How do you cure a busy background?

[FrankMi]

This is what I could do in a few minutes, I used layer masks to blur the background and not the flower. It was easier than most pictures because of the color difference.

Hi Tyler, Welcom to CiC and thank you for your interest in this photo. You have been able to reduce the impact of the busy background while retaining the focus of the flower.

We (myself along with a number of kind folks on this forum) have tried a number of approaches with this image, which I'm sure you noticed earlier in the thread. I feel the only real possibility to salvage this image may be to reshoot the Tizzy blossom in the shade. I had hoped that the sunlight would bring out the rich yellow, red, and orange colors in this unique flower but, unfortunately, it also brought out dark shadows that confuse the edges of the mini-blossoms on the perimeter.

I no longer have the blossom available to experiment with but if you come across one and give it a try, please post your results on the forum. Thanks!

[accystan]

Hi Tyler:
You seem to have lots of good advice from the previous posters (and I have not read them all so apologies if I'm repeating another poster's ideas) so I'll just toss in a brief two cents worth...... I occasionally take flower shots and I've discovered a few things that might help you next time.
First and foremost - the choice of background is just as important as the choice of main subject. If, by moving the camera location, I can't get the right b/g I don't waste my time.
Secondly; I try to arrange the b/g such that it's of a contrasing colour.
Thirdly; I try to get the b/g to be as distant from my main subject as poss. That way dof works in my favour.
Fourthly; I try to choose a b/g that's as 'un-contrasty' as poss.
Additionally I've found that the biggest enemy of a good flower shot is a breeze, even a light one. Correct dof often means long shutter speeds and a breeze makes that impossible. I also find that a cloudy day with diffused lighting is often better than sunlight.
Good luck, Dave D