Best point-to-shoot camera for portraits and indoors overall?

that is going to be hard to do compact and large zoom do not go hand in hand. There are some compact cameras with rather large zoom lenses, but don't have a large aperture (f/2.8 or larger). as for lighting, cameras need light. Any camera will suffer in dim light. Period. It is up to you to either find or create the conditions needed to get good pictures. You cannot let the camera do all the work and expect amazing results. that being said, look at these cameras http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Optical+Zoom_14x+Zoom&ci=8612&N=4288586279+4292338156 if you want to sacrifice some zoom and compactness, then you can look at the Canon G1x http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/838600-REG/Canon_G1X_PowerShot_G1_X_Digital.html otherwise, what you are asking you is just not there in a camera.

You want something pretty compact You want a big lens to be able to zoom far away. You want a great focus and fast focus lens. You want a camera that will take great photo under any lighting. You want LCD screen that folds out. You wan great battery life. Basically 90% of what you ask for you'll find it in a DSLR. They're not compact. Hybride camera are compact if you use a 16mm on it, as soon as you put a zoom on it, bye bye the pretty compact, they become as big as bridge camera, once you reach that, better get a dslr. Hybride camera are expensive for what they're worth, their battery life are very short compared to DSLR. DSLR do better in low light, in fact they do it in every way. DSLR offer a much wider choices for lens, hybride cameras only offer a few. Some DSLR offer the LCD screen that folds out. Good luck finding the right camera for you.

Adding everything that you've put here the best choice rather oddly is probably going to be a Fujifilm X-S1 Pro. It can be used as a super-advanced Point & Shoot, though it's also a very advanced camera. *It's sensor may have an issue with spot lighting that falls within the image frame. However, one thing this camera is not is super compact! I guess the other option is Canon's GX1, again it's an advanced compact, but can be (under)-used as a point and shoot. This does fit your criteria of being compact, but the zoom is only 4x, which is far more useful than most people seem to realize. These two cameras are going to be your best options for getting the camera end of things right, however they are still dependent on your skills at composing your subjects, and actually taking a good photograph.

Are you looking at a point-and-shoot or a compact camera such as a mirrorless? One thing you have to be aware of is that long zoom lenses are not always an advantage. The longer the zoom power, the less quality optically the lens has. And as short shutter times are important to you, also realize that some bridge cameras with high-count megapixel cameras, especially those that are under $200, suffer greatly in shutter delay. Inexpensive electronics plus high megapixel sensors = high shutter lag. Here is a list of a few example shutter delays on select cameras: http://www.cameras.co.uk/html/shutter-lag-comparisons.cfm When looking at this list, realize that the typical DSLR will have a shutter delay around 0.05 sec. The best compact cameras will be those that have 10-12MegaPixel sensors and 4x to 7x zooms. That does not fit with your desire for a long zoom, so I encourage you to rethink that need. Also, the Nikon J1/V1 has a very fast focus - low shutter delay, and with interchangeable lenses, it might be a good fit. But also look at the Sony NEX series as they are nice small cameras too. I actually own a Nikon P7000, and see that it has one of the shortest shutter delays available. It has been replaced by the P7100, but I would suspect the same performance. I also own a Nikon D90 DSLR, but due to it's bulk, I cannot always carry it with me. When I can't, I use the P7000. However, for good performance, avoid any shutter lag longer than 0.3 sec if you can. I had a bridge camera recently - one of those under $200 cameras that had a superzoom lens and 14MegaPixel sensor, and it had a 0.8 sec shutter delay. While that might not seem like much, it only takes 0.8 sec for a 90mph fastball to travel the distance from pitcher to batter. Try and take an action photo of that with a slow shutter... For that reason, I soon got rid of that camera. But the best performance will be a DSLR, especially in low light and marginal conditions. However, you may or may not want the bulk associated with one. A mirrorless camera such as a Nikon 1 or Sony NEX may be your best solution as they offer performance closer to a DSLR than a point-and-shoot, but in a smaller package. So that might be a good travel solution.