"It's quite honestly one of the most beautiful striking and isolated beaches I've ever been to," said Day. "People claim it's the most pristine beach in the world. The water is right off the barrier reef, and it's this incredible shade of turquoise. It's not close to anything. You have to pack in and pack out."

Europe: Seville, Spain

May adored the elegance of Seville, with its blend of Moorish and Spanish culture. While she and her team usually work wearing T-shirts, baseball caps and jeans, she dressed up a bit for the Seville shoots and packed dresses and heels for dinner after work in the capital of Spain's sun-splashed Andalucia province.

"It's an incredibly ornate city," she said. "People are so regal. They get dressed to go out (anywhere). I don't think I saw a pair of sweats when I was there. And everywhere you look there's another shot."

While she had trouble choosing a favorite spot in Seville, she did enjoy shooting in the Plaza de Espana and near the Catedral de Sevilla, the largest Gothic building in Europe. They also did photo shoots with horses at an equestrian school "with amazing white stallions, jumping."

North America: The Exuma Cays, Bahamas

Back to the beach, Day chose a spot where she has worked before to shoot the swimsuit issue's body painting story. She values the Exumas, an archipelago of 365 cays about 35 miles from Nassau, for its privacy and solitude.

"You're not fighting for blanket space on the beach and the waters are perfectly turquoise," she said. "We saw the most glorious sunsets you've ever seen in your life. Every day, the tide would change and look different."

South America: Easter Island, Chile

Visiting Easter Island has been on May's bucket list for some time, but even after landing in the remote island, she wasn't sure she would get her shot. Lots of on-site negotiation went into getting permission to shoot close to the sacred Moai statues, more than 800 of which were carved from the island's volcanic stone sometime between the ninth and 17th centuries.

"Everyone knows about it but they're just getting their hook into tourism, and they've embraced ecotourism," she said.

The differences in topography on Easter Island made for a great shoot: "There are black rocks, deforested planes, the Moai jutting out," said Day. "They've replanted a lot and a couple spots look like you're in Hawaii with white sand beaches. "

It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.