Best Nano Banana Pro Prompts for LinkedIn Headshots

Published: July 25, 2026

Most people need a professional headshot and never get around to booking one. Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image) can take a decent phone photo of you and return something close to a studio session, as long as you describe what a studio session involves: a lens, a light, a backdrop, a wardrobe.

This guide collects the prompts for that job. LinkedIn and CV headshots, team portraits that match each other, and three style directions: corporate, creative and outdoor. Every prompt below leads with an instruction to preserve your face rather than redesign it, and the last two sections cover how to attach your own photo and where the technique runs out of road.

For the wider library across all eight use cases, start with the complete Nano Banana Pro prompt guide.

The best Nano Banana Pro prompt for a professional headshot

The prompt that produces the most reliable professional headshot follows four blocks in this order: preserve the subject's identity, set the wardrobe, describe the lighting scheme, then name the camera and lens. Attach your own photo as a reference and generate at 4:5 in 4K. The identity instruction has to come first — Nano Banana Pro weights the opening of a prompt heavily, and burying it under wardrobe detail is the most common reason a generated face drifts.

Settings: 4:5 · 4K · attach your photo as a reference

4:5 gives you head and shoulders with room for a blazer line, which is what LinkedIn and CV templates crop best. 4K holds up when a recruiter zooms in on skin and fabric detail.

1Preserve the facial identity of the person in the attached image exactly: bone structure, eye shape and spacing, nose, mouth, hairline, skin tone and any distinguishing marks. Do not slim, age, or otherwise alter the face.
2
3Wardrobe: A well-fitted navy blazer over a plain white shirt, top button open, no tie.
4
5Setting: Seamless mid-gray studio backdrop, evenly lit, with the subject separated cleanly from it.
6
7Lighting: Large softbox as key light at 45 degrees and slightly above eye level, producing soft directional modeling on the face. Bounced fill on the shadow side at low intensity. Subtle hair light for separation.
8
9Camera: Sony A7R V with a 90mm lens at f/2.8, framed head and shoulders, camera at eye level, subject facing the lens with a relaxed, closed-mouth smile.
10
11Critical: Authentic skin texture with visible pores and fine lines. No airbrushing or beauty-filter smoothing. Natural catchlights in both eyes. Sharp focus on the near eye.
12
13Output: Photorealistic corporate headshot.

Change the wardrobe and the backdrop color and this single prompt covers most of what people need.

Which settings to use for headshots

Use 4:5 at 4K for a LinkedIn or CV headshot, 1:1 for anything that will render inside a circular avatar, and 2:3 when you want a half or full-body portrait. As of July 25, 2026, ilisai's image form offers ten aspect ratios — 1:1, 3:4, 4:3, 16:9, 9:16, 21:9, 3:2, 2:3, 5:4 and 4:5 — but portraits realistically live in four of them.

On quality: generate drafts at 1K while you iterate on wardrobe and lighting, then rerun the version you like at 4K. Faces are the least forgiving subject in image generation, and the resolution difference shows in the eyes and skin. On the Free plan the included credits cover 1K runs on the images page; 2K and 4K renders draw from your credit wallet.

The best Nano Banana Pro prompts for men

For a men's professional headshot, the variables that change the result are wardrobe formality, facial hair and crop. The softbox-at-45-degrees setup below carries across all of them. Describe facial hair explicitly if your reference photo has it, otherwise the model sometimes tidies a beard into stubble.

Business formal

Settings: 4:5 · 4K · attach your photo as a reference

1Preserve the facial identity of the person in the attached image exactly, including beard shape, density and graying if present. Do not alter age, weight or bone structure.
2
3Wardrobe: Charcoal two-piece suit, crisp white shirt, burgundy knitted tie, tie knot neat and centered.
4
5Setting: Dark graphite studio backdrop with a soft radial falloff, darker at the edges.
6
7Lighting: Key softbox at 45 degrees camera left, slightly above eye level. Low fill camera right. Rim light behind the subject's right shoulder for separation from the dark background.
8
9Camera: Canon R5 with an 85mm lens at f/2, head and shoulders, eye-level, square to the camera, confident and neutral expression.
10
11Critical: Real skin texture with visible pores. Individual beard hairs resolved, not blurred into a mass. No smoothing filters.
12
13Output: Photorealistic executive portrait.

Business casual

Settings: 4:5 or 1:1 · 4K · attach your photo as a reference

Use 1:1 if the photo is destined for a circular avatar. The tighter crop keeps the face readable once the platform masks the corners.

1Preserve the facial identity of the person in the attached image exactly. Keep hairstyle, facial hair and skin tone unchanged.
2
3Wardrobe: Heather-gray merino crewneck sweater over a white t-shirt. Relaxed, modern, no jacket.
4
5Setting: Bright office interior, out of focus, with warm wood and glass visible behind the subject.
6
7Lighting: Large window light from camera left as key, white wall bouncing soft fill from the right. Natural daylight balance.
8
9Camera: 85mm lens at f/1.8, shallow depth of field so the background falls away, subject slightly turned with shoulders at a three-quarter angle, head toward the lens, genuine relaxed smile.
10
11Critical: Natural skin texture and realistic catchlights. Background blur must look optical, not painted.
12
13Output: Photorealistic business-casual headshot.

