Most image edits go wrong in round three, not round one. The first change looks fine, the second is acceptable, and by the third pass the product label has shifted, the face looks slightly different and the background lighting no longer matches. The fix is rarely a better adjective. It is a better structure for the instruction, repeated the same way every round.
This post describes a small, repeatable pattern for focused edits in Nano Banana 2.5: one block that says what to keep, one block that says what to change, and a short review step before the next round. It works with any editor that separates text-to-image from image editing, but the details below follow how the Nano Banana 2.5 page describes its own workflow.
Text-to-image or image editing: decide first
The page separates the two modes clearly. Text-to-image starts from scratch: you describe the subject, setting, composition and style. Image editing starts from an existing photo or design: you upload it and describe both the changes and the people, objects or layout that should stay as they are. You switch between the two above the creation panel.
That distinction matters because the prompt shape is different. A text-to-image prompt is a description. An editing prompt is a diff. If you write an editing prompt as if it were a fresh description, the model has no reason to protect anything in the original.
The pattern: KEEP, CHANGE, SCOPE
Write every editing instruction in three short parts.
- KEEP lists what must not move: the face, the clothing, the pose, the product shape, the label text, the camera angle.
- CHANGE lists the one related set of changes for this round.
- SCOPE says where the change applies, so the edit does not spread into the rest of the frame.
The FAQ on the page uses almost exactly this shape as its own example: "Change the background to a warm studio; keep the face, clothes and pose." It also recommends focusing on a related set of changes at a time, so you can compare and refine results.
KEEP: the woman's face, hairstyle and navy coat; her pose; the camera angle
CHANGE: replace the street background with a warm, softly lit studio
SCOPE: background only; do not alter skin tone or coat colour
TEXT: none
The template is plain text on purpose. You can paste it into the prompt box as-is, and you can store it next to the image file so the next person knows exactly what was asked.
Text inside the image needs its own line
If the image contains words, such as a poster headline, a price tag or a label, treat the text as a separate requirement. The page's guidance is to put the exact wording in quotation marks and specify its language, placement, alignment and hierarchy. For language variants, it suggests reusing a reference with different text. Then check spelling, numbers and layout before publishing.
In the template, that becomes a fourth line:
TEXT: headline "Autumn Market" in English, top centre, largest element;
date line "Nov 8" below it, smaller; keep all other text unchanged
The page's comparison table lists more precise replacement of text, clothing, objects and selected elements, while preserving surrounding details, as one of the differences from Nano Banana 2. That is the kind of edit where a quoted, scoped instruction pays off.
Chaining rounds without drift
Multi-round editing is where structure matters most. The page describes Nano Banana 2.5 as better at preserving previous changes across several editing rounds, while noting that with Nano Banana 2 details "may drift more noticeably between revisions". Even with a model that holds up better, the process still decides how stable a series is.
The loop the page describes is simple: download the result, upload it as a reference in image editing, and describe the next change. Save a draft to retain your prompt and settings. In practice:
- Run round one with KEEP / CHANGE / SCOPE.
- Review the result against the KEEP list, item by item.
- If everything on the KEEP list survived, download it and make it the new reference.
- Copy the KEEP block forward unchanged, and add anything you just changed and now want to protect.
- Write a new CHANGE block for the next round.
Step 4 is the one people skip. If round one changed the background to a studio, round two's KEEP list should now include "the warm studio background". Otherwise round two is free to change it again.
Keeping a character or product consistent across a series
For a series rather than a single edit, the page suggests reusing clear references and specifying the facial features, clothing, product shape, colours and materials to preserve, explaining each reference's role, and describing changes to pose, background or viewpoint separately. It also suggests keeping the core description consistent throughout the series.
That maps neatly onto the same pattern: the KEEP block becomes the series' fixed description, and only the CHANGE block varies per image. If you keep the KEEP block in a text file, every image in the series is generated from the same baseline.
Practical settings
A few details from the page that are useful to know before you start:
| Setting | What the page says |
|---|---|
| Reference formats | JPG, PNG or WEBP; follow the count and size shown in the upload area |
| Resolution | 1K and 2K among the available choices |
| Credits | Depend on version, resolution and image count; the generate button shows the total |
| Drafts | Save a draft to retain the prompt and settings |
| Trial | Free trial credits are available after sign-in |
Start at a lower resolution while you are still testing the edit. Raise it only when the KEEP list survives the round.
A review checklist before the next round
Before you treat a result as the new reference, check:
- every item on the KEEP list is still correct;
- the change stayed inside the SCOPE;
- quoted text is spelled correctly, with correct numbers;
- lighting on the subject still matches the new background;
- the KEEP block for the next round includes this round's change.
Wrapping up
The pattern is not specific to any one model, but it fits the way Nano Banana 2.5 describes its editing mode: separate what stays from what changes, limit each round to a related set of changes, and feed the reviewed result back as the next reference. Keep the KEEP block as a living document, and multi-round edits become much less of a gamble.
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