CCTV Camera Siting: The Mounting Mistakes That Ruin Good Cameras

We are regularly asked to replace "bad cameras" that turn out to be good cameras in bad positions. Siting decides whether footage identifies an intruder or documents a hooded silhouette. Here are the rules we apply on every install. Last updated: July 2026. Height: 3–4 metres, not 6 Mounting height is the classic trade-off: high enough to be out of easy reach, low enough to capture faces rather than the tops of heads. For identification, 3–4 metres is the sweet spot. Reserve higher mounts for overview cameras that watch areas rather than identify people — and pair them with an identification camera at choke points. Cover the choke points first Gates, doorways and access lanes beat wide-open areas every time. An intruder can cross a yard fifty ways, but they enter through a handful of points. Site your identification cameras there, facing oncoming movement, and let overview cameras handle the space between. For plate capture, angle and distance matter even more — see our ANPR procurement guide. Respect the light Never point a camera at a sunrise, sunset or floodlight you cannot control — backlighting turns subjects into silhouettes. Position with the light behind the camera where possible, and use cameras with true WDR at entrances where bright exteriors meet dark interiors. At night, check the IR range actually covers the distance you care about. Signal and power are siting decisions too For 4G cameras, test signal at the mounting point, at head height of the actual bracket — signal two metres lower by the van proves nothing. For solar-powered units, the panel needs unshaded south-facing exposure in December, not July; a summer survey lies about winter performance. Think like the person you're deterring Walk the route an intruder would take. If they can approach, work and leave without passing through a well-lit identification view, re-site until they cannot. And keep one camera watching the other cameras' approaches — stolen or spun cameras are a real-world attack. Planning a site? Send us a plan or a what3words location and we will suggest positions before you drill anything — talk to our team.