Hey Everyone! JUSTINELEMENT Photography Studio is looking to hire a dedicated, passionate individual to assist during sessions, and weddings. Pay is great for a part time job and a student, but the value of education is worth even more. Were looking for just one assistant who is available mostly weekends, to be on call and work well with the team. The assistant must have a solid background in photography, show enthusiasm, punctuality, dependability, dedication; and take direction very well.

To apply: please email John@Justinelement.com if you are interested with your name and phone number, location, availability, and portfolio site (or just links to albums to view your work). Please also list what gear you shoot with, and what background you have in photography. Any type of studio photography is a plus. Based on these emails, we’ll schedule interviews with a few of you.

Thanks!
-Justin Element

http://www.justinelement.com

If this is your favorite submission, please vote by writing any comment below. the submission with the most comments wins.

And ofcourse my last spot had to go to Christopher Baclig, who’ve I’ve already shown his video on the preview post earlier this week.

I really enjoyed Christopher’s video and I think he has amazing talent. I think a photo session with him would be really fun and would be filled with lots of energy. Thanks for the video Chris! Good luck!

I’m up for anything.  But one of the ideas I had in mind was singing with an old 50’s microphone alongside a pure white background.  I’m also a dancer so I’m used to dancing and moving around- I’m very comfortable with that.  So poses would definitely come from my dancing with the microphone.   I also envisioned singing with the microphone in the middle of the street or even in a café.  Or even the vision of singing in a bedroom.  I also foresee myself singing on a theatre stage with spotlights.

http://www.justinelement.com

If this is your favorite submission, please vote by writing any comment below. the submission with the most comments wins.

Nikki submitted a post that we thought essential to the top entries – family. When I created this contest I wanted to emphasize that your element did not only have to be a some THING your passionate about, it could be someone, in hopes someone would talk about another person, someone they love and admire greatly. Even better, it was family, one of the most important things in my life. Nikki’s post hit the spot.

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When I read your blog and you asked “What is your element?” I had a difficult time trying to figure out what it was that made me happiest. Then I realized it wasn’t “what” but “who”.

That was the easiest question in the world to answer, Lizzy Thornton, my little sister.

“Sometimes in life there really are bonds formed that can never be broken. Sometimes you really can find that one person that will stand by you no matter what. Maybe you’ll find it in a spouse and celebrate it with your dream wedding but there’s also the chance that the one person you can count on for a lifetime, the one person who knows you sometimes better than you know yourself, is the same person that’s been standing beside you all along.” (Bride Wars)

That quote made me ball like a baby because it describes our relationship perfectly.

When she was born I immediately fell in love with her and despite our 10 year age difference, we have been as thick as thieves ever since. When we are together there is piece of childhood that reemerges in me and I am at my happiest.

So needless to say, I am in my element when I am with Lizzy, my best friend who just so happens to be my sister.

I was reading through People magazine and stumbled upon a picture of Carol Burnett and her sister laughing together on the floor looking through records. I ripped out that page and have wanted to take similar pics with Liz. Our photos need to be able to translate our real laughter, our affection, our love.

In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips.  ~Author Unknown

http://www.justinelement.com

If this is your favorite submission, please vote by writing any comment below. the submission with the most comments wins.

Luis’ entry was the only photography entry that I received so it automatically had a one up in my list, but can you blame me? Its photography! Luis has a lot of really impressive ideas and I’d love to make some of it happen. I really like his work, some of his which i’ve posted below. Best of luck Luis!

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My element is fashion photography. I feel alive, and like it’s what I was born to do. I cannot see myself pursuing anything else because this is the only thing that makes me feel alive. I love making women feel beautiful, and that’s what makes this job fun and easy. I was born to do this.

I have a variety of ideas, I want to have a shoot with a coffin surrounded by black roses, and a pale girl with black hair and a black lace dress inside the coffin. I want to cover the ground, in colorful powder, and have the model lay in it. I want to have a black set with Christmas lights to make it look like there are stars behind the model. I want to shoot a girl in white, and pink roses. I would like to shoot where a girl covered in butterflies cover a girl in black paint, do a pin-up shoot, one with TONS of balloons, a with colorful cupcakes, one in an old worn down building, one with girls with a colorful background, with bubbles floating everywhere, and the girls dressed in tons of color, with colorful wigs, and make-up, another where a girl in black is holding a skull, and the skull is on fire in her hands, and a similar one, but the skull is covered in paint, and lastly one where I hang diamonds from the ceiling, and a model is among the diamonds.

http://www.justinelement.com

If this is your favorite submission, please vote by writing any comment below. the submission with the most comments wins.

My team read this entry and we were laughing the entire time, Marc and James are two of the funniest guys I’ve met and I’m glad I can put them on the top 5. They are partners in Youtubes hit show Lexationships! They’ve made me laugh countless times and I’m glad to have an entry from them. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

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We here at Lexationships wanted to say our element was “fire,” but after realizing how much of a douchebag that ginger was to the rest of the Planeteers, we instead decided to go with what we knew — ties. And when we realized how absolutely lame that was for an entry, we opted to go with something we pretend we know, and that’s comedy. Comedy, for our money (the piles and piles of it, we’ll have you know), is without question the most important performance art in the world, bar none. You teach people with comedy. You can make people angry with it. And if you’re really good? You can heal people with it. And that’s our job here at Lexationships, especially since none of us can afford med school. But more than that, we want to bring something new to the table. We don’t do accents. We don’t make fun of our parents. But we do like bringing people together — and if they have even a third of the fun watching us as we do performing for them? Then everything’s worth it.

