The TECNO Camon 50 smartphone has been used in a global portrait project called 100 Portraits of Becoming, which aims to capture true-to-life complexions of individuals from different backgrounds. The project utilizes the phone's Universal Tone 3.0 technology, a multi-skin-tone imaging technology designed to render skin tone and texture more naturally across varied complexions, lighting conditions, and multi-person scenes. This technology combines a multi-skin-tone color reference system, skin-tone data, and AI-powered imaging engines to improve how different complexions are represented.
The 100 Portraits of Becoming project documents the stories of individuals whose work is shaping businesses, communities, and new opportunities in Kenya. Twenty Kenyan individuals were featured in the project, including Mutua Alex Muli, co-founder of Goshen Farm, who chose to remain in his hometown and build an opportunity through agriculture. Jelimo Cheboi, co-founder of GirlSkate Nairobi, was also featured, highlighting her efforts to create a safer and more supportive space for female skateboarders. These portraits aim to show that becoming is rarely one visible breakthrough, but rather built through repeated choices, difficult stretches, and the people carried forward along the way.
The project also features Anita Mbithe, founder of Brushes By Mbithee, Beauty and Hair, whose journey reflects the work behind building a place as an entrepreneur and creator. Brian Muchiri, founder of Boy in The Wheelchair, is also featured, adding a perspective on disability, visibility, and the right to be represented on one's own terms. The portraits were created in collaboration with Angélica Dass, an internationally recognized photographer who examines identity, diversity, and representation through portrait photography.
The 100 Portraits of Becoming project is a two-year journey that will create 100 portraits across five countries: Kenya, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Brazil. Each chapter will document people within the environments where their lives and work take place, building a wider archive of identities and personal journeys. For Kenya, the project places local faces, work, and communities at the beginning of a global creative and technology story.
The TECNO Camon 50's Universal Tone 3.0 technology plays a crucial role in the project, as it helps the camera represent the person in front of it more faithfully. The technology is designed to preserve the color, texture, and presence that make each person recognizable as themselves. This distinction matters in Kenya, where people are photographed across a wide range of skin tones and changing light.
The project also extends the meaning of CAMON 50 Sees You, a message that carries both a product and a human meaning. The camera works to see every shade more accurately, and the project asks audiences to look beyond the visible result and recognize the effort that brought each person there. The Kenyan chapter of the project gives CAMON 50 Sees You a distinctly Kenyan meaning: to see a person accurately is to respect both how they appear and what it took for them to become who they are.
TECNO is an innovative, AI-driven technology brand with a presence in over 70 markets across five continents. The company is committed to transforming the digital experience in global emerging markets, integrating contemporary design with new technologies and artificial intelligence. The 100 Portraits of Becoming project is an example of TECNO's efforts to develop technology and AI-powered experiences for people pursuing new possibilities.
Key points
- TECNO Camon 50's Universal Tone 3.0 technology captures diverse skin tones in 100 Portraits of Becoming project
- The project documents the stories of individuals whose work is shaping businesses, communities, and new opportunities in Kenya
- The 100 Portraits of Becoming project is a two-year journey that will create 100 portraits across five countries
