How to create effective image prompts with Nano Banana

What to think about while writing prompts

Use detailed prompts to take more control over the images you generate. Think about what you want to see – the characters, the setting, and the overall feel. The more detail you add, the closer the image will be to what you’ve imagined.

Style

Are you creating an illustration, a photograph – or a watercolor painting? Do you want realistic characters, a retro-futuristic aesthetic, or something totally abstract?

Subject

Who, or what, is in your image? A human, an animal – something else entirely? What do they look like? What are they wearing? How are they posed?

Setting

Where does your scene take place? Is it a café on Mars, a cluttered alchemist’s library, or a sun-drenched meadow at golden hour?

Action

What’s happening? Is something falling? Floating? Is someone making a coffee, stroking a cat – or casting a magic spell?

Composition

How do you want to frame your shot? Portrait or landscape? Is it an extreme close-up, a wide shot, a low angle shot? Explore what works best.

A photo of a snow leopard with a prompt overlay. The word "photo" is highlighted in blue to demonstrate the Style (or medium) component of the prompt.

A photo of a snow leopard with a prompt overlay. The phrase "friendly and relaxed snow leopard" is highlighted in blue to demonstrate the Subject component of the prompt.

A photo of a snow leopard in a rocky, snowy landscape with a prompt overlay. The sentences describing the melting snow, flowers, and the contrail in the sky are highlighted in blue to demonstrate the Setting component.

A photo of a snow leopard walking through a mountain landscape with a prompt overlay. The text "It has one paw raised as it is walking towards us" is highlighted in blue to demonstrate the Action component of the prompt.

A photo of a snow leopard in the mountains with a prompt overlay. The phrase "A full body portrait" is highlighted in blue to demonstrate the Composition component of the prompt.

Editing with prompts

After creating an image, you can keep editing it until you’re happy. Tweak specific details, reframe the image, upscale the quality – or overhaul the entire aesthetic. It’s up to you.

Change the character

Try swapping your subject for someone, or something, else. Or add extra characters – all while keeping the same style, setting, and composition.

Adjust the composition

Create new images from different angles, using the same subject and setting. And generate new details that are only visible from the new perspective.

Alter the action

Change what your characters are doing, to suit different situations. Do you want them to stand stand still, strike a fresh pose, or jump in the air?

Swap the setting

Transform the environment, as much or as little as you like. Change the entire backdrop, or swap out specific features and textures to fine-tune your setting.

Rethink the style

Freely reimagine the style of your composition. The model can reinterpret scenes, to switch between photographic style, illustrations, cartoons, and unique art styles.

A realistic eye-level shot of an all-black Himalayan wolf walking through a snowy mountain pass.

A top-down drone perspective looking directly down at a black wolf curled into a tight, circular sleeping position on a large, textured rock.

A high-angle, close-up shot of a black Himalayan wolf sitting on a lichen-covered rock.

A cinematic shot of a black wolf howling inside a massive, abandoned factory.

An Impressionist-style oil painting of a wolf howling in an abandoned factory.

General prompting

Even short prompts will generate high-quality images, but you can take better control of the output by adding details bit-by-bit. Keep playing, experimenting, and iterating, until you get the image you want to use.

Visualize real-world knowledge

Describe how you’d like the model to organize information by asking for a timeline or a flowchart. Prompt using real-world concepts, locations, or historical eras to draw from the model’s deep knowledge base. Mention the visual theme you’d like the design to follow.

A craft-style diagram of the water cycle featuring evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff.

A greeting card with two hands forming a heart shape, resting on a brown knit sweater.

Render precise text

Enclose your desired words in quotes (e.g., "Happy Birthday"). And describe the typography style, like a "bold sans-serif font" or "neon cursive signage".

Translate and localize ideas

Write in one language, then specify the target language and regional cultural cues in your prompt. If you need specific foreign phrasing, provide the exact translated text in quote marks to guide the rendering.

A wooden sign in a jungle illustrating local Indian wildlife with text in Hindi.

A grid of photos in several aspect ratios showing a person in a vibrant blue and pink patterned suit and yellow sunglasses.

Prompt for production-ready specs

Prompt for your desired aspect ratio (like 4:3, 1:1, or 9:16) and describe the image format you need – for example, a "widescreen backdrop," or a "vertical social post". Look for the in-product resolution dropdowns to upscale to 2K or 4K.

Ask for multiple images at once

Ask for "three distinct variations of a product mock up" or "four different color palettes" to quickly compare ideas side-by-side. Or upload a single reference image and ask the model to generate a multi-image story based on it.

A prompt interface showing three fluffy monster characters and instructions to create a story.

Maintain subject consistency

Upload clear reference images, and assign a distinct name to each character or object in your prompt. That way, the model can follow along and maintain their look as you build out your scenes.

Nano Banana

Imagine almost anything – then create it. Generate detailed, playful, realistic, or whimsical images. Or anything in-between.

How to create effective image prompts with Gemini Image