Nano Banana Image Generation Guide
2025-09-26
Introduction to Nano Banana
Nano Banana is the informal name for Google's advanced AI image generation and editing model, powered by Gemini 2.5 Flash. It enables users to create high-quality images from text prompts and perform precise, text-guided edits on existing photos—such as modifying specific regions or blending elements seamlessly.
This guide will help you maximize the potential of Nano Banana for creating stunning images through effective prompting techniques. Let's explore how to craft prompts that yield the best results.
Prompt Guidelines
1. Photorealistic scenes
When creating photorealistic scenes with Nano Banana, incorporating specific photography terminology can significantly enhance your results. Here are some key elements to consider:
- Camera perspective: Specify angles like "bird's eye view," "low angle shot," or "eye-level perspective" to establish the viewer's position.
- Lens choices: Mention lens types such as "shot with a 50mm prime lens" for natural proportions, "wide-angle lens" for dramatic landscapes, or "telephoto lens" for compressed perspective with blurred backgrounds.
- Lighting conditions: Describe lighting such as "golden hour sunlight," "soft diffused natural light," "dramatic side lighting," or "studio three-point lighting setup."
- Technical details: Include terms like "shallow depth of field," "high dynamic range," "sharp focus," or "bokeh background" to guide the rendering style.
- Post-processing style: Reference styles like "cinematic color grading," "film-like grain," or "high contrast black and white" to influence the final look.
Example Prompt:
A photorealistic medium telephoto shot of a bioluminescent octopus, rippling its skin in a mesmerizing display of color and pattern as it communicates with a diver, set in a deep-sea coral reef 30 meters below the surface, surrounded by swaying anemones and drifting plankton. The scene is illuminated by the diver’s dim blue dive light and the creature’s own pulsating glow, creating a mysterious and otherworldly atmosphere. Captured with a Nikon Z9 in an underwater housing and a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens at 135mm, emphasizing the iridescent suckers, the fluid motion of its arms, and the micro-textures of coral polyps.
2. Stylized illustrations & stickers
When creating stylized illustrations and stickers with Nano Banana, consider these elements to achieve appealing results:
- Style specification: Clearly define the artistic style, such as "flat design," "watercolor," "pixel art," "kawaii," or "minimalist line art."
- Color palette: Specify color schemes like "pastel colors," "vibrant neon," or "muted earth tones" to establish the mood.
- Background: Explicitly request the type of background you need, such as "transparent background," "gradient background," or "simple pattern background."
- Details and composition: Describe the composition, arrangement, and level of detail you want in your illustration.
- Target use: Mention the intended application, such as "suitable for digital stickers," "designed for social media icons," or "for app UI elements."
Example Prompt:
A minimalist sticker of an octopus, featuring clean, flowing tentacles and large expressive eyes, and a monochromatic blue-and-white color palette. The design should have thin, continuous line style and flat shading style. The background must be light gray.
3. Accurate text in images
To accurately incorporate text in your images with Nano Banana, follow these guidelines:
- Be explicit and precise: Clearly state the exact text you want to appear in the image, including punctuation and capitalization.
- Describe font characteristics: Rather than naming specific fonts, describe the style you want (e.g., "bold geometric sans-serif," "elegant script with flowing curves," "chunky block letters").
- Specify text placement: Indicate where text should appear in the composition ("centered at the top," "along the bottom edge," "integrated within the design").
- Consider readability: Request appropriate contrast between text and background for legibility.
- Limit text amount: Keep text brief for best results, especially when text accuracy is critical.
Example Prompt:
Create a eco-conscious apparel logo for "OctoCycle" – a sustainable fashion brand inspired by cephalopod intelligence and ocean conservation with the text "Think Like an Octopus" in a fluid, organic sans-serif font with undulating baselines and subtle sucker-like dots on the letters. The design should be minimalist yet dynamic, evoking adaptability, intelligence, and oceanic grace, with a color scheme of ocean blue, kelp green, soft coral, and recycled-paper beige.
