JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<div id="photoCropContainer">
    Click me!
</div>

<form action="includes/photos.php" id="joinPhotoUploadForm" enctype="multipart/form-data">
  <input type="file" name="file" id="file"><br>
</form>

JavaScript

$('div#photoCropContainer').click(function() { 
  $('input#file').trigger('click'); 
}); 

$(document).on('change','input#file', function() {
    alert('ready to upload');
    $('form#joinPhotoUploadForm').submit();
});