Installation Locations
There are a handful of principles to consider when choosing the best location in which to install your security camera:
- Film along the length of movement
- Don’t go too high
- Use bottlenecks to your advantage
- Use doorways/corners of rooms
- Subject looking into the camera
These aren’t the only things to consider but are the most important when trying to capture images to identify your subject.
1. Film along the length of movement
You want to position your camera so that your subject is moving towards the camera as opposed to across the direction of view. As the subject gets closer to the camera they take up a larger portion of the image. This gives you much more detail over a longer period of time. This is not a substitute for zooming the camera in as far as possible
2. Don’t go too high
If you position the camera too high you end up looking down on the tops of peoples’ heads. Drop the height of the camera and you’re more likely to get a better facial shot to identify people with. With a camera positioned correctly, you can have a good chance of capturing an identification frame even if the person is wearing a baseball cap.
3. Use bottlenecks to your advantage
One of the most often overlooked location to capture great identifying images is as people come through bottlenecks where it’s either very difficult or very unlikely they could approach via any other route. Have a look at this 2 image here (click for larger images):
The space between the impassible hedge and the wall of the building form a natural bottleneck for anyone coming around the side of this property. Take advantage of this bottleneck, zoom the camera right to cover a narrow area. You have a much higher chance of identifying someone in doing this.
4. Use doorways/corners of rooms
With a camera positioned by a door or in a corner of the room you are likely to get a good overall view of the room yet still be able to identify the person as they come into the room and through the doorway. This is because as they move into the center of the room they take up more of the screen.
5. Subject looking into the camera
This really is a combination of the three points above – the best way to ensure identification is to have a head on face shot of your perpetrator. The best way to achieve this is to have the subject looking into the camera whilst zoomed in correctly. Do whatever you can to position the camera in the persons’ line of sight. It’s not always possible to get it exactly right, however our bullet camera with 5-50mm lens gives you many more options to achieve this at distance.
Other things to consider include what sunlight may hit the front of your camera and during which parts of the day, what other light sources may interfere with the camera by shining directly into it and if the camera has infra red on board then what that may interfere with.
If you are unsure, then please get in touch and with a combination of satellite imaging, plans, photos or a phone call we can help you plan the installation locations of your systems.
Don’t forget whilst concentrating on all the above to still follow the Orange Security Golden Rule!
