This is the one-page reference for prompting Nano Banana Pro — Google's Gemini 3 Pro Image model — plus Nano Banana 2, its cheaper sibling that wins on text. Unlike Midjourney, Nano Banana takes no --parameters: it reasons over full descriptive sentences, so you brief it like a creative director, not with tag-soup. Below is the 6-factor formula and copy-paste tables for every modifier that reliably moves the output.
New to it? Start with the best Nano Banana prompts roundup, then use this sheet while you build your own. For a deeper walk-through, see how to prompt Nano Banana for photorealism.
The prompt formula
A strong Nano Banana prompt is one descriptive paragraph built from six factors plus a short line of constraints. Cover subject and setting first; the rest sharpen the result. The order is a guide, not a rule — Nano Banana reads the whole sentence and reasons about it.
- Subject — who or what, described concretely (age, clothing, material, expression).
- Composition / framing — close-up, wide shot, centered, rule-of-thirds, eye-level, low angle.
- Action — what the subject is doing, even if subtle ("mid-stride", "pouring coffee").
- Setting / location — where it happens, with real detail (time of day, weather, surfaces).
- Lighting — the single biggest lever on mood; name a real setup (see the table below).
- Style / medium — photoreal, cinematic, 3D render, watercolor, and so on.
Constraints go on their own line at the end: lens, aspect ratio, and resolution — for example, "Shot on 85mm f/1.4. Aspect ratio 3:2. Render in 2K."
Skeleton to copy:
[Subject, described concretely], [composition/framing], [action],
in [setting/location with real detail], lit with [lighting setup],
in the style of [style/medium].
Shot on [lens]. Aspect ratio [X:Y]. Render in [2K/4K].The same skeleton, filled in:
A weathered fisherman in his sixties with a knitted grey sweater, tight
head-and-shoulders portrait, looking just off-camera, on a misty harbour
wall at dawn, lit with soft golden-hour backlighting and gentle rim light,
photorealistic editorial style with natural skin texture.
Shot on 85mm f/1.4 with shallow depth of field. Aspect ratio 4:5. Render in 2K.Why it works: every factor is present and specific, the constraints sit on one clean line, and it reads as a sentence a photographer could shoot — exactly what the model was trained to reward.
Aspect ratios & resolution
State the ratio in plain language ("Aspect ratio 16:9"); there are no flags. Nano Banana Pro supports ten ratios and renders natively at 1K, 2K, or 4K. It defaults to about 1K, so ask for "2K" (most screen and social work) or "4K" (print and fine detail) explicitly.
| Aspect ratio | Shape | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | Square | Profile pics, album art, Instagram grid, product tiles |
| 3:2 | Landscape | Classic photography, editorial, prints |
| 2:3 | Portrait | Book covers, posters, Pinterest pins |
| 3:4 | Portrait | Portraits, mobile-first cards, catalogue shots |
| 4:3 | Landscape | Presentation slides, classic monitors, blog headers |
| 4:5 | Portrait | Instagram feed portrait — the max vertical the feed allows |
| 5:4 | Landscape | Large-format print, framed wall art |
| 9:16 | Tall portrait | Stories, Reels, TikTok, phone wallpapers |
| 16:9 | Wide | YouTube thumbnails, hero banners, desktop wallpaper |
| 21:9 | Ultra-wide | Cinematic scenes, ultrawide monitors, website headers |
Resolution note: add the line "Render in 4K" for anything you will print or crop into; "2K" is a safe default for the web. 4K costs a little more per image and takes slightly longer.
Lighting modifiers
Lighting sets the mood faster than any other factor. Name a real setup and Nano Banana renders it convincingly. Drop one phrase into the lighting slot of the formula.
| Modifier | Effect |
|---|---|
| Three-point softbox setup | Clean, even, flattering studio light — the safe default for portraits and products |
| Chiaroscuro, harsh high contrast | Dramatic light-and-shadow, deep blacks, painterly and moody |
| Golden-hour backlighting | Warm glow and long shadows, halo around edges, dreamy and cinematic |
| Soft overcast diffusion | Flat, shadowless, gentle light — natural skin, honest product colour |
| Rim light | Bright edge that separates the subject from a dark background |
| Rembrandt lighting | Small triangle of light on the shadowed cheek — classic portrait look |
| High-key lighting | Bright, airy, low-shadow — beauty, e-commerce, clean and optimistic |
| Low-key lighting | Mostly dark with selective highlights — noir, luxury, tension |
| Neon / practical lights | Coloured urban glow (magenta, cyan) reflecting on wet surfaces |
| Hard direct sunlight | Crisp, high-contrast shadows — bold fashion and street work |
| Candlelight / firelight | Warm, flickering, low and intimate — cosy and romantic scenes |
Camera & lens modifiers
Real lens language tells Nano Banana how the scene should compress, blur, and frame. Put these in the constraints line ("Shot on 85mm f/1.4").
