In the first installment of Profoto’s Icon video series, the company choose to interview one of photography’s greatest artists and documentarian, Mary Ellen Mark.

Mary Ellen Mark is known for her photojournalism/documentary-style photography, her portraiture work and her advertising photography.

“An iconic image,” Mark says, “It’s intriguing; its mysterious; it makes you wonder. You think about it. It’s beautiful yet strange. It’s an image that will last. It’s an image that will talk to people, and it says something to people across the board – no matter what nationality, no matter what age – it says something to them.”

Mark also has great tips for young or new photographers. She tells young photographers with digital cameras to turn off their back screens because you can never truly tell if you have a great image until you see it in it’s natural sizing. She also says to never feel meek, or insignificant, when documenting something.

[via Profoto]