Amish avert photographer’s gaze even during mug shots

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The Amish do not like to be photographed. They believe that we English’s magic lens contraptions violate biblical instructions about graven images. Photography’s sinful connotation is why newspaper and magazine articles about the Amish feature so many buggy shots.

The Amish’s reluctance to pose for portraits extends to police booking rooms. In 2009, Johnny A. Schwartz of Seymour, a town in the Ozarks, was arrested on suspicion that he molested two daughters. His eyes are shut in his mug shot.