Diamonds (and pearls) Are a Girl's Best Friend

The most exciting day of my internship so far was when the graphic designer asked me to help with a social media photo shoot. The shoot was for one of their key jewellery clients and I was to be the hand model. It was 5pm in the afternoon on a Tuesday when was I asked to make my modelling debut and as I enthusiastically said yes, I looked down at my non-manicured nails and thought, crap. Not wanting to let the team down I organised a manicurist to come to my house at 7am the next morning to fix me up. I had also been asked to bring along any fashion-related props that could be used in the shoot. I scoured my house for all I could find and packed all my designer bags, perfumes, Vogue magazines, candles and fashion coffee table books into my car boot, ready for the next morning. I gave myself a little pat on the back for being so committed and organised.

The next day, the shoot location was at the client’s stunning showroom. As I walked through a shop assistant pointed me toward the back wall. I looked up and saw two glass doors covered in cascading waterfalls, which led to a space usually reserved for celebrities to personal shop.  I walked through the doors with a huge smile on my face and saw a rather famous chef chatting with the head jewellery designer, as they looked over some new pearls. Trying not to get too distracted I found the graphic designer and we got to work.

The first thing we had to do was look at the creative brief. It told us what type of images we needed, how many, what essence they wanted us to capture and the objectives the client wanted to achieve through the images. After we discussed our approach it was show time.

While she set up her camera, the graphic designer asked if I would like to style some flat-lay images. I love social media and, having had my own blog for some time, I know how to style an eye-catching flat-lay. I made two flat-lay scenes; the first was using soft pink hues and textures and the second using earth tones and rougher textures. She came over the check on me and was really happy with my styling! She stated I was the exact right person to bring along and, given that social and digital media is the area I want to specialise in, this was welcome feedback. We added some beautiful pearl pieces to my flat-lay and the photo shoot began. The images looked gorgeous! I styled about five more flat-lays and then it was my turn to model.

I picked up the first bracelet I was to wear and took the price tag off, which was marked at $33,000. I slid the piece over my arm and, as the pearls and diamonds caught the sunlight that was gleaming through the glass roof, I thought, please God don’t let me break it. Throughout the afternoon I put on over $300,000 worth of pearls and diamonds and it may have been the best afternoon of my life.

I feel the graphic designer and I made a great team. She was great to work with and really collaborative. She let me have a lot of creative control over the styling and we got some beautiful shots. They will all be published on social media over the coming months and I’m really excited to see the final results.