“Picture Progress'' is a multi-media campaign highlighting the intersections of technology, race, representation, history and photography — first, looking back at the history of photography and race, then looking forward to explore what equal representation means today.

We highlighted three civil rights activists through the lens of Google’s new technology that more accurately displays darker skin tones. We then placed Google’s Pixel 6 in the hands of three BIPOC photographers to document their communities. Our photoshoots yielded incredibly powerful, accurate photography, as well as filmed conversations that explore what image equity means to those limited by a historic lack of representation.

Our films are a celebration of identity and self expression, highlighting these BIPOC photographers’ varied viewpoints. Our body of work offers a personalized take on image equity through the tradition of portraiture, capturing the depth of individuals and helping everyone to visualize or represent truth.

Since the invention of the camera, we have largely accepted that a photograph represents truth. Yet, not all people have been represented equally by photography.

In 2020, Google engineers were inspired by NYT’s own reporting on “The Racial Bias Built Into Photography” and built Real Tone™ — technology in the new Pixel 6 that more accurately depicts darker skin tones. NYT’s reporting and Google’s technology illuminated a key cultural insight for our teams: Cameras can’t represent objective truth if their technology isn’t built to represent everyone as they truly see themselves.

The “Picture Progress” campaign brings to life our shared belief that technology should serve humanity, improving the lives of as many people as possible. Our work sparked essential dialogue about the role of image equity in today's society, proving how progress in technology can be the bellwether of progress in people’s everyday lives.