For Pashma

Asalamualikum, Pashma.
Your question is a very intellectual one, I must say.
Now, sometimes religion is influenced by culture, and we have to be careful in those instances.
Specificly, I asked an adult about the arms in prayer thing, and she said this:
That in some culture, the women pray with their arms on the floor, sort of to emphasize modesty by being closer. HOWEVER, in all the Fiqh books she's read, they all say that there is no difference in how men and women pray. And why do you need to be modest in that way if you're praying alongside females, anyway?
As for the pictures, there is a controversy/range of opinions over that.
The important thing to consider is where you get your information, what are your sources. Do you get it from the Quran? Do you get it from Hadith? If so, how strong is that chain of narration? All these need to be considered. And as for Imams and Shieqs saying so and so, there was an Imam, or was it shieq, who said that hijab is not obligatory or something like that. So we must be careful. [And the very knowledgeable Muslim scholars(called Mufti(spelling might be wrong), say that Hijab is Fard, by the way].
Try your best to follow Islam, and Insha' allah God will guide and help you, and accept your good intentions and deeds.
[This may be sort of random, but I encourage Nasheeds, there are BEAUTIFUL ones out there, including Native Deen and Sami Yusuf.]