4. Product mockups & commercial photography
When creating product mockups and commercial-style photography with Nano Banana, consider these elements for professional results:
- Product presentation: Specify how the product should be displayed, such as "floating," "on a plain surface," "in lifestyle context," or "360-degree view."
- Studio setup: Describe professional lighting setups like "soft-box lighting," "rim lighting," "overhead lighting," or "natural window light."
- Background: Detail the background environment such as "seamless white backdrop," "gradient background," "contextual environment," or "product-complementing setting."
- Composition: Request specific compositional elements like "rule of thirds placement," "centered with negative space," or "top-down flat lay arrangement."
- Style and mood: Indicate the overall aesthetic such as "minimalist product photography," "luxury brand presentation," or "bright and cheerful e-commerce style."
Example Prompt:
A high-resolution, studio-lit product photograph of an artisanal octopus-shaped chocolate truffle on a dark slate tile surface. The lighting is a three-point softbox setup to accentuate the delicate cocoa powder dusting and the subtle sheen of the tempered chocolate. The camera angle is a low-angle close-up to showcase the lifelike texture of the tentacles and the edible gold leaf accents.
5. Minimalist & negative space design
When creating minimalist and negative space designs with Nano Banana, focus on these key elements:
- Composition balance: Request designs with "strategic negative space," "balanced asymmetry," or "minimalist composition" to create visual harmony.
- Limited color palette: Specify "monochromatic scheme," "duotone design," or "limited to 2-3 colors" for elegant simplicity.
- Focal elements: Clearly describe the few essential elements that should stand out against the negative space.
- Purpose-driven: Indicate the functional purpose, such as "suitable for logo placement," "designed for text overlay," or "background for presentation slides."
- Subtle textures: Request "minimal texture," "slight gradient," or "subtle pattern" if desired to add dimension without clutter.
Excellent for creating backgrounds for websites, presentations, or marketing materials where text will be overlaid.
Example Prompt:
A minimalist composition featuring a single abstract ink-blotted octopus positioned in the center-bottom of the frame. The background is a vast, empty warm off-white canvas, creating significant negative space. Soft, subtle lighting. Perfect for an elegant, blank postcard with a subtle marine motif.
6. Sequential art (Comic panel / Storyboard)
When creating sequential art like comic panels or storyboards with Nano Banana, focus on these key elements:
- Character consistency: Describe characters with consistent features, expressions, and clothing across panels to maintain visual continuity.
- Scene setting: Establish clear environmental context that carries through the sequence while indicating lighting changes or camera movements.
- Panel composition: Specify panel layouts such as "wide establishing shot," "close-up reaction shot," or "dynamic action panel" to guide visual storytelling.
- Visual transitions: Indicate how panels connect using terms like "match cut," "smash cut to," or "gradual transition to show time passing."
- Narrative clarity: Focus on key story moments rather than trying to generate too many panels in one prompt.
Example Prompt:
A single comic book panel in a moody noir graphic novel style. In the foreground, a mysterious octopus detective in a trench coat and fedora examines a glowing pearl with three of its tentacles while holding a magnifying glass. In the background, a rain-slicked dock at night with moored ships, distant lighthouse beams, and fog rolling over the harbor. The panel has a dialogue box with the text "This ain’t just a pearl, pal… it’s a key to the abyss." The lighting creates a suspenseful, shadow-drenched mood.
Conclusion
Describe the scene, don't just list keywords. The model's core strength is its deep language understanding. A narrative, descriptive paragraph will almost always produce a better, more coherent image than a list of disconnected words.
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Hey there! As you're working with Nano Banana, remember that your success really comes down to how you talk to it. Instead of just throwing a list of keywords at it, try telling it a story! This AI loves natural language and understands your descriptions much better than disjointed terms.
Think of it like chatting with a friend who's going to paint something for you - the more vividly you describe what you want, the better they'll capture your vision. When you craft those rich, story-like prompts, Nano Banana can really shine, giving you those coherent, impressive images no matter what style you're going for. Give it a try!