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Yes—you can use Nano Banana to edit existing photos, not just generate new images. Upload a photograph in Gemini, describe the change, and refine the result conversationally. It can remove or replace objects, preserve a subject across edits, combine multiple references, transfer visual qualities, restore old images, and modify text-bearing graphics. The important qualification is that Nano Banana is generative: it may change details you did not ask it to change, so inspect every consequential result before using it as a painting reference or publishing it.
What Nano Banana is—and what it is not
Nano Banana is Google’s name for its native conversational image-generation and photo-editing family. In Gemini, you can upload an existing photograph, describe a change in ordinary language, and receive a newly generated version of the image. You can also edit an image Gemini created, combine several reference images, transfer visual qualities between images, or continue refining the result through multiple messages.
It is best understood as a generative editor, not as a deterministic Photoshop-style pixel editor. Even when you ask it to change one small detail and leave everything else alone, it may alter a face, hand, logo, sign, product label, lighting pattern, geometry, or background object. For painting references, restoration work, historical images, and any image containing important text, treat the output as a draft that needs inspection—not as an automatically faithful copy.
The name is also not one permanently fixed model. Google’s current developer documentation identifies four members:
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- Nano Banana 2 Lite—the speed- and cost-oriented option, identified in the API documentation as Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image.
- Nano Banana 2—the general-purpose workhorse, identified as Gemini 3.1 Flash Image.
- Nano Banana Pro—the higher-control option for complex, professional image work, identified as Gemini 3 Pro Image.
- The original Nano Banana—Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, now described in the API documentation as the legacy member of the family.
In the consumer Gemini app, the labels and available controls can differ from the API. For ordinary photo editing, Nano Banana 2 is the most relevant current all-around choice when it is available to your account.
How to edit a photo with Nano Banana in Gemini
Google’s documented computer workflow is:
- Open Gemini and go to the Images or Library area.
- Select an image Gemini previously generated, or upload your own photograph.
- Open the image’s chat or editing control.
- Describe the change you want in the prompt box and submit it.
- Review the new image, then continue in the same conversation if you want to refine it.
The exact labels may change with the Gemini interface, account, country, language, and plan. Image editing is not available to users under 18, and Google also restricts availability according to supported locations, languages, account types, and subscription conditions.
A useful first prompt is:
"Using the provided photo, change only [specific element]. Keep the subject, composition, lighting, perspective, colors, and every other element unchanged. Make the edit look natural and consistent with the original image."
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This wording does not guarantee that the rest of the image will remain identical, but it gives the model a clearer editing boundary. For a more complicated edit, describe five things:
- Subject: what should be changed and where it is.
- Action: remove, replace, recolor, repair, sharpen, reposition, or restyle.
- Appearance: material, texture, color, age, shape, and finish.
- Scene continuity: the existing light direction, shadows, perspective, depth of field, and camera angle.
- Protected details: the face, hands, clothing, background, text, logo, or other elements that should not change.
Photo-editing workflows that work well
1. Local edits without rebuilding the entire scene
Use Nano Banana for a targeted change such as removing a distracting object, changing a wall color, replacing a chair, altering clothing, or cleaning up a background. State both the edit and the preservation requirement.
"Remove the plastic bottle on the table at the lower right. Reconstruct the table surface and nearby shadow naturally. Keep the person, hands, cup, wall, lighting, camera angle, and crop unchanged."
Inspect the edges around the edited area. A seemingly local change can affect nearby shadows, reflections, fingers, facial features, or repeated patterns. If the first attempt changes too much, ask for a narrower correction in the same conversation rather than starting over:
"The removal is good. Restore the original person, hands, facial features, and wall texture exactly as closely as possible. Change only the lower-right table area."
2. Removing or replacing objects
Object removal is useful when preparing a reference photograph for a painting: you might clear clutter from a still life, remove a modern sign from a landscape, or replace furniture to study a different composition. Ask the model to rebuild the hidden surface and match the original light.
