Nano Banana Pro Prompts for Photo Editing: 15 Examples That Work

Nano Banana Pro prompts for photo editing are plain-text instructions that change a photograph: replace the background, the outfit, the lighting or the facial expression, or build a new scene from several shots. The Google Gemini-based model reads these instructions much like a retoucher would, so the trick is to name what to change and what to leave untouched. In IIshki Studio, Nano Banana Pro takes up to 8 references and outputs up to 4K; Nano Banana 2 covers quick drafts, and GPT Image 2.5 Flare handles text on images. Below: the structure of a working prompt, 15 ready examples for common tasks, and a table of mistakes.

What Nano Banana Pro can do in IIshki Studio

Before the prompts, the limits the model works within here (taken from the model card, not from memory):

• References: up to 8 images per generation, JPEG / PNG / WebP, up to 20 MB each. A reference is optional — you can generate from scratch.
• Resolution: 1K, 2K (default) or 4K. 2K is enough for social media; 4K is for print and for images you plan to crop later.
• Aspect ratio: ten options — square 1:1, landscape 16:9, 21:9, 4:3, 3:2, 5:4, and portrait 9:16, 3:4, 2:3, 4:5. The ratio is a setting, not a line in the prompt.
• Billing: tokens per generation; the price is shown on the Nano Banana Pro card. The result is saved to your library and sent as a file to Telegram if your account is linked.

The key property for editing: the model keeps what you asked it to keep and redraws what you didn't mention. That's why half of a good prompt is a “do not touch” list.

Which model to pick for photo editing

If the job is “fix one photo”, start with Nano Banana Pro. See the head-to-head with OpenAI's model at GPT Image 2 vs Nano Banana Pro and with BytePlus at Seedream 5 vs Nano Banana Pro.

How to write a Nano Banana Pro prompt: 5 parts

The model doesn't need flowery adjectives — it needs a plan. A working editing prompt has five parts, and the order matters:

1. What to change. One action in one sentence: “replace the background with…”, “dress the person in…”, “remove…”.
2. What to keep. An explicit list: face, pose, hair, gaze direction, light on the skin. Without it the model will “improve” things you never asked about.
3. Light and camera. Where the light comes from, warm or cool, whether the new object casts a shadow. Lighting is what gives away a bad composite.
4. Style and materials. Photorealism or illustration, fabric texture, metal sheen, film grain.
5. Reference roles (when there's more than one). “First photo — the person, second — only the colour and cut of the outfit, third — background and lighting.”

Don't write the aspect ratio or resolution into the text — they're chosen in the settings under the prompt field.

A prompt assembled from this scheme:

Replace the background with a café terrace in Lisbon at sunset. Keep the face, pose, hairstyle and glasses unchanged. Warm light, low sun from the left, a soft shadow on the shoulder. Photorealistic, barely visible film grain.

How to edit a photo in Nano Banana Pro, step by step

1. Prepare the source

Upload the original, not a re-compressed copy from a messenger: the model treats compression artifacts as texture and amplifies them. If the photo is small or noisy, run it through Topaz Image Upscale first — a clean frame is easier to edit.

2. Upload references and assign roles

On the Nano Banana Pro card, add one to eight images. The upload order is the numbering you refer to in the prompt (“in the first photo”, “the outfit from the second”).

3. Write the prompt: change → keep → light → style

One edit per generation. If you need a new background, a new outfit and a new expression, do it in three passes: upload the result of each step as the reference for the next. Every stage stays under control and the face doesn't drift.

4. Choose the ratio and resolution

Stories — 9:16; product card — 3:4 or 1:1; cover — 16:9 or 21:9. Start at 2K: once you like a variant, rerun the same prompt at 4K.

5. Check the result and refine

Look at the three places where image models slip most often: hands, hair edges against the new background, and shadow direction. If something is off, don't rewrite the prompt from scratch — add one clarifying phrase and run again.

15 Nano Banana Pro prompts for photo editing

Every example assumes an uploaded photo. Aspect ratio and resolution are set in the settings — no need to repeat them in the prompt.

Background and location

Background swap

Move the person from the photo into a Scandinavian interior: white walls, wooden floor, a large window on the right. Keep the pose, face, outfit and gaze direction. Cool daylight from the window. Add a soft shadow on the floor.

Time of day

Turn this daytime street shot into evening: sunset, long shadows, warm sun behind the subject. People, buildings and composition unchanged — only the lighting and sky.

Outpainting

Extend the image on both sides to a landscape format, continuing the street and sky in the same style and lighting. Do not alter the central part.

The person

Outfit

Dress the person in a black cashmere sweater and light trousers. Loose cut, visible fabric texture. Face, hair, pose and background unchanged; light on the clothes matches the light on the face.

Expression

Change only the facial expression: a calm, slight smile, eyes a little narrowed. Pose, head angle, hair, outfit and background stay exactly the same.

Hairstyle

Make four versions of the same portrait with different hairstyles — short bob, long waves, high bun, pixie cut — in one 2×2 grid. Face and lighting identical in all four.

Studio portrait

Turn this selfie into a black-and-white studio portrait: dark backdrop, one hard light source from the left, deep shadows, film grain. Facial features unchanged.

Objects

Remove clutter

Remove the people in the background and the wires above the street. Rebuild the background so no trace of the edit remains; buildings, road and lighting as in the original.

Add an object

Place an open cloth-bound book on the table next to the cup. The book's shadow falls the same way as the cup's, warm light from the window. Change nothing else.

Replace an object

Replace the bicycle by the wall with a red scooter of the same size. Wall, pavement, lighting and shadows unchanged.

Style

Vintage frame

Turn the photo into a 1970s colour-film shot: faded warm tones, light grain, soft vignette. Faces and composition preserved, clothing styled to the era.

Four seasons

Show this landscape as four vertical strips from left to right — spring, summer, autumn, winter. Same angle and composition; only vegetation, light and sky change.

Product and text

Product card

Cut out the sneakers from the photo and place them on a clean light-grey background with a soft shadow underneath. Shape, colour and lacing exactly as in the original, no new details. Even studio lighting.

Text on an object — better done in GPT Image 2.5 Flare:

Replace the text on the sign with “Bakery No. 7”, keeping the typeface, letter colour and the rust on the metal. Leave the rest of the frame unchanged.

Multiple references

Scene assembly

First photo — the person, keep their face and build. Second — only the cut and colour of the coat. Third — background and lighting. Compose a photorealistic frame: the person wearing this coat standing on this background, with the light from the third photo falling on the face and fabric.

Working with several references

Nano Banana Pro takes up to 8 images, but the more you add, the more important it is to explain what each one is for. The working scheme is one role per reference:

• Person — face, build; “keep the features”.
• Outfit — “only the cut and colour, don't take the person from this photo”.
• Pose — “repeat the body and hand position”.
• Background and light — “location and light direction from here”.

When two references disagree (light from the left in one, from the right in another), say which one wins: “lighting per the third photo”. If you need more than eight references or the job drifts into illustration, switch to Seedream 5.0 Pro; and a chain like “edit → edit → upscale” is easiest to build on the Canvas, where one model's output becomes the next model's input.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

What's next

The prompts above cover 90% of everyday jobs: background, outfit, lighting, cleanup, product cards. From here it depends on the task: the round-up of models for AI photo editing, the guide to an AI photoshoot, and if the edited portrait needs to move — the article on how to animate a photo with AI. You can open Nano Banana Pro in the Studio without a subscription: the price per image is on the card, and you only pay for the generation itself.