Re: Advice for lighting interviews at a conference

While a lightpanel on the camera can get the job done in bare-bones manner, IMO it will give a harsh "news-footage" look. If you're okay with that, fine. The next step up would be to put the light off to one side, and get it off the camera. Even a foot to one side is better, and some folks do that by mounting the light on an arm or gooseneck affair, others use an intern to hold the light.

At a conference like this, you could set up a Rifa light or Chimera softbank in one corner of the lobby, drag your interview subjects over, and have a better look than just plain camera light.

Other tricks to making the best of an on-camera light include adding a small softbox to it, or some other diffusion... or, if the ceiling is low and more or less white, bouncing the light off the ceiling or the intersection of ceiling and white wall, instead of directly onto the subject.