shoe lighting

I have spent the vast majority of my photographic career shooting photos by available light either because I am outdoors, or the interior I am photographing is huge, e.g. a cathedral.

Last weeks shoe competition had me pushing at the boundaries of my knowledge/experience. What I wanted to achieve was (a) moody dark romantic lighting for the majority of the scene but (b) the shoes in the foreground picked out sufficiently for them to be the focal point of the photo and fulfil the brief.

What I tried to do was (a) light the scene with the candles to get the moody dark feel but then (b) pick the shoes out with flash. The long exposure needed for the candlelight meant that I could fire off my flash by hand which in turn would trigger a small Pentax slave flash. I must admit to getting rather frustrated with the results. I made various crude snoots to prevent harsh shadows where I didn't want them, and not getting horrible raking light effects on the carpet was a pain too.

In the end I rather ran out of time and patience and had to finish the photo off by creating a mask in photoshop with very blurred edges and selectively lightening the shoes whilst darkening the background.

Given what I was trying to do, how would you recommend it was lit?

Thanks in advance, Kris.