Gemini photo prompts that start with what must not change

Three preserve blocks to paste first

Paste one of these at the top, then add a single change after it.

1. Solo portrait

   Use the uploaded photo as the reference for my face. Keep my face shape, eye shape, nose, lips, skin tone, freckles and hairline as they are, with real skin texture. Keep my glasses if I wear them. Then change only this:

2. Face plus outfit

   Keep my face, skin tone, hairstyle and body proportions exactly as in the uploaded photo, and keep my outfit's colour, fabric and fit. Change only the background, light and camera angle, as follows:

3. Group photo

   Keep each person's face, skin tone, hair, height and place in the group exactly as in the uploaded photo, with the same number of people. Change only the scene around them:

   Use it only when everyone pictured has agreed to the edit.

Photoshoot prompts: portraits and headshots

Each Gemini AI photoshoot prompt names the light, the lens and the backdrop, the three things that make a restyle read as a real shoot.

1. Studio headshot on grey

   Turn my photo into a studio headshot: head and shoulders, soft key light from the front left, a plain mid-grey backdrop, a navy blazer over a white shirt, 85mm lens look, eyes in sharp focus. Keep my face, skin tone and hairline as in my photo.

2. Window-light portrait

   Re-light my photo as a window-light portrait: soft daylight from the right, the far side of my face in gentle shadow, a linen-toned wall, a cream knit sweater, shallow depth of field. Keep my features and skin texture unchanged.

3. Black-and-white character portrait

   Make a black-and-white portrait from my photo: high contrast, one hard light from above left, a black background, film grain, my head turned three-quarters toward the light. Keep my face shape, lines and scars as they are.

4. Golden-hour meadow portrait

   Place me in a meadow at golden hour, the low sun behind me rimming my hair, warm light on my face, tall grass soft in the foreground, waist-up in a 4:5 frame. Keep my face and skin tone as in my photo.

5. Magazine cover with a masthead

   Text in quotes
   Turn my photo into a 4:5 magazine cover: me from the chest up on a deep teal backdrop, the masthead "NORTH" in bold white serif across the top, and "The Quiet Issue" in small caps at the lower left. Keep my face unchanged.

Photo editing prompts that fix rather than restyle

A Gemini prompt for photo editing should say what stays before it says what changes. Google's advice for edits is to be explicit about what to keep exactly the same.

1. Tidy a cluttered background

   Keep me, my pose and my clothes exactly as they are. Replace the cluttered room behind me with a tidy living room in warm neutral tones, lit from a window on the left, and match the light on my face to it.

2. Remove a passer-by

   Remove the person walking behind me on the left and fill the gap with the street that would be there. Keep everything else, including me, the light and the colours, exactly the same.

3. Soften harsh midday light

   Soften the harsh overhead sun in this photo: lift the shadows under my eyes and chin, calm the shine on my forehead, and warm the colour as if shot in late afternoon. Keep my face, clothes and background as they are.

4. Recolour one garment

   Change my white T-shirt to a soft terracotta, keeping its texture, creases, neckline and fit. Leave my face, hair, the background and the lighting exactly as they are in the photo.

5. Extend to a vertical frame

   9:16
   Extend this photo to a 9:16 frame by continuing the scene above and below me, with more sky and more pavement in the same light and perspective. Keep me and everything already in the photo unchanged.

   Set 9:16 in the ratio picker too, so the canvas matches the prompt.

6. Restore and colourise an old print

   Restore this scanned old photo: repair the creases, scratches and faded patches, then colourise it with natural skin tones and the muted colours of 1960s clothing. Keep every face, expression and position as in the original.

   The model invents detail the scan lacks, faces included, so compare the result with the original.

Trending restyles to copy and paste

Trend looks take a few tries, so these are tagged for Nano Banana 2 (34 credits at 1K, 20 at its 512 size). Re-run the keeper on Pro when it has lettering.

1. Old money library portrait

   Restyle my photo as an old-money portrait: a cream cable-knit sweater over a collared shirt, a wood-panelled library, soft lamp light, muted green and camel tones, fine film grain. Keep my face, skin tone and hairline as in my photo.

2. 1940s film noir still

   Turn my photo into a 1940s film noir still: black and white, hard light through window blinds striping my face, a trench coat and fedora, haze, a low camera angle. Keep my face shape and features as they are.