| Modifier | Effect |
|---|---|
| 85mm f/1.4 | Flattering portrait compression with creamy background blur |
| 35mm | Natural, documentary, street perspective close to how the eye sees |
| 24mm wide-angle | Expansive scenes, interiors, landscapes — some edge stretch |
| Macro 100mm | Extreme close-up detail — jewellery, food, textures, insects |
| Shallow depth of field | Sharp subject, soft background — isolates and draws the eye |
| Deep depth of field | Everything sharp front to back — landscapes, architecture |
| Bokeh | Soft round out-of-focus highlights behind the subject |
| Tilt-shift | Selective focus band that makes real scenes look miniature |
| Drone / aerial shot | Top-down or high overhead view for scale and pattern |
| Low angle / worm's-eye | Looking up — makes the subject tower and feel heroic |
| Fisheye | Strong curved distortion for a playful, immersive look |
Style & medium modifiers
The style factor decides whether you get a photo, a render, or an illustration. Name one clearly; mixing three fights the model.
| Modifier | Effect |
|---|---|
| Photorealistic | Looks like a real photograph — natural texture, real lighting physics |
| Cinematic | Film colour grade, wide-frame drama, moody contrast and atmosphere |
| 3D render (Octane / Blender) | Clean CGI with glossy materials and studio reflections |
| Watercolour | Soft washes, bleeding edges, visible paper texture |
| Isometric | Angled 3D-tile look for scenes, rooms, and game-style diagrams |
| Flat vector illustration | Bold shapes, limited palette, no gradients — icons and web art |
| Film grain, 35mm analog | Grainy, slightly faded, nostalgic film-camera aesthetic |
| Product studio | Seamless backdrop, crisp reflections, e-commerce-ready lighting |
| Anime / manga | Cel-shaded characters with expressive lines and flat colour |
| Line art / sketch | Pen or pencil linework, minimal or no colour |
| Oil painting | Visible brushstrokes, rich impasto texture, classical feel |
Text & rendering rules
Nano Banana renders words far better than older models, but only if you follow a few rules. For posters or anything text-heavy, switch to Nano Banana 2 — it leads on text rendering. See the Nano Banana prompt templates for ready-made poster skeletons.
| Rule | Why |
|---|---|
| Wrap the exact words in "quotes" | Tells the model precisely which characters to render — no paraphrasing |
| Keep it under ~5 words | Short strings render cleanly; long paragraphs garble |
| ALL-CAPS, 1–4 words | The most reliable range for crisp, legible headline text |
| Name the font and weight | "bold condensed sans-serif" or "elegant serif" guides the letterforms |
| Put text instruction near the start | The model plans layout early, so the text drives composition |
| Use Nano Banana 2 for heavy text | Best-in-class text rendering and cheaper for volume |
Text example prompt:
A minimalist gym poster with the bold ALL-CAPS headline "NO EXCUSES" in a
heavy condensed sans-serif, centered near the top. Below it, a lone runner
in silhouette on an empty track at dawn, backlit by golden-hour sun with
long shadows. High-contrast, energetic, editorial poster style.
Aspect ratio 2:3. Render in 2K.Why it works: the exact words are quoted, kept to two ALL-CAPS words, the font is named, and the text instruction leads — so the model lays out the type first and builds the image around it.
Conversational editing
If an image comes back about 80 percent right, don't regenerate — you will lose the parts you liked. Instead, describe only the one change and spell out what must stay identical. Nano Banana keeps the rest.
Keep the pose, lighting, background, and composition exactly the same.
Change only the jacket to bright red leather.Best for: iterating fast — swap a colour, remove an object, or fix a hand without rerolling the whole scene. Change one thing per message and check the result before the next tweak.
Reference images: you can feed up to 14 reference images in a single prompt — products, faces, and style refs — and Nano Banana keeps the subjects consistent. Label each one in the prompt: "use image 1 for the product, image 2 for the model's face, image 3 for the background style."
Copy-paste example prompts
Five complete prompts that assemble the modifiers above. Paste any into the Gemini app and tweak the bracketed parts. For more, browse the best Nano Banana prompts.
1. Product hero shot
A matte-black ceramic coffee mug on a wet slate surface, centered
three-quarter view with steam rising, in a dim minimalist studio, lit with
a three-point softbox setup and a subtle rim light, photorealistic product
studio style with crisp reflections and a seamless charcoal backdrop.
