there are two different directions to go in and I can't continue until I pick so...
I was wondering a)which one should I choose? and b)what should the next step be?

thank you!!!
I love feedback and getting honest advice knowledgeable persons...

IDK, flowers plus a dude with a machete. Kinda misleading, IMO. What exactly are you wanting to portray?

well that's a hard one to answer. uhm... well the guy is an explorer and so he often has to use various sharp objects. I wanted to put in some plant life to give it depth. otherwise it's just him holding a machete. and they're flowers because I wanted to offset his rugged manliness. should I get rid of them?

I would choose a different kind of plant, not floral. Also, stay away from colors like pink because it contrasts too much with his machete, lol.

Right...I usually don't think of happy-go-lucky flowery fun with menacing machete man.

^ Chev Chelios is a happy-go-lucky flowery fun guy with a machete.

fine. I replaced the flowers.
any other advice?

The colours still give off a contradictory vibe. Try going with a darker palette. Use shades of brown and green rather than pink and purple.

This. Also, I'd suggest cutting him out better. :x

the lighting in the background compared to the lighting of him is really , really off ;

as someone suggested try to go with a darker palette so you don't have such contrast

The cut out isn't that bad, just got to get rid of the rough edges near the shoulder, elbow, and top of the head.