"I just think it's important..."

"I just think its 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

I have mixed feelings about this quote. I think some of the best photographs are candid. If you always tell the subjects that you are photographing them, then they are prepared for the photos. It will turn out completely different then if it were completely candid. Just the other day I was looking at the famous photo of V J Man in Times Square where a sailor kisses a nurse in Times Square at the end of WWII. I was reading that it was totally candid, and the sailor was just going around kissing random women because he was so happy about the war ending. This is one of the most famous photographs and it wouldn't have had the same affect if it weren't candid. However, maybe they should be told after the photo is taken, because I do think that people want to know who is taking photos of them. I'm not sure if a photographer is "taking some of their soul." That is an exaggeration to me, but photos do last a lifetime and more. Plus, emotion and feelings are portrayed in photos which can be considered part of people's "soul."