Try photographing the lights at different times.
Here are a few tricks I learned along the way about how to photograph the Country Club Plaza lights. I still consider myself to be an amateur photographer, and it took me a few visits to the Country Club Plaza to capture this collection of images. With a backdrop of live holiday music and ornate horse-drawn carriages reminiscent of a Disney movie, a special guest and a child helper chosen randomly from the crowd flip the switch at precisely 6:54 pm on Thanksgiving evening, transforming the dark (often cold and sometimes dreary) night into a spectacular scene full of bright bulbs and holiday cheer. With the streets closed to traffic, pedestrians fill 15 blocks of the upscale, Seville-inspired outdoor shopping district to kick off Christmas with the Country Club Plaza Lighting Ceremony. In the middle of America, tens of thousands of Kansas Citians push back from their Thanksgiving tables and head to the Country Club Plaza to enjoy one of Kansas City’s oldest traditions. After enjoying a hearty feast of savory turkey, scrumptious sides, and pumpkin pie, many Americans will trim the Christmas tree and otherwise transition from one family-and-friends-filled holiday to the next. Across the nation, Thanksgiving is often the official start of the Christmas season.
