From a mechanical standpoint...

[Vicelord John]

I tried this shot with a variation of different ISO, f, and shutter speed settings and just couldn't get it to look the way I wanted it to. Let's not talk about composition as I was just practicing.

The whole thing looks bad to me and I think because of the propane heaters were eating up all the light.... whats your take on this?

 

[TJ K]

What did you want it to look like?
tj

 

[Vicelord John]

better.....

the lights on the tree also look kind of blurry to me. The camera was resting on a block wall so it wasn't an issue of it moving. The photo just does not look crisp to me.

 

[RyanLilly]

A good hint for shooting Christmas lights is to shoot a little before sunset. Some ambient light from the setting sun helps balance the background and the trees. It looks more like the Christmas lights are the main light source in the scene.