I have been doing this awhile. I started it for use at weddings and informal shoots to avoid having to lug the alien bees lights around. I use cheap used Ebay flashes the only requirement is they must have vari power. I started with Vivitar 285's but now use Canon 430 EZ's. I have some inflateable mini soft boxes and a set of the Chinese radio triggers. I usually have the main at 90 degrees from the camera and the fill is mounted on a bracket above the camera. I can vary the power of the fill and keep between an f5.6 and an f11 exposure with ISO 100-160.
In this photo I was testing some very moody lighting in prep for a session with some biker friends. I always use my little standin model.
This is a 4:1 ratio
Here she is with her face turned more to the main light
and here is one with a 2:1 ratio.
All I did was up the power of the fill flash.
I use a Polaris handheld exposure meter for all exposures. But I have pretty much learned how far to set the stands and what power to use.
