The answers came raw. The dentist said, “Because my wife is forgetting who I am, and I need to remember for both of us.” The teenager said, “Because no one looks at me, but my camera does.”

“You’ve been hiding behind beauty,” Annie continued, walking closer. “Weddings are easy. Everyone is smiling. But this? This boy doesn’t know you. He isn’t performing. You saw his loneliness and you didn’t flinch. That’s not photography. That’s courage.”

Within a week, she lost three wedding clients. Too dark, they said. Too real.

Mariana smiled. She grabbed her camera, checked the battery, and for the first time in years, didn’t check her exposure settings first.