A day at the beach (as if...)

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Looking at a final image from our

shoot (above) for the paper's new

Luxury

magazine, it's easy to forget just how much work went into it; how many hours we spent frantically putting together mood boards, consulting with hair and make-up and picking the right location.

We initially started out with a very clear vision of

ultra-feminine silhouettes

and a

1950s-style glamorous

theme. The shoot had to be outdoors in a new luxurious location, set against the sea and sky.

When it came to picking out clothes we stuck to

a palette of blacks, whites and pastels

, with strong ladylike silhouettes, puffy shoulders, peplums and rich fabrics. Due to the nature of the theme accessories were vital, with an importance placed on jewelled earrings, statement necklaces and cocktail rings reminiscent of that era.

We started the day off bright and early with a call time of

9am at the Monte-Carlo Beach Club

. After bringing all our clothing and equipment into the club's conference room we began setting up the rail and unpacking.

Katie

took the team through the looks we put together which helped finalise our hair and make-up ideas. It would be a

winged liner and a glossy wavy bob

.

What followed was the usual clothes

steaming, location scouting and setting up of lights

before the real work began. Our model, Masha was escorted to our first spot on the boardwalk where she attracted much attention looking slightly overdressed for a day at the beach.

As the day progressed we were met with unexpected

light showers

which were enough to ruin Masha's perfect coif before we rushed her indoors until it cleared up.

Scroll over the gallery to see the captions and scroll down to read the rest of the article

Pairing looks as we go along any shoot is essential, as we have to be able to create one look to work with another on opposite pages in a uniform way. The layout of the story in the magazine is just as important to the overall effect as the individual shots, so making sure there's a smooth flow in terms of wardrobe changes is extremely important.

The best part of any shoot is seeing the final result- a beautiful printed image that you can keep and look at from time to time, almost as though you were there again. Shooting at the Monte-Carlo Beach Club was more of a treat than a day at the office, and made us all realise that we do need to take some time off every so often to sit on a beach and do nothing at all.

Nadia El Dasher, fashion assistant.