How to shoot flowers like these?

Here in the mountains of Colorado, we are blessed with many unique wild flowers. I however struggle to figure out how to best compose them. I don't want my photos to look like they come out of a scientific wildflower index, but to have some art and beauty to them. Do you guys have any ideas?

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I struggle with that all the time. Sometimes the flower just seems to stand alone and other times it needs something else,, a bud, another flower, a background. I take many pic's of each flower,, different angles and backgrounds and closeness, shallow DOF and Deep DOF! Then I sit at the computer and play with all of them Delete most and try and pick a couple I like. Then I promise to do better next time

Just my method

JZ

Transplant the flower to a setting that fits your criteria.

Rick,

This ain't New Jersey. Apart from being illegal (picking flowers in national parks and forests), it is not ethical to remove these rare flowers from their natural habitat simply to get a photo. The flower posted is very rare and other sites on the Internet with photos of it do not disclose their location, lest others come and damage them. I would like to capture rare wildlife flowers in their natural environment. I just need more creative ways to do it.

I actually took this photo while lying on my stomach on a dusty horse trail through the mountains. Getting a decent angle of these little things is a real challenge.

I have wrestled with the same problem a great deal lately. Many times what can make or break a picture seems to be the background. Although I wondering if I'm become obsessed about backgrounds. But in your picture the background distracts a bit. It doesn't high light the flower. Actually I am a little surprised you were lying on the ground to take the picture since the angle seems downward more than horizontal, at flower level. Ofcourse I have no idea the height of this flower.
For this shot I would have tried getting even lower although I know from experience that isn't always possible.
One great thing about digital is you can take a very large number of shots trying to find something that works.