Start with the light
Good indoor photos usually depend more on light than on settings. Before changing anything on the camera, look at where the light is coming from and how soft it looks. Moving your subject a short distance often improves a photo more than any dial.
Use window light well
Soft light from a window is flattering and free. Placing a person fairly close to a window, with the light falling on one side of the face, tends to give pleasant shape. If direct sun is hard and harsh, a sheer curtain can soften it. Turn your subject slightly toward the window rather than leaving the window behind them, or they may turn into a silhouette.
Avoid mixed lighting
Warm lamps and cool daylight together can give skin odd color casts. Switching off the lamps that do not match the window light is often enough. If you cannot, shoot RAW so you can correct the white balance afterward.
Raise ISO instead of accepting blur
Many beginners keep ISO low and end up with blurry photos. Raising ISO lets you use a faster shutter speed, which freezes movement and camera shake. Some noise is the cost, but a sharp, slightly grainy photo is generally more useful than a soft one. For more detail on balancing the three exposure settings, see our guide to indoor shooting camera settings.
Open the aperture
A lens with a wide maximum aperture, such as f/1.8, collects far more light than a typical kit zoom at its widest setting. Wide apertures also blur cluttered backgrounds. Be aware that focus becomes thin, so check that eyes are sharp.
Bounce flash
Pointing a flash straight at someone usually looks flat and harsh. If your flash can tilt, aim it at a white ceiling or wall so the light spreads and softens. Colored walls or ceilings can tint the bounced light, so white or neutral surfaces work best.
Keep the background simple
Clutter draws the eye. Remove stray objects, step to a different angle, or put some distance between your subject and the wall behind them so a wide aperture can blur it.
Making your home look good in photos
A few simple steps help most rooms: tidy surfaces, open the curtains for daylight, turn on lamps only if they match the light, keep the camera level so vertical lines do not lean, and shoot from about chest height rather than looking down. For more on shooting rooms themselves, see how to shoot interiors.
Aspect ratio
People often ask whether 16:9 or 4:3 is better. Neither is universally better. Use the ratio your camera shoots natively and crop afterward for the final use. Choose 16:9 mainly for video or widescreen displays.
A note on color rules
The “60/30/10” idea is usually an interior design guideline (a dominant color, a secondary color and an accent). It can help when arranging a room before you photograph it, but it is not a camera setting.