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Learn AI for Noncoders Sep 30, 2025

Google NanoBanana Tutorial: Pro Headshot and Lifestyle Photos

Google Gemini's new AI image generator, NanoBanana, has made it possible to generate professional headshots and lifestyle photos that actually look like you—not like AI robots. In this comprehensive guide, I'll walk you through 11 use cases (plus a bonus!) for creating stunning professional images for your website, LinkedIn, and social media.

Key Takeaways

  • NanoBanana maintains your actual appearance across different outfits, scenery, and poses
  • You can iterate conversationally—change colors, backgrounds, and styles in real-time
  • The tool preserves natural imperfections like wrinkles and body proportions
  • Pro tip: Quality starts to degrade after 7-10 back-and-forths in a single chat
  • Combine real photos with AI editing for the best marketing collateral
  • Create holiday-themed and seasonal content instantly for your personal brand

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    Why NanoBanana Changes Everything

    Traditional professional headshots are expensive and time-consuming. A proper photoshoot can mean:
  • Flying to a different city
  • 8+ hours of shooting
  • Arranging childcare and other logistics
  • 3 days out of your business
  • Getting maybe 100 usable photos

    • NanoBanana lets you scale your marketing collateral at a fraction of the cost and time while maintaining the essence of who you are.

    > "I think the winning combination is going to be doing both in-person photo shoots to have recency of how you look, but don't get it twisted—the biggest influencers are going to be leveraging this tool like you won't imagine."

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    Getting Started

    To access NanoBanana, you have two options:
    • Google Gemini App: Go to gemini.google.com/app
    • AI Studio (recommended): Go to aistudio.google.com and select "Gemini native image"

    All you need is a Gmail account and a photo of yourself to get started.

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    11 Professional Headshot Prompts (Plus Bonus!)

    1. Press-Ready Studio Portrait

    Prompt: "Create a press-ready studio portrait, plain background, dramatic lighting, formal pose, and natural smile."

    Upload a photo of yourself (from a previous headshot or just standing against a wall—make sure it's a solo photo).

    What makes this incredible:

  • It preserves natural imperfections like wrinkles
  • Maintains accurate body proportions (no artificially huge chest or ultra-skinny arms)
  • Hair, makeup, and smile look similar to your original photo

    • Follow-up prompts to try:

  • "Change the color of the blazer to white"
  • "Make the blazer a more luxurious style"
  • "Make the blazer another color that will enhance her skin tone"

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    2. Meet the Founder Photo

    Prompt: "Create a Meet the Founder photo of this woman with a warm professional look."

    Perfect for:

  • Investor presentations
  • Company websites
  • Press releases

    • Follow-up ideas:

  • "Remove the white text on the lower bottom"
  • "Style her in the style of Alexander Wang clothing"
  • "Remove the blazer"

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    3. Website About Section Photo

    Prompt: "Create an About photo of this woman for her website with a warm professional look. She is a business coach."

    By including your profession, the AI understands the context and creates appropriate imagery.

    Customization prompts:

  • "Make the blazer gold, peach, or white with gold accents and matching pants"
  • "Change the hand placement to be more relaxed and natural"
  • "Make the background wall black shiplap to match my office style"
  • "Replace the books and bowl with a bouquet of flowers"

    • Pro tip: If something looks AI-ish, change the hand placement, eye direction, or pose to make it more natural.

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    4. Podcast Studio Headshot

    Prompt: "Create an image of this woman sitting at a podcast microphone, branded backdrop, media-ready shot."

    The AI understands podcast equipment:

  • Proper microphone style (like a Shure SM7B)
  • Appropriate headphones that flatten hair naturally
  • Natural arm creases from bent elbows
  • Professional studio lighting

    • Things you might adjust:

  • Remove the mouse if your hand is on it
  • Remove phone or iPad if not relevant
  • Change the podcast name it generates

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    5. Workshop Leader Photo

    Prompt: "Create an image of this woman leading a workshop, whiteboard with bullet points behind her like she's teaching a class."

    Note: For standing poses, use a standing photo as your source image.

    The AI will:

  • Create relevant whiteboard content (it even spells things correctly!)
  • Add natural shadows
  • Position you appropriately in the teaching context

    • Follow-up: "Make her point at the whiteboard as if she's in motion in the middle of a lesson"

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    6. Gradient Background Enhancement

    Take any headshot you've created and enhance it:

    Prompt: "Add a gradient background to turn this into a professional headshot."

