All groups

Reference roles first, then one paragraph that opens on the register, then a capture line, then any text in quotes.

Nano Banana Pro

Stills that hold the reference and do not look generated.

Prompt instructions

[your subject] in [your setting].

Nano Banana Pro reads full sentences joined into a paragraph.

SubjectSetting

Comma lists of tags work worse than full sentences joined into a paragraph.vendor: Google's Nano Banana Pro prompting tips via Director Chair field notes on image prompting
A ban on something the scene implies summons it. Describe what is there instead.measured: Director Chair field notes on image prompting

Reference roles, one line each, including what not to take from each image (keep the face, do not take the background).
One paragraph of full sentences, never a comma list: the register first (candid, editorial, documentary), then the subject in a physical state doing one thing, the real place, where the camera stands, the light and where it comes from.
A capture line: lens, aperture or depth, grain or none, the grade, the direction of the light.
Text in quotes with its position. Otherwise signs, screens and packaging carry no letters.

Early words weigh most: the register goes in the first sentence.
Positive descriptions beat bans; an exclusion works for what not to take from a reference and for an attribute of a named object.
The same prompt in another ratio drifts; give the approved image back as a reference.

Picks the image model by the job instead of by the hype of the week.

The model keeps the frame you asked for instead of cropping to its favourite portrait.

Soft, directional, real: the most believable light there is.

Own words from Director Chair field notes on image prompting Checked 2026-10-13.