Object replacement is more demanding. Include the replacement object’s material and approximate scale, and tell Gemini where its contact shadow should fall. Generated replacements can look plausible at first glance while having incorrect perspective, inconsistent reflections, or impossible joins with the floor and wall.
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3. Combining several reference images
Gemini can accept multiple uploaded images and create a composite. This is useful for combining a person from one photograph with a location from another, placing a product in a new setting, or assembling visual references for a painting concept.
Assign each image a role instead of uploading a group without explanation:
"Use image 1 for the person’s face and clothing, image 2 for the room and window light, and image 3 for the vase. Create one natural scene. Preserve the person’s identity, use the room’s perspective, and make the vase cast a physically consistent shadow."
When identity matters, provide a clear reference and avoid asking for too many unrelated changes at once. The result may preserve recognizable broad features while still changing small facial details, age, expression, hair, or proportions.
4. Keeping a person or pet consistent
Nano Banana 2 is designed to improve character consistency across edits and scenes. You can ask it to place the same person or animal in another setting, change an outfit, or create a sequence of related references.
Consistency is not the same as biometric or photographic accuracy. Compare the output with the original at full size, especially around eyes, teeth, ears, hands, markings, and asymmetrical features. For a painting study, use the generated image as an imaginative reference; for a portrait commission or documentary image, verify the subject’s likeness manually and obtain permission before publication.
5. Style transfer
You can provide one image as the subject or scene and another as a style reference, then ask Gemini to apply the second image’s visual qualities to the first. Describe the qualities rather than relying only on a vague label:
"Use the first image as the composition and subject. Apply the second image’s muted earth palette, broad dry-brush texture, softened edges, and warm side lighting. Keep the subject’s pose and the main shapes readable."
This can help a painter explore palette, surface, atmosphere, and composition before committing to a canvas. It does not establish that the output faithfully reproduces a particular artist’s process, and you should consider copyright, permission, and disclosure when using another person’s work as a reference.
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Nano Banana can attempt to repair scratches, increase apparent clarity, recolor an old black-and-white photograph, or reconstruct missing areas. These edits are useful for exploration and presentation, but restoration is an interpretive process. The model may invent facial details, clothing patterns, architecture, colors, or historical objects.
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For family archives, museum material, historical research, or a painting based on an old photograph, keep the unedited original and label the generated version. Do not treat an AI-colorized image as evidence of the original colors.
7. Posters, signs, menus, and other text-bearing images
Google identifies improved text rendering as a Nano Banana 2 capability. You can ask it to modify a poster, diagram, menu, label, sign, or other graphic while keeping a layout intact. Results are better than earlier image generators, but important text still requires proofreading.
Check every letter, number, punctuation mark, price, date, measurement, URL, logo, and trademark. A single altered character can make an otherwise attractive graphic unusable. For legal, commercial, educational, or public-facing artwork, recreate critical text in a conventional design tool rather than trusting generated lettering.
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How to get more reliable edits
Start with one controlled change
Make the first request narrow. Once the model has produced a satisfactory base, make one additional change at a time. A prompt asking it to remove a person, replace the sky, change the season, recolor a building, alter clothing, and add text gives the system too many opportunities to reinterpret the photograph.
Describe what must remain unchanged
Preservation instructions are particularly important for photo edits. Mention the subject’s identity, pose, crop, camera angle, focal length impression, light direction, shadows, color balance, background, and texture when those details matter. Use concrete spatial language such as upper-left, behind the shoulder, nearest the camera, or along the bottom edge.
Use the conversation for refinement
Iterative editing lets you correct a result without restating the entire job. Say what succeeded and identify the unwanted change:
"Keep the new background, but restore the original face, hairline, and jacket. Do not change the crop or lighting."
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Ask for inspection-friendly output
If you are evaluating an edit, ask for a natural result without excessive blur, artificial sharpening, or decorative effects. Download the image and inspect it at its intended use size as well as at high magnification. A defect hidden in a small preview can become obvious in a print or painting reference.
