I have three huge cfl for photo lights. They are size of pineapples. Problem I have is I keep getting bad shadows. They have umbrella diffusers. Any tips?
Sounds like you're not positioning them correctly. A standard 2 light (key and fill lights) setup should be fine, although you can use a back light (or a background light), too. I'd have thought direct lighting using barn doors, not reflective lighting (umbrellas are usually for photography), would be best. It's normal to have your key and fill at 45 degree angles, although for some things, other setups work best (e.g. 90 degree side lights). Image courtesy of http://sinnottproductions.com *EDIT* Do you mean an umbrella or a softbox? Take a look at this: Image courtesy of www.wex.co.uk The umbrella (right) is used for flash photography, with a flash unit. You could use a flash unit on the modelling light for video, I guess, but it's not ideal. A softbox (left) could be fitted to a flash unit, or a tungsten lighting setup (i.e. fixed lighting, no flash). These are often the same as video lights (e.g. the redheads and Arri lights used often by videographers). Personally, I wouldn't use a softbox for video, either - but you could. Incidentally, it's normal to set your white balance manually with tungsten lighting, to the specification of the lights.
Normal lighting stands will be fine, as they're adjustable from about 3 foot up to 6 or 8 foot or so. If you're photographing a product that's big and has to sit on the floor, use a short stand if shadows are an issue, but proper positioning of your lights should be enough. You really don't want to use umbrellas for video - especially when used to bounce the light, you lose most of it. Take them off and use barn doors or dishes. Are you sure they're not flash units? *EDIT* i.e. does it have a ring around the main lamp, like this? If so, it's probably no good for video work. What wattage is it, anyway?
