In case you missed the news tucked into the end of Google's I/O 2021 keynote earlier this week, the software giant has taken a step toward addressing a problem that has plagued image processing since the advent of color camera technology. Google hopes to make mobile photography more inclusive with more beautiful and accurate images of people of color.

To do so, Google is teaming up with a diverse group of imaging experts to make its camera and imaging products better. From there, the company's engineers are working to improve the accuracy of its auto white balance and auto exposure algorithms using diverse image data. The result should be more accurate images of people, especially those with darker skin tones.

Google's efforts will first be brought to Pixel phones, with the Pixel 6 introducing improved algorithms in the fall, but Google plans to bring the improved computing software to other Android camera phones as well.

This news is close to home for me. My wife is dark-skinned. I am a few shades lighter; our four children are the gradient between us. Our mixed heritage means that we don't all take the same pictures. Sure the Pixel 3a took great pictures, but there were times, however, that it didn't capture certain moments properly. My wife's beautiful skin was not always captured correctly. Her natural afro-puff would blend into the background. Our fair-skinned children would stand out unnaturally next to their darker-skinned siblings. This was not true of all photos; some photos were better than others.

This is nothing new, but it can be corrected with "proper lighting". And this is not just a problem with the Pixel line of smartphones, my Samsung Galaxy S21 also has this problem. That's why I'm excited to hear about Google's latest efforts. The possibility of being able to take a single family photo that adequately depicts how we look.

A complete overview of Google's photo project can be found in a video where an engineer talks about the process. Basically, Google's engineering team made changes to its computational algorithms to make dark skin easier to see. This also helps the company's devices pick up different hair textures. Instead of the camera blending into the background, it will be able to better distinguish curly hair. Finally, black and brown people will be photographed naturally, with no adjustments required.

Current photography tends to lean toward fair skin, intentionally or not; according to Zippia, the majority of software engineers in the U.S. are white males. In Japan, China, and Korea, it appears that several Asian men make up the engineering team. Whether it is facial recognition apps or the supposed best mobile camera in the world, people of color are not usually given priority.

Google is trying to change things. While this won't solve everything, Google says its engineers are working to improve its photo-based technology in hopes of better representing people of all skin tones. As a black person who loves to take and share family photos, I'm looking forward to seeing what Google has in store for me.