First studio work

I used a friend's studio equipment to try it out, I hope to get my own studio stuff soon (if you have advice, PLEASE share! It is so overwhelming! My friend owns the equiptment but doesnt really know about set ups or anything beyond turning the strobes on and off. So it was up to me to feel my way through it. I used 2 Alienbee B400s at 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock and tried to use a reflector to provide some back lighting. So here are my first tries. I would love to hear any advice for lighting or advice on my future studio set up.

For post processing I increased contrast and adjusted curves to black out the background. I adjusted WB and cropped and did minimal cloning.
1
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2.../jase1of19.jpg

2
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...jase13of19.jpg

3
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...jase19of19.jpg

4
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2.../jase5of92.jpg

A quick and easy way to make this great work excellent is to make a light ratio. If possible take one of the lights and lower the power exp. one light meters at f/8 while the other meters at f/5.6 a single stop does best on light back ground 2 stops on middle tone and a 3 or 4 stop ratio is ideal for black. If you can't turn down the light power move one back one and a half distance from the main. Just that will give it more depth and make your work much better than the "Wal-Mart" Studios. Here's a website you should look up http://www.studiolighting.net/lighti...t-photography/. I hope to see more of your work.

thank you so much!