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Snapchat rebuilds its camera to work for all skin tones

Whether in a quick selfie or a high-budget movie, cameras have trouble registering dark skin correctly. Developed and optimized primarily for white people, photographic technology trips up when the focus is on people of color. Skin is inadvertently lightened, tones are muddied and a person can almost disappear in low lighting. As Snap Inc states in its annual Diversity Report for 2021, "Cameras still haven't widened their aperture to encompass all communities and skin tones."

Innovation of the day

Which is why the company is working on a better camera for Snapchat. The lead for the inclusive camera project is Bertrand Saint-Preux, who wants to create a better experience for himself and for the Snapchat community. As he explains, an inclusive camera is one that "allows any person to be seen by the camera the way that they want to be seen and the way that they are."

 

Snapchat's inclusive camera isn't an easy project and is still a work in progress. We're guessing other companies in other realms have similar items on their list. Ones they know would create a more inclusive product or service and welcome more customers into the fold, but that seem too complicated, or not urgent enough. Time to move those projects out of the 'someday maybe' folder and start mapping out your first actions this week?