meaningful part of the frame, not a corner of it. Set varifocal lenses on site while someone stands at the target spot, and save the zoom setting. For overview cameras, keep the horizon near the top of the frame so you are not recording sky.
- 5
Check the light behind the subject
A camera inside a lobby facing a glass door records silhouettes in daylight. Turn it around so it faces into the building from the door side, or enable WDR and test at the brightest time of day.
- 6
Test at night before you tighten the bracket
Come back after dark, view the live image on a phone, and walk the path. Adjust for IR glare and washout using the checklist below.
Stopping IR glare and night washout
Most cameras switch to infrared at night and light the scene with their own IR LEDs. Anything close to the lens reflects that light straight back and the camera exposes for the reflection, so the area you care about goes black.
- Soffits, eaves and walls. If the camera is tucked against an overhang or a wall is in the edge of frame, the IR bounces back. Pull the camera out on an extension arm or angle it away from the surface.
- Dome bubbles. Dirty or scratched domes scatter IR across the image. Clean with a soft cloth and plain water, and seat the bubble fully so the foam IR baffle sits against it.
- Spider webs and insects. IR LEDs attract insects, and webs across the lens light up at night. Expect this most in summer and clean on a schedule.
- Close faces washed white. A person walking right under an identify camera overexposes. Check that smart IR or IR auto-adjust is on, or add white light so the camera stays in color mode.
- Lights in the frame. A wall pack pointed at the lens blinds it. Move the camera or re-aim the fixture. More on this in how to light a property for night cameras.
Privacy and tamper checks
- Do not aim into neighbors' windows, residents' unit doors or anywhere people expect privacy. Use privacy masks in the camera settings where the view clips a private area.
- Keep identify cameras out of easy reach, or use vandal-rated housings where they must be low.
- Run cable inside conduit or the wall. An exposed cable is the easiest way to blind a camera.
If you are positioning cameras for a whole property rather than one door, start with a camera coverage plan so each camera has a stated job.
Common questions
- What is the best height for a security camera to capture faces?
- As a rule of thumb, about 7 to 9 feet, with a shallow downward angle and a narrow field of view at a choke point such as a door. Higher mounts tend to capture the tops of heads and hat brims.
- Why is my camera image white or foggy at night?
- Usually infrared reflecting off something close to the lens: an eave, a wall, a dirty dome or a spider web. Move the camera away from the surface, clean the lens or dome, and check again after dark.
- Can one wide-angle camera cover both faces and the parking lot?
- Not well. A wide view spreads too few pixels across any one face. Use a tight camera at the entry for identification and a separate wide camera for the overview.
Still stuck?
Send us the details and we'll tell you what we'd check next — whether or not the cameras are ours.