Shot on 100mm macro with shallow depth of field. Aspect ratio 1:1. Render in 4K.Best for: e-commerce listings and ads — clean studio light and a macro lens make the material read as premium.
2. Cinematic environment
A lone figure in a long coat standing at a rain-slicked neon crossroads in
a futuristic Tokyo alley at night, wide establishing shot from a low angle,
mid-stride, lit by magenta and cyan neon reflecting off wet asphalt,
cinematic film-grade colour with atmospheric haze.
Shot on 35mm, deep depth of field. Aspect ratio 21:9. Render in 4K.Best for: moody wallpapers and story frames — the 21:9 ratio and neon lighting do the cinematic heavy lifting.
3. Editorial portrait
A confident woman in her thirties with short curls and a tailored linen
blazer, tight head-and-shoulders portrait, looking directly at camera, in a
sunlit loft with a soft blurred window behind her, lit with Rembrandt
lighting and soft overcast fill, photorealistic editorial style with natural
skin texture. Shot on 85mm f/1.4, shallow depth of field. Aspect ratio 4:5.
Render in 2K.Best for: LinkedIn headshots and magazine-style portraits. See the photorealism guide for skin and lighting deep-dives.
4. Flat vector illustration
A friendly flat vector illustration of a person watering a large houseplant
in a cozy apartment, centered composition, warm limited palette of terracotta,
sage, and cream, bold clean shapes with no gradients, soft even lighting,
modern flat illustration style for a web hero.
Aspect ratio 16:9. Render in 2K.Best for: landing-page graphics and blog headers where a clean, on-brand illustration beats a photo.
5. Text poster (use Nano Banana 2)
A retro travel poster with the ALL-CAPS headline "VISIT MARS" in a bold
geometric sans-serif across the top. Below it, a stylised red desert
landscape with a distant domed colony under a pink sky, isometric-leaning
mid-century illustration style with a warm limited palette.
Aspect ratio 2:3. Render in 2K.Why it works: two ALL-CAPS words in quotes, a named font, and the text leading the prompt — run it on Nano Banana 2 for the crispest lettering.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I set the aspect ratio in Nano Banana?
Write it in plain language inside the prompt — for example, add the line "Aspect ratio 16:9" at the end. Nano Banana Pro supports 1:1, 3:2, 2:3, 3:4, 4:3, 4:5, 5:4, 9:16, 16:9, and 21:9. In Google AI Studio and the Gemini API you can also set aspect ratio as a config field, but stating it in the prompt works everywhere, including the Gemini app.
Does Nano Banana accept --parameters like Midjourney?
No. Nano Banana has no --ar, --style, or --v flags. It is a reasoning model that reads full descriptive sentences, so you write requirements in plain English instead: "Aspect ratio 16:9", "shot on 85mm f/1.4", "render in 4K". Writing tag-soup or Midjourney-style flags actually hurts results; act like a creative director briefing a photographer.
What is the maximum resolution Nano Banana can output?
Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image) generates natively at 1K, 2K, and 4K. It defaults to roughly 1K unless you ask, so add "render in 2K" or "4K resolution" to the prompt when you need print-ready detail. 4K takes a little longer and costs more per image; 2K is the sweet spot for most screen and social work.
Which Nano Banana model is best for text in images?
Use Nano Banana 2 whenever the image contains words — it has best-in-class text rendering and is cheaper for high-volume runs. Nano Banana Pro also renders text well and reasons harder about layout, so reach for Pro on complex posters or infographics. Either way, keep the text short, wrap the exact words in quotes, and name the font.
How many reference images can I use in one prompt?
Up to 14 reference images in a single prompt. Mix product shots, faces, and style references, and Nano Banana keeps the subjects consistent across the generation. Label what each reference is for in the prompt — for example, "use image 1 for the product, image 2 for the model's face, image 3 for the background style."
Can I edit an existing image instead of regenerating it?
Yes — that is conversational editing, and it is the reliable way to fix an image that is about 80 percent right. Describe only the one thing you want changed and state what must stay identical: "keep the pose, lighting, and background exactly the same; change only the jacket to red." Regenerating from scratch loses the parts you already liked.
Where can I use Nano Banana Pro?
Nano Banana Pro is Google's Gemini 3 Pro Image model, available in the Gemini app on free and Pro tiers, plus the Gemini API, Google AI Studio, and Vertex AI. It went GA in June 2026 at about $0.134 per image and generates in roughly two to five seconds. Every output carries an invisible SynthID watermark.
Do I have to use every factor in the formula?
No. Subject and setting are the only truly required factors; composition, action, lighting, and style are what turn an okay image into a great one. Start with subject plus setting, then add one modifier at a time from the tables below and regenerate so you can see what each change does.