Also remember that image-generation systems do not always follow a requested number of outputs. If you ask for a specific number of variations, check how many were actually produced instead of assuming the instruction was followed.
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Which Nano Banana model should you choose?
| Model | Best suited to | Important trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Nano Banana 2 Lite | Quick concepts, simple edits, and speed- or cost-sensitive generation. | Google’s API documentation says it is not optimized for multiple reference images or multi-turn sequential editing. |
| Nano Banana 2 | Most everyday photo editing, multiple references, local edits, character consistency, text-bearing images, and a balance of speed and quality. | It can still alter details you asked it to preserve, so important results require checking. |
| Nano Banana Pro | Complex instructions, high-fidelity product mockups, advanced localization, brand consistency, factual visualizations, and professional asset production. | It is positioned as a paid-plan option in Gemini Apps and may have different limits or availability from Nano Banana 2. |
| Original Nano Banana | Existing workflows that still use Gemini 2.5 Flash Image. | It is now legacy in the API documentation; Google recommends moving new work to Nano Banana 2 Lite for improved quality, speed, and pricing. |
The model names in the table refer to Google’s current API-family mapping. The model exposed in Gemini Apps may be selected automatically or displayed with a simpler label. Nano Banana 2 is the sensible starting point for most users who want to edit a personal photograph or prepare a visual reference for a painting.
Gemini Apps, Google Photos, Lens, AI Studio, and the API are different routes
One source of confusion is assuming that every Google product exposes the same Nano Banana controls. These are related access routes, but their interfaces, model selection, limits, rollout schedules, and account requirements can differ.
Gemini Apps
This is the most straightforward route for conversational editing: upload a photograph, describe a change, and refine it in the chat. Gemini Apps currently describe Nano Banana 2 as the standard image-generation and editing model, Nano Banana 2 Lite as the Flash-Lite option, and Nano Banana Pro as an option for regenerating an image when more detail or control is needed on eligible paid plans.
Google Photos
Google has integrated Nano Banana-powered editing and restyling into Google Photos. Depending on availability, users can direct changes by text or voice, such as removing sunglasses, improving a smile, or restyling a photograph as a Renaissance portrait or storybook page.
Google has also announced Personal Intelligence features in the United States that can use connected Google Photos context and personal preferences to personalize image generation. The feature is described as opt-in; users can refine or change the reference photo, and Google states that Gemini does not directly train its models on a user’s private Google Photos library. Eligibility depends on account, location, rollout, and Google AI plan conditions, so it should not be treated as a universal Google Photos feature.
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Google announced Nano Banana editing in Search through Google Lens and AI Mode, initially rolling out in English in the United States and India. The documented mobile route is to open Lens in the Google app, choose Create, and use either a suggested instruction or a custom one. This is separate from the Gemini Apps workflow and may have different geography and language restrictions.
Google AI Studio and the Gemini API
Developers can use Nano Banana through Google AI Studio and the Gemini API. The developer workflow supports text and image inputs, conversational generation, multi-turn editing, semantic local edits, style transfer, image compositing, and high-resolution output. Supported models can also use search grounding where appropriate.
Nano Banana Pro uses the stable model code gemini-3-pro-image in the API. Google positions it for professional asset production and documents image generation, structured outputs, search grounding, thinking, and complex image instructions. Its model page lists audio generation, code execution, file search, function calling, and live API use as unsupported capabilities, so it should not be treated as a general-purpose multimodal replacement for every Gemini API feature.
Google’s current documentation records Nano Banana 2 as launching in February 2026. It also lists an August 17, 2026 shutdown date for Imagen models and recommends Nano Banana models for new image-generation work. Because that is a time-sensitive migration detail, developers should recheck Google’s model documentation before changing a production application.
Resolution, reference-image limits, and plan restrictions
In Gemini Apps, Google’s help information states that Nano Banana 2 images can be downloaded at 1K without an AI plan and at 2K with a Google AI plan. This is a consumer-app statement and should not be confused with the API’s model limits.