3. Instant-film snapshot

   Nano Banana Pro Text in quotes
   Make my photo an instant-film snapshot from 1998: a square frame with a thick white border, washed-out colour, a hint of flash glare, and "06.98" handwritten in marker on the border. Keep my face unchanged.

4. Collectible figure on a desk

   Turn the person in my photo into a 1/7-scale collectible figure on a clear round base on a wooden desk, with its printed box beside it and its 3D model on a monitor behind. Keep my face, hair and outfit recognisable.

5. Aura portrait

   Give my photo an aura-portrait look: a soft halo of pink, orange and violet light glowing around my head and shoulders on a dark background, bleeding gently into my hair. Keep my face sharp and as it is.

6. K-drama campus still

   Place me on a university campus in autumn like a K-drama still: yellow ginkgo trees, a red-brick building, a school blazer and a canvas tote, soft backlight, a pastel grade. Keep my face, skin tone and hairstyle unchanged.

7. Floodlit cricket portrait

   Put me in a navy cricket jersey with "7" on the chest at the edge of a floodlit stadium at night, crowd lights blurred behind me, a bat on one shoulder, a confident half smile. Keep my face and build as in my photo.

Festival and occasion looks

Swap the bracketed options for what you would actually wear. Each prompt keeps your face and anything you already wear for faith or culture.

1. Diwali balcony

   Place me on a balcony on Diwali night: lit clay diyas along the railing, warm fairy lights, distant fireworks, and me in a maroon silk [saree or kurta] with gold embroidery, candle glow on my face. Keep my face and skin tone as they are.

2. Eid evening courtyard

   An Eid evening portrait: me in a [white kurta or embroidered abaya] in a courtyard hung with brass lanterns, a crescent moon in a deep blue sky, warm lantern light on my face. Keep my face, skin tone and any head covering as in my photo.

3. Lunar New Year doorway

   A Lunar New Year portrait: me in a red silk jacket with gold frog buttons, in a doorway hung with red lanterns and paper cut-outs, holding a red envelope, soft even light. Keep my face and hair unchanged.

4. Garden wedding guest

   Restyle my photo as a garden-wedding guest portrait: [a sage green dress or a charcoal suit], string lights and white flowers soft behind me, warm evening light, three-quarter length. Keep my face, skin tone and proportions as in my photo.

Couple and family prompts

These put other people's faces through the model, so ask each person first, and ask a parent or guardian before you edit a child's photo.

1. Couple under one umbrella

   Using our photo, place the two of us under one clear umbrella on a rainy city street at night, neon signs reflected in the wet pavement, both laughing. Keep both faces, heights and skin tones as in the photo.

2. Family holiday card

   Text in quotes
   Turn our family photo into a 4:5 holiday card: all of us in matching cream jumpers by a decorated fireplace, with "Warm wishes from the [Surname] family" in gold script along the bottom. Keep everyone's face and place as in the photo.

3. Recreate a childhood photo

   2 photos
   The first image is a childhood photo of my sister and me; the second shows us as adults. Recreate the first image with our adult faces from the second: same poses, same sofa, same 1990s room and flash-lit colour.

4. Anniversary portrait

   Make an anniversary portrait of the two people in this photo on a garden bench in soft overcast light, holding hands, dressed in navy and cream, a climbing rose behind them. Keep both faces, their lines and grey hair, with real skin texture.

Multi-photo and grid prompts for Playcut

Two studio extras: several reference photos in one request, and a grid of panels billed as one image. Refer to photos by their upload order.

1. One face from three angles

   4 photos
   The first three images show my face from the front, the left and the right; use all three for my likeness. The fourth image is an outfit. Dress me in it in a white photo studio, full length, soft even light, in a 3:4 frame.

2. Nine-backdrop contact sheet

   3x3 grid
   A 3x3 contact sheet of nine studio portraits of me from the uploaded photo, each with a different backdrop colour and outfit, the same soft front light and head-and-shoulders framing throughout. Keep my face consistent in all nine.

   Pick 3x3 in the grid setting first; the sheet bills as one image.

3. A Saturday in four frames

   2x2 story grid
   A 2x2 story grid of me through one Saturday, from the uploaded photo: coffee by a window, cycling in a park, a bookshop in the afternoon, dinner on a terrace at dusk. Same outfit and face in every panel.