I love stories…don’t you?  When it’s all said and done…life is about stories.   Stories shape our lives…they form our identity.  Stories have the power to make us feel impoverished or empowered.  They tell us where we came from and where we’re going.  They tell us who we are.  We all need a story…a story of hope…of dreams…of joy…of making a difference in our world each day.

Art has power to shape our stories in ways that inspire and give us courage to walk along our God given path with joy and purpose…unafraid of the obstacles along the way.  Why not tell those stories of our lives with pictures as well as words? – Debbie Warnock, goodthoughts.net

Last week we published two articles that have inspired us to reach out to the community. We Are Juxt is built on the stories of Juxters and the artists we interview but now we want to see what you have to say. We want to see what you care about, what makes you angry, or what a day looks like in your shoes. We are challenging you   to create a photographic essay with at least 5 photos. What exactly is a photogrphic essay, you ask? A photographic essay is a grouping of at least 5 photos that details an event, a person, or an idea. It can be intended to evoke  an emotion or range of emotions.  It can be purely photographic,  can contain captions, or an entire story  to accompany the photos.

How do you write a photographic essay? Here’s a checklist to get you started.

1. Decide what type of essay you are going to produce: thematic or narrative. Read more about the types here

2. Decide on a subject. Your subject can be anything that speaks to you as an artist and can be built into a series of photographs.

3. Research locations, history, Etc

4. Create a story board or visualize your shots.

5. Go shoot!!

6. Put it all together.(Kind of sounds like we are doing the hokey pokey) You must have at least 5 photographs or art and no more than 15.

To submit your Story for consideration:

If you ARE NOT on Instagram:

Upload your essay to dropbox.com and then share the folder with juxtphotoessays@gmail.com so we can see what you’ve been up to.

If you ARE on instagram:

Tag your first photo in your essay #juxt_photoessay_start and then your own personal tag like #johnP_awesome_essay so we can follow along with your story.

To be considered as one of the top storytellers you must:

• Use photos shot and edited on a mobile device only
• Have at least 5 images in the essay and no more than 15
• Create an essay that has a discernable subject and tells a story
• Have your photos uploaded and shared by January 10th 10 pm PST

Need some examples?

Life of Chloe // Lucha Libres // Veteran’s Day // The Recipe // The Things He Carried // The Sunday Blues & the Creatives

We mentioned it was a contest right?

Well, we are excited to say we have some AMAZING partners for you! We thought perhaps you would need a little incentive to really get your engines going so let us present you with what’s in the swag bag.

 ——————

The top 5 essays will recieve a custom Boo Box Mitre  5″  from Hatchcraft.

These babies are not only classy but also sustainable, it’s the best of both worlds.

The top 5 essays will recieve a pack of magnets from Pic Pack.

Talk about hanging art on your fridge!

The top 5 essays will recieve a flyGrip for their phone.

Who doesn’t need a little stability in their life?

The top 3 essays will recieve a Olloclip for their phone.

These lenses are the perfect versatile accessory to spice up your photos.

The top 5 essays will receive a canvas from instacanv.as.

There is something fanstastic about seeing your work hanging on the wall.

Big thanks to our partners!

About Author

Anna Cox

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