I'm not telling him to do it because it's traditional, I'm telling him to do it because it doesn't look right the way it is now. He asked what I meant by traditional(and asked if it'd look weird), so I answered that it wouldn't, because it has grew on people.

What basis do you have to say it's grown on people in general? It kinda sounds like a personal preference to me.
I, for one, love the way you are doing the shadows on all the stuff, the rocks look top notch, and every is looking very (as Baccaman said) commercial.
The trees look a bit odd to me, because unlike anywhere else on the trees, there is a bar without any leaf shading on the purple side. Add shading to that and it might flow better all the way around it.
The shadows on the flowers do seem a bit too large, and grabs the attention more than you want it.
Awesome job all around though! Top notch stuff.