The home security cameras that we find today on the market are straightforward to set up. Most of them don’t have a big price tag either. You can set them up in your home or at your office without much hassle. But the point that needs some serious consideration is where you should place them.
I’m going to list down some essential tips for you to assist in finding the right spots for home camera placement. These tips will allow you to get the most out of your security set up.
Check our cameras category as we have reviewed a lot of different cameras and home camera systems over the years: Home Cameras
Tips for Home Camera Placement
1. Make sure the light is right
Security cameras work just like any other camera. If you are looking to get a good view of it, you need to have the right light conditions. It is the basic rule of photography, and there is nothing scientific about it. Backlit silhouettes are not going to work here because you are not after the background, but the foregrounds where the intruders are.
Make sure that you place your camera where the light source is right behind it. You can mount the camera right at the angle to the light. Always run some tests to be 100% sure about the results.
2. Cover the huge entrances before anything else
One of the better chances to catch a burglar’s best shot is when they are trying to saunter their way up to your front door. If you have your security camera outside in the main entrance or windows, then you will get a clear picture of anyone trying to peek inside.
You need to keep in mind that the sun will change the position, and the light conditions will change. The angles of sunlight also change with the seasons, so you need to keep all these in your mind and then place your camera.
3. Mind the head height
If you are not able to identify the face of an intruder, then you need to make some adjustments to your home camera placement. It shouldn’t be higher than the heads because there is no need to take pictures of the top of the heads.
You need to see the faces in the shots, and for this, your home camera placements need to be at head height. Once again, we will suggest taking some tests to be sure that you are taking the right shots that allow you to identify an intruder.
4. Know your shutter from inside out
Those night vision cameras are not going to work very well if you place them behind the glass because infrared rays can’t penetrate windows that conveniently. Therefore, you need to use them outside if you are going to use them at all.
Therefore, you need to know about your camera as well. You must know what a field view is and how powerful the lens is. The question here is to find out how many cameras you will need for covering your garage, hall, backyard, or parking lot. It will enable you to find out the exact spots for your home placement cameras.
5. Make your camera visible/invisible
You need to make sure that your security camera stays hidden from plain sight. When your security camera is not visible to the hooligans, then they can’t avoid it. Therefore, make sure to hide it well, but the shots need to remain clear from all angles. On the other hand, you can also make a fake camera placement to deter them.
You can also set up a trap here. Just place a fake camera out there in the open so the intruders work their alternate route and place the real camera on their alternate route and make them invisible so that they cannot find that someone is watching them. It will create an impression that they have already deterred a security camera, and there is no surveillance on the current route.
6. Keep the wifi in check
You don’t have to stick with the information that is mentioned on your router, particularly if it says that its range is over a thousand yards. It doesn’t mean that you should only use it outside your property. To dampen the Wi-Fi signal, walls are good enough, and so are some of the appliances like microwaves.
To be 100% sure you need to check whether your entire system is working as it should be or not. You might need a wireless bridge or another network to carry the signal from your camera without any interference.
7. Don’t need to spend a fortune on your home camera placement
You always have the option to spend as much as you want and get some extraordinary features. But to be honest, you don’t need much. A camera that is not going to cover many areas will not need any resolutions either.
If you can make out the clothes and face right, you are good to go with your home camera placement. Other features like night vision etc. are not going to be very useful for you. IR cameras will be fine, but you need to have an indoor light to identify some faces.
Looking to buy a smart wireless home camera? Check our latest review of the Best Smart Wireless IP Camera
Final Words
In a nutshell, some of the best spots for your home camera placement include your front door, your back door, right near your windows, in your backyard and your garage. These are the top spots for home camera placement.
You won’t need any high-resolution security camera or this because your regular shutters can do the job effectively. Of course, those high-resolution cameras with powerful lenses will work well. Still, you don’t need them as long as you have good enough light available for the camera to capture the image of an intruder clearly that you can identify.
To get the most out of your home camera placement, you need to place your camera in the right spots where the light conditions are superb, and they stay the same way throughout the years. Keep all your cameras near head height so that you can get a clear view of the intruder. Overhead shots are not going to work for you.
I have over 15 years of knowledge in the technology field. Studied IT systems administration and now installing security cameras and smart home devices into user’s homes and offices.