How to Use Nano Banana (Google Gemini) for AI Images
Nano Banana is Google's Gemini image model, reached through the Gemini app or Google AI Studio. Its standout skill is editing an existing photo from one plain-language instruction — so most Nano Banana prompts are written around a reference image: upload your photo, paste the prompt, and the style transfers while your subject stays intact.
Where can I use Nano Banana?
Nano Banana runs inside Google's Gemini products. Open the Gemini app or gemini.google.com and choose image generation, or use Google AI Studio for more control. There is a free tier, and the newer Nano Banana Pro and Nano Banana 2 versions follow instructions and render text more reliably than the original.
How to edit your own photo with Nano Banana
Editing is the model's superpower — a single instruction like "turn this into a collectible figurine in blister packaging" restyles your image while keeping your subject recognizable.
- Open Gemini and attach your photo. In the Gemini app, start an image request and upload the photo you want to transform as a reference.
- Paste an editing prompt. Use a prompt written for editing — one that describes the target style ("cinematic film-still, warm grade, shallow depth of field") rather than a whole new scene.
- Keep the style block, change the subject. To make a matching set, hold the style wording constant and swap only the subject or setting across generations.
- Iterate with follow-up instructions. Nano Banana handles conversational edits — "make the background a rainy street", "add warmer light" — so refine step by step instead of rewriting the whole prompt.
What is Nano Banana best at?
Compared with pure text-to-image models, Nano Banana shines at photo editing, keeping faces consistent across edits, and following multi-step instructions. It is the model behind the viral "turn me into a figurine" and one-prompt photo-restyle trends. For images that need long paragraphs of on-image text, GPT Image 2 is often stronger; for painterly or heavily stylized art, Midjourney may please more.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Nano Banana free to use?
- Yes, there is a free tier in the Gemini app and Google AI Studio, with usage limits. Paid Gemini plans raise the limits and unlock the latest Nano Banana Pro / Nano Banana 2 versions.
- What is the difference between Nano Banana, Nano Banana Pro and Nano Banana 2?
- They are successive versions of Google's Gemini image model. Later versions follow instructions better and render legible text and consistent faces more reliably. Prompts that failed with garbled text on the original are worth retrying on Nano Banana 2.
- Why do so many Nano Banana prompts start with "upload your photo"?
- Because editing an existing image is what the model does best. Prompts written around a reference photo produce far more personal, shareable results than pure text-to-image, which is why most Nano Banana recipes work that way.