Practicing

Hi Kyle, I see nobody has commented yet. First, it's great you're applying what you have learned to practical use. Here are some things that will help achieve the desired Mike Kelley effect you want.

1. Get your bracketed shots a little earlier at sunset. Then I would wait about 20 to 30 minutes to start adding flashed shots when it is darker outside. Achieve an even base exposure in Photoshop blended from your ambient exposures at sunset. Then add your flash shots in lighten mode.

1. Make your lighting more directional, appearing to come from the house or landscape lighting. The lighting in its current state is not quite believeable. The lighting should be motivated by something in actual existence.

Don't backlight from behind the camera. Shadows from trees and shrubs should not fall onto the house but most shadows should fall towards the direction of the camera. This is what it means to keep your light directional. Front light or side light your shrubs.

2. Keep lighting temps the same, you have tungsten and bright white mixed in the scene. I would Photoshop the white lights amber. to keep lighting consistent throughout.

3. Resist the urge to light up everything. Shadows are just as important as light.

Tips: when standing at the top of the stairs, point your flash down and you will get highlights and shadows in the right place.
Clean up or touch up where you can. Oil spots or wet spots on the driveway could be cleaned up. I would have backed the car up and kept out of the scene. Reduce the color intensity of the pot next to the stairway, my eye goes right to that spot. The sky is a little too blue, I would reduce the blue saturation.

What would be interesting is to see you try again, maybe after watching WAMA 2, where Mike also talks about being more minimal with lighting and talks about how too much lighting will flatten out the image.

Good luck!