Where to place security cameras for useful footage

Placement matters more than the camera

People often spend time comparing camera specifications and then mount the camera wherever there is a convenient power point. Footage quality depends heavily on position. A modest camera at a good angle will usually beat an expensive one that looks at the sky, a bright window or the top of someone's head.

This guide walks through the main decisions in the order they usually come up.

Height: high enough to be safe, low enough to see faces

A common rule of thumb is to mount external cameras at roughly two and a half to three metres. That is out of easy reach, but low enough that faces are still visible rather than just hats and shoulders.

Go higher and you start to see the tops of heads. Go lower and the camera is easy to knock, cover or steal. A camera on a high wall that must look down steeply at a doorway will capture a poor angle on faces, so consider mounting a short distance back from the door rather than directly above it.

Indoor cameras can sit lower, but still above easy reach. At a counter, a camera slightly above head height and angled down gives a good view of both the customer and the till.

Angle: look along the approach, not straight down

Aim cameras so people walk towards them, or across the frame, rather than away. A face is only visible when the person is looking roughly towards the lens.

• Front doors. Mount the camera so it looks at the person as they approach and stand at the door.
• Driveways. Position along the line of travel, so vehicles and number plates are seen head-on or tail-on, not at a sharp side angle.
• Corridors and aisles. Aim down the length of the space.

Very steep downward angles reduce usable detail, and very sharp side angles blur number plates. If the camera must look across a gate, consider a second camera angled along it.

Light: avoid glare and backlight

Light is the most common reason good cameras produce bad footage. Two problems come up repeatedly.

• Backlight. If the camera faces a bright sky, a glass door or a sunny street, subjects appear as dark silhouettes. Move the camera so the bright area is beside or behind it, not in front.
• Glare and reflections. A camera looking through glass can show its own reflection or the glow of internal lights. Mount cameras outside the glass wherever possible, or angle them to avoid direct reflection.

Also check the sun's path. A west-facing camera can look fine at midday and be washed out by late afternoon. If you can, view the live image at several times of day before fixing it permanently. After dark, a nearby street light or sensor light can improve things or cause glare. The trade-offs are covered in night vision: infrared vs colour.

Cover the entries

The positioning priority is the same for every property: cover the ways in. A camera that sees the door, the gate or the roller door at close range is worth more than one that looks over an empty yard.

For each entry point, ask:

• Will a face be visible at the moment of entry?
• Is there a second view that shows where the person came from and where they went?
• Can the camera be blocked by a door opening, a vehicle or a plant?

Houses and small shops differ here, and the pages for front entrances and backyards and gates cover common situations. The number of cameras needed overall is covered in how many security cameras you need.

Indoor versus outdoor

Indoor cameras raise more privacy issues. Where staff, tenants or visitors are involved, check the rules in your state before installing, and see signage, privacy and neighbours.

Weatherproofing

Outdoor cameras should be rated for outdoor use, which is usually shown by an ingress protection (IP) rating. Beyond the camera itself, the weak points are normally the connections.

• Seal cable entry points so water cannot run along the cable into the camera.
• Leave a small drip loop in the cable below the camera so water drips off rather than following the cable in.
• Keep connectors in a sealed junction box instead of exposed to rain.
• Think about direct sun and heat on the housing, and about salt air near the coast.

Water in a connector is a common cause of cameras dropping out after a storm.

Tamper resistance

A camera is only useful if it stays on the wall. Basic measures help.

• Mount out of reach, or use a position that cannot be reached without a ladder.
• Keep cables inside conduit or behind the wall rather than hanging loose.
• Choose housings designed to resist impact where vandalism is a concern.
• Make sure the recorder is somewhere secure, since stealing it removes the footage. Footage recorded at a locked, hidden location is harder to destroy.

Some compatible systems can also flag when a camera view is blocked or changed. Availability varies by camera and recorder.

A quick placement checklist

• Mounted at about two and a half to three metres, with a view of faces.
• Aimed at the approach, not straight down.
• No bright window, sky or light directly in the frame.
• Reflections from glass checked.
• Cable entries sealed and a drip loop in place.
• Out of easy reach, with the recorder secured.
• Neighbours' private areas not in view.

Limits

These are general guidelines. Every property has quirks, such as a low eave, a shared fence or a tree that grows in summer. Test with a live view before drilling, and expect to adjust once you see real footage. A site visit by an installer can save a lot of rework. If you would like that, you can ask us about installation.

Frequently asked questions