A candle and an orchidby
shohnComment by sylandrix: Greetings from the Critique Club...
FIRST IMPRESSION... Right off the bat I'd say this image has a high "emotive" factor - it has the right look and feel, and evokes a sense of calm and serenity. Nothing too complex, a small number of objects shot against a black background, but that's what adds to the peacefulness of the shot.
COMPOSITION... Perhaps the composition is a little too static. I don't think people should adhere to the "rule" of thirds,but in some cases it can help a shot. The flowers are lying down and create horizontal lines in your photo, so a landscape type shop with flowers leading from one end to the other, and the candle in a corner might be one possiblity. I think you made a good choice in the camera angle though - not too high and the angle adds some subtle perspective to the candle.
TECHNIQUE... I think the photo suffers from some sharpness. I'm not sure what could have caused this... Movement during exposure? too close to the subject? I also find the colors just a bit washed out... I'd recommend a slight boost in saturation to make it a bit more vivid. My monitor shows a bit of the felt used in the background. If you wanted to make the background completely black, you could play with levels in photoshop and move the middle slider until its just enough to make the folds in the cloth vanish. i made an example of your image with the above adjustments I just mentioned but my internet is acting up. As soon as I get it online, I will provide you the link to show you the above version...
OVERALL... I think its still a beautiful shot overall that can be improved with some minor post-processing. (except maybe the focus, that was probably a problem that existed during the shooting of the picture - did you try sharpening it in your image editing program come to think of it? I'm not sure how much it would help)