MP: What kind of impact do you hope TONL has on the future of diverse representation in photography?
KO: Really, we just want to be the starting point in a conversation of why diversity matters, and one of the strongest ways that you can communicate with people is through pictures.
What we hope to ignite in people is the idea that it's OK to implement diversity and it shouldn't be a trend. And we're starting to see that; we're hearing from people, "Gosh, I've never known where to start, [but] your pictures have allowed me to expand in that sense." We hope to prove the idea that diversity and equal representation matter.
MP: Are you seeing that kind of change in the industry now or do you think there's still a lot of room to grow?
KO: The idea of TONL actually started in February 2016. We spent a great deal of time asking [ourselves], "Should we do this? Should we not?" and researching, putting the website together, and shooting the photos. The irony is that 2017 seemed to be the year of demanding diversity. A perfect example would be Fenty Beauty; that launch alone showed people that we want diversity and we're going to demand it. We're going to go down this road, whether you like it or not.
I am starting to see [change]; however, we definitely have a long way to go — especially in the movie industry and [in] large organizations. They'll showcase these team photos, and it's laughable [when] you spot the token brown person. It's really not OK. We really have a ways to go, though I will not negate the steps we've taken.
![MP: What kind of impact do you hope TONL has on the future of diverse representation in photography?
KO: Really, we just want to be the starting point in a conversation of why diversity matters, and one of the strongest ways that you can communicate with people is through pictures.
What we hope to ignite in people is the idea that it's OK to implement diversity and it shouldn't be a trend. And we're starting to see that; we're hearing from people, "Gosh, I've never known where to start, [but] your pictures have allowed me to expand in that sense." We hope to prove the idea that diversity and equal representation matter.
MP: Are you seeing that kind of change in the industry now or do you think there's still a lot of room to grow?
KO: The idea of TONL actually started in February 2016. We spent a great deal of time asking [ourselves], "Should we do this? Should we not?" and researching, putting the website together, and shooting the photos. The irony is that 2017 seemed to be the year of demanding diversity. A perfect example would be Fenty Beauty; that launch alone showed people that we want diversity and we're going to demand it. We're going to go down this road, whether you like it or not.
I am starting to see [change]; however, we definitely have a long way to go — especially in the movie industry and [in] large organizations. They'll showcase these team photos, and it's laughable [when] you spot the token brown person. It's really not OK. We really have a ways to go, though I will not negate the steps we've taken.](https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/bbVhpMaHNUF3_aVotsM4IYk_f94/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2018/01/19/995/n/42301552/netimgBT0sXH/i/MP-What-kind-impact-do-you-hope-TONL-has-future-diverse.jpg "MP: What kind of impact do you hope TONL has on the future of diverse representation in photography?
KO: Really, we just want to be the starting point in a conversation of why diversity matters, and one of the strongest ways that you can communicate with people is through pictures.
What we hope to ignite in people is the idea that it's OK to implement diversity and it shouldn't be a trend. And we're starting to see that; we're hearing from people, \"Gosh, I've never known where to start, [but] your pictures have allowed me to expand in that sense.\" We hope to prove the idea that diversity and equal representation matter.
MP: Are you seeing that kind of change in the industry now or do you think there's still a lot of room to grow?
KO: The idea of TONL actually started in February 2016. We spent a great deal of time asking [ourselves], \"Should we do this? Should we not?\" and researching, putting the website together, and shooting the photos. The irony is that 2017 seemed to be the year of demanding diversity. A perfect example would be Fenty Beauty; that launch alone showed people that we want diversity and we're going to demand it. We're going to go down this road, whether you like it or not.
I am starting to see [change]; however, we definitely have a long way to go — especially in the movie industry and [in] large organizations. They'll showcase these team photos, and it's laughable [when] you spot the token brown person. It's really not OK. We really have a ways to go, though I will not negate the steps we've taken.")
