Almost all professionals are using their webcams more than before given the shift towards remote and hybrid work models. If you're spending more time looking into a webcam lens than meeting someone face-to-face, it makes sense to have complete control over your device.

Fortunately, Windows has several built-in settings for a camera. Plus, you can also use the manufacturer's or third-party software to tweak your webcam settings. In this guide, we explain how.

How to Change the Basic Webcam Settings

Your basic webcam settings include brightness, contrast, and video rotation. However, the exact settings you'll see may differ based on the camera you use.

You can change these settings from the camera section in the Settings app. Press Win + I to launch the Settings app. Select Bluetooth & devices from the left sidebar and select Cameras from the right pane. Select the webcam you want to change the settings for.

You'll see a live webcam image at the top, and right below, you'll see Default image settings. Feel free to play around with the Brightness and Contrast options as you please. You can also rotate your camera image using the drop-down menu next to the Video rotation option.

If you want to go back to the defaults, just click on the Reset settings button next to the Reset default camera settings option.

If your hardware supports it, you'll see more options like Video HDR and "eye contact" (which makes it look as though you're looking directly into the webcam).

changing basic camera settings

How to Change Your Webcam's Security Settings

Windows also lets you control the webcam's security options within the Settings app. You can turn off camera access altogether if you prefer, or choose to allow a select few apps to access the webcam.

Start by pressing Win + I to launch the Settings app. Select Privacy & security from the left sidebar. Switch to the right pane and scroll down looking for the App permissions section. Select Camera from the list of devices.

The top option called Camera access allows you to enable or disable camera access completely. If you want to allow only specific apps access to the webcam, you can select those apps from the list in the Let apps access your camera option. Toggling on the button next to an app allows that app access while toggling off the button revokes the app's camera access.

changing webcam security settings

How to Use a Camera App

Your manufacturer may have a camera app that goes with your webcam. Alternatively, you can also use third-party webcam apps like YouCam to change your camera settings.

Download and install the app of your choice and explore the interface looking for settings. In most cases, they shouldn't be hard to find. However, since each app has a different interface, we can't explain how to change settings on all apps.

For example, on YouCam, you can click on the cogwheel at the top-right to pull out the settings panel. You get several sections of settings. If you want to change the brightness and contrast, for example, you can do that from the Video Enhancement section.

changing webcam settings using youcam

You can also do a lot more with YouCam, though. You can also tweak settings that aren't available on Windows 11. For example, you can change the camera's resolution, zoom in or out, and more.

Configure Your Webcam Based on Your Needs

If you only use the camera for meetings, you can allow access only to apps like Zoom. On the other hand, if you also use the webcam for friendly calls with friends and family, you might want to add more apps to the list. Regardless of what you use the webcam for, you have the option to configure it.

Windows has a few built-in settings, but you can always use third-party apps if you need more settings. In either case, make sure you're using the right security settings—webcams can often be hacked.