Now, how’d we use comedy in a photoshoot? Well, aside from posing like we’re telling jokes, and telling some poor stranger to hold a laughing pose while you snap away, we want to come across just as classy and entertaining as one of our main inspirations at Lex: the Rat Pack. They were the epitome of entertainment, guys who could make you laugh, cry, and sing along whether you were an average Joe, or the Hollywood elite. Look at Frank, Dino, Sammy, etc., in the decades worth of photography dedicated to them, and you’ll see consummate entertainers — the best in the world at what they did. And regardless of their personal problems, their issues with each other and their families… when that spotlight hit? They were the coolest men on the planet. Singers. Actors. Dancers. Comedians. That’s what they did. But who they were? Well, that was something else, entirely. Both on and off the stage, on film and in pictures — they were best friends.

http://www.justinelement.com

If this is your favorite submission, please vote by writing any comment below. the submission with the most comments wins.

The first submission is from Zermina Akbary who submitted a piece about her writing. Zermina expresses her passion for writing very well. I was able to relate easily with her and I could really see how she gets into the moment when she’s writing that she pretty much loses herself, just like I do when I’m shooting. I just really loved how well she wrote her submission and my team totally agreed with me. Hope you enjoy it!

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What is my element?

Definitely writing. Writing is my life log. With retrospect, a simple life becomes fascinating. I’ve filled countless notebooks with random thoughts, poems, and doodles. I could not live without writing. If I’d go to a deserted island, I would need a thick block of paper and a set of pens or one that is super long lasting, and I’d be more or less satisfied. (If I write a letter, I can run out of a gel pen writing one letter.) I write anything, from just words on paper to longer texts. Writing is like breathing to me. Well, not quite like breathing, perhaps, because I can LIVE without it, but I can’t really THRIVE without it.

I can process my thoughts way easier when I write them down. Running around so much everyday you barely have ANYTIME to sit back and reflect a little, or just have some time to yourself, its unfortunate. Like we don’t enjoy the real things around us: trees, plants, mountains/hills, sky, lakes – we forget that all of these make up life and if we really sit down listen to them on a quiet night/day and just think about and write about all the creations of God; it’s truly something else. When I first moved here and was spending my weekends at my aunts, I would hike up at Midnight to a spot near the edge of the mountain and just sit there listening and writing away…and it was an amazing feeling how you can hear the trees rustling, the fresh smell of the plants around, and the best was hearing the Water – I’m sure from a Lake- running, and to top it all I looked Up and it felt like the Stars were so close -all that gives you a spiritual booster. That is what simply writing does to me. It fills me up with gratitude and fills me with awareness of the beauty of life.

Writing helps me get my emotions out of my system. Writing is my life; it is my passion that takes me wherever I want to go! I relive experiences; I embrace solutions to problems shown by the stroke of my pen on blank paper. I love it when I lose myself in the writing. The world’s an adventure.

How could I use writing in a free photo shoot? Simple. I could transform any piece of writing (whatever it may be) into photos. Simply from words, a paper and pen to a camera, film and photos.

Here is a recent writing piece:

Happiness: Fire vs Water

When I was younger, I chased after a type of happiness that could best be described as a fire. It burned bright and hot, but it burned fast. Winning tennis matches; making new friends at summer camps and school; dancing my heart out at parties and on stage; acing exams and feeling smart… They were all such an intense burst of energy, a blazing rush of adrenaline and endorphins.

As I grew up, I started to develop another kind of happiness that could be described as a substantial body of water. It was calmer, but deeper. Sharing a profound connection with your significant other; enjoying a low-key weekend; dancing at home while swiffering.. in my undies; understanding that there’s so much more to learn and accomplish; dedicating my time to meaningful ventures; developing a stronger sense of self-worth… These joys flow slowly, steadily, and quietly.

Both kinds of happiness are wonderful to experience. But in my opinion, “fire” is over glamorized by Hollywood and over hyped by the youth culture, while “water” is somehow underrated. Yes, fire seems more exciting and powerful. But don’t mistake the gentleness of the water’s surface for lack of strength. And although fires are easier to form, they are also quick to burn out and dependent upon fuel from external factors. On the other hand, water can actually help you stay afloat during the rough times thanks to the uplifting force of buoyancy.

I see a lot of young people chase “fire” after “fire” to grab whatever short-lived happiness they can get their hands on. True happiness is from within and not dependent upon external stimuli. Adrenaline and endorphins make for fun times, but hardly equal a fulfilling life.

All final submissions are in! Wowwwww! I didn’t expect so many entries last night and from the ones I have seen, i’m really excited to actually work with each one of you. But only one can win, so this is how were going to do it.

I’ll be going through all of the submissions with my team and by Thanksgiving night, i’ll post up the top favorite say 4 or so as a separate post each. I’ll let all of you the readers vote on which ones you think should get the free session by commenting on each post. The post with the most comments will win the free photo-session package. This way all of you will ultimately get to choose. (IPs will be checked for duplicates so do not post more than one comment per submission)

I’m really looking forward to checking all of these submissions out. Thanks for all the support and good luck!

Here’s a video that Christopher Ian Baclig had used for part of his submission. I really like how he took a different approach to the contest and showed me what his element really is. Thanks Chris!