    Follow-up options:

  • "Make the background darker, like a brownish cinnamon with gold hues"
  • "Make the gradient more dramatic"
  • "Add a vignette effect"

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    7. LinkedIn Influencer Headshot

    Prompt: "Create a modern LinkedIn influencer headshot of this woman, high resolution, creative lighting, clean design."

    Customization flow:

  • "Make the suit a color that will accentuate her eyes and skin tone"
  • "Make the suit off-white with a gold accent"
  • "Remove the gold accents on the suit"

    • This creates perfect profile pictures for LinkedIn posts that will grab attention.

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    8. Glamour Black & White Portrait

    Want that powerful Oprah-style portrait? Here's how to get the prompt:
    • Give Gemini a reference photo you admire
    • Ask: "If I wanted to recreate this photo for someone else, what should the prompt be?"
    • Modify the result with your own image

    Example prompt: "Black and white studio portrait of this woman, head and shoulders, looking upwards and slightly to the right, with a soft natural expression. Hair pulled back in a neat bun, wearing an off-the-shoulder dark velvet top and a single dark pearl earring. Soft, even lighting creating gentle shadows, plain light gray background."

    Enhancement: "Enhance the contrast, depth, and shadows"

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    9. Business Casual Three-Quarters Profile

    Prompt: "Headshot of this woman in a business casual outfit, three-fourths angle profile with a soft smile, blurred indoor background, natural daylight, approachable and relatable."

    Perfect for:

  • Adding quotes to images
  • Story-driven marketing content
  • Relatable social media posts

    • Follow-up: "Make the background look more luxurious"

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    10. Minimalist Fashion Portrait

    Prompt: "Create a minimalist fashion portrait of this woman leaning casually against a light-colored wall, wearing a fitted long-sleeve burgundy top tucked into high-waisted dark trousers with a brown suede belt, natural makeup, calm confident expression."

    Customizations:

  • "Make the belt thinner"
  • "Make the outfit classier, old money look, kind of like Ralph Lauren"

    • What's amazing:

  • Maintains realistic body proportions (not size zero)
  • Natural leaning pose with accurate shadows
  • Perfect for lifestyle marketing content

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    11. Laptop Working Shot

    Prompt: "Create an image of this woman working on a laptop in a minimal office, sitting on the edge of a wooden desk. She wears a white sleeveless top, high-waisted cream trousers, nude heels. Large framed artwork of yellow roses on the wall."

    Finding inspiration: If you see a photo style you love, screenshot it and ask AI: "If I wanted to recreate this image, what would the prompt be?"

    Refinements:

  • "Make the desk more rustic"
  • "Make the photo bigger"
  • "Make the roses more gold and add wood floors"

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    BONUS: Holiday & Seasonal Content

    For Halloween/Fall: Upload your image and let Gemini create themed business promos:
  • "Make the suit orange and the background look more like a podcast studio"
  • "Make her dress more like Wednesday" (Wednesday Addams style)
  • "Add text: Be as brave as Wednesday. Start posting on LinkedIn."

    • The possibilities are endless:

  • Fall pictures
  • Holiday-themed content
  • New Year's promotions
  • Any seasonal marketing collateral

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    Pro Tips for Best Results

    Image Quality Tips:

  • Start with a good source photo—solo shots work best
  • Use standing photos for standing prompts, seated for seated
  • Quality degrades after 7-10 iterations—start a new chat if needed
  • Download full-size images for best resolution

    • Prompting Tips:

  • Be specific about colors, styles, and positioning
  • Include your profession for context-appropriate results
  • Ask for prompt suggestions by uploading reference images
  • Use follow-up prompts to refine rather than starting over
  • If stuck, ask ChatGPT how to phrase your prompt

    • What to Watch For:

  • Hand placement that looks unnatural
  • Nose becoming too thin when not smiling
  • Background elements that look fake
  • Text that might need removal

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    The Winning Combination

    The best approach combines:
  • Real professional photoshoots (for authenticity and recency)
  • AI-enhanced variations (for scalability and cost-efficiency)

    • This way, you capture your true essence while having unlimited marketing collateral at your fingertips.

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    Ready to start creating? Connect with me on LinkedIn and message me for the complete list of prompts from this tutorial—so you don't have to write each one down!

    Watch the full tutorial: YouTube Video

    Subscribe to Shanee Moret's channel: YouTube Channel for more AI and LinkedIn marketing strategies.

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