“I just think it's important to be direct and honest with people about why you're photographing them and what you're doing. After all, you are taking some of their soul.”-Mary Ellen Mark(#5)

I grew up in a small city near the Indiana border. My mom is a second grade teacher there. Like all elementary schools, the one she teaches at has a "picture" day. In the picture packet the students and teachers purchase is your photograph along with a layout sheet of everyone else's photo with their name listed under it. The one thing that's different about about my mom's class sheet is about half of her students pictures aren't on there.

I can remember from a young age asking her why so many of her students were not on the sheet. The reason is a lot of my mom's students are amish. The amish live a old fashioned life style. They believe that taking a picture steals part of their soul away from themselves and god. As part of their religion they are not allowed to be photographed.

The quote,“I just think it's important to be direct and honest with people about why you're photographing them and what you're doing. After all, you are taking some of their soul", which Mary Ellen Mark said brings me back to this. It's something I've thought about from a young age.