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The current API documentation describes Gemini 3 image models as supporting 1K, 2K, and 4K output, with Nano Banana 2 also supporting a 512-pixel option. API reference-image limits are model-specific:
- Nano Banana 2 Lite: up to 14 object-reference images.
- Nano Banana 2: up to 10 object references plus up to 4 character references.
- Nano Banana Pro: up to 6 object references plus up to 5 character references.
These are API documentation limits. Do not assume they are the same upload limits in the consumer Gemini interface. Your actual access may depend on the selected surface, account, country, language, age, and plan.
Source-photo setup: helpful, but not required
Nano Banana can improve or reinterpret a weak source image, but a clear original gives you more to work with. For repeatable portraits, product studies, still lifes, or before-and-after comparisons, stabilize the camera, use even light, clean the lens, and leave enough space around the subject for cropping.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteA phone tripod for photography is optional equipment that can reduce camera movement and make repeated source images easier to compare. It is not part of Nano Banana and is not required to use Gemini. A stable phone is especially useful when you are photographing the same painting, object, or model from several angles. Soft window light or a diffused lamp can also help, but avoid hard reflections on glossy paintings and products.
Watermarks, provenance, and privacy
Google states that images created or edited in Gemini Apps include a visible watermark and an invisible SynthID watermark. The Gemini API documentation likewise states that generated images include SynthID. Do not assume that the visible mark looks identical across every Google product surface, or that the presence of SynthID alone proves an image is authentic in every practical situation.
Keep the original photograph, the prompt, and the generated result when provenance matters. If an altered image could be mistaken for a documentary photograph, restoration record, product photograph, or factual illustration, disclose that it was AI-edited. This is particularly important when sharing painting references that depict real people, real places, historical events, or commercially identifiable products.
Responsible use for artists and photographers
- Do not use another person’s photograph, artwork, likeness, or private image without the appropriate permission.
- Do not create deceptive identity edits, impersonation material, or non-consensual intimate imagery.
- Be cautious with recognizable artists’ work as style references, especially for commercial work. A generic description of palette and technique is safer than presenting a living artist’s signature style as an unproblematic shortcut.
- Do not publish a manipulated image in a way that falsely suggests the depicted event, person, product, or place is genuine.
- Check copyright, privacy, and Google’s Terms of Service and Prohibited Use Policy before using an output commercially.
- For a commissioned portrait, restoration, advertising image, or product label, obtain human approval before delivery or publication.
A verification checklist before you use the result
Before using a Nano Banana edit as a painting reference, portfolio image, product visual, or public post, compare it with the original and check:
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- Face and identity: eyes, teeth, ears, hairline, expression, age, skin marks, and asymmetry.
- Hands and anatomy: finger count, joints, grip, limbs, reflections, and contact with objects.
- Text: every word, number, date, measurement, URL, price, and punctuation mark.
- Logos and products: brand marks, labels, seams, buttons, packaging, and model details.
- Geometry: straight lines, perspective, repeated patterns, architectural joins, and object scale.
- Light: direction, cast shadows, reflections, highlights, and color temperature.
- Edges: hair, foliage, transparent objects, glasses, fingers, and the boundary between an edited and unedited area.
- Historical accuracy: whether the restoration or colorization has invented details that were not present in the source.
- Disclosure and permission: whether viewers or subjects need to know that the image was changed.
If any detail is consequential, verify it against the original or another reliable source. Nano Banana can produce a convincing image without producing a faithful one.
The Bottom Line
Nano Banana is most useful when you treat it as a conversational visual-development tool. Start with Nano Banana 2 for ordinary edits, choose Lite when speed and efficiency matter, and reserve Pro for complex, high-fidelity work when your account or API access supports it. Upload a clear reference, make one controlled change at a time, preserve intermediate versions, and inspect faces, hands, text, logos, geometry, and lighting before trusting the result.
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