Nano Banana Pro headshot prompts for women

The same structure applies. What these two prompts add is hair detail — texture, volume, and individual strands including flyaways — which is where an over-smoothed portrait gives itself away first. The skin-texture line runs through every prompt in this guide, the men's included, because the model smooths by default.

Business formal

Settings: 4:5 · 4K · attach your photo as a reference

1Preserve the facial identity of the person in the attached image exactly: features, skin tone, hairstyle and hair texture. Do not slim the face, change the nose, or alter apparent age.
2
3Wardrobe: Tailored ivory blazer over a black silk shell top. Simple, minimal jewelry.
4
5Setting: Seamless warm-gray studio backdrop.
6
7Lighting: Beauty dish as key light, positioned slightly above and in front of the subject for even, flattering light across the face. Reflector below the chin to open the shadows. Soft separation light on the background.
8
9Camera: Nikon Z8 with a 105mm lens at f/2.8, head and shoulders, eye-level, shoulders angled slightly away from the camera with the head turned back toward it.
10
11Critical: Authentic skin texture with visible pores and fine lines. No beauty-filter retouching, no plastic smoothing. Hair strands individually resolved, including flyaways.
12
13Output: Photorealistic professional headshot.

Approachable and modern

Settings: 4:5 · 4K · attach your photo as a reference

1Preserve the facial identity of the person in the attached image exactly, including hair texture and volume.
2
3Wardrobe: Rust-colored fine-knit top, understated and warm.
4
5Setting: Softly blurred interior with plants and a pale wall, suggesting a bright studio or co-working space.
6
7Lighting: Diffused north-facing window light from camera right, gentle wrap onto the shadow side, no hard edges anywhere on the face.
8
9Camera: 85mm lens at f/2, head and shoulders, slight downward tilt of the chin, warm open smile with eyes engaged.
10
11Critical: Skin texture preserved. Color palette warm but not orange. Natural, unforced expression.
12
13Output: Photorealistic approachable headshot.

How to generate matching team photos

To make a team page look like one photo shoot, run each person separately and keep an identical block of text describing backdrop, lighting, lens and crop, changing only the identity reference and the wardrobe line. As of July 25, 2026, Nano Banana Pro has no memory between generations: consistency comes from repeating the specification; asking it to match a previous image does nothing.

Settings: 4:5 · 4K · attach each person's photo as a reference

Generate the whole team at the same aspect ratio and quality. A single portrait at a different ratio will break the grid on your about page.

1Preserve the facial identity of the person in the attached image exactly. Do not alter features, skin tone, age or build.
2
3HOUSE STYLE — keep every element below identical across the series:
4Backdrop: seamless cool-gray studio paper, evenly lit, no vignette.
5Lighting: key softbox at 45 degrees camera left at eye level, fill card camera right at 1:4 ratio, hair light from behind camera right.
6Camera: 85mm lens at f/2.8, head and shoulders, camera at eye level, subject square to the lens.
7Crop: top of frame two finger-widths above the head, bottom of frame at mid-chest.
8Color: neutral white balance, matched exposure.
9
10WARDROBE — the only element that varies: [dark green blazer over a white shirt].
11
12Critical: Authentic skin texture, no retouching. Consistent contrast and color so this image sits alongside others from the same series.
13
14Output: Photorealistic corporate headshot, part of a matched team series.

Swap the bracketed wardrobe line per person and leave everything else untouched. If a colleague's result comes back lighter or warmer than the rest, regenerate it. A fresh run against the same specification lands closer than a corrective follow-up prompt.

Three portrait styles: corporate, creative and outdoor

Corporate portraits need a controlled backdrop and neutral color. Creative ones need a color idea and directional light; outdoor ones need a time of day and a background that falls away. Below, one prompt each, all built on the same identity-preservation opening.

Creative studio portrait

Settings: 4:5 or 3:4 · 4K · attach your photo as a reference

Colored gels read strongly at 4K. Generate a 1K draft first to check the color is not overwhelming the face.

1Preserve the facial identity of the person in the attached image exactly. Do not alter features or skin tone.
2
3Wardrobe: Plain black roll-neck.
4
5Setting: Deep teal painted backdrop.
6
7Lighting: Single large key light camera left creating defined shadow on the far side of the face. Warm amber gel on a rim light behind the subject, separating the silhouette from the teal background. Deliberate contrast — this is a moody editorial portrait, not a corporate one.
8
9Camera: 85mm lens at f/1.8, tight head-and-shoulders crop, subject in three-quarter profile looking into the lens, serious composed expression.
10
11Critical: Retain full skin texture and detail in the shadow side. Color grading rich but the skin still reads as natural.
12
13Output: Photorealistic editorial portrait.

Outdoor natural-light portrait

Settings: 4:5 or 2:3 · 4K · attach your photo as a reference

1Preserve the facial identity of the person in the attached image exactly.
2
3Wardrobe: Light-blue denim shirt, sleeves rolled.
4
5Setting: Outdoors in a city park, late afternoon. Trees and warm light in the far background, completely out of focus.
6
7Lighting: Golden-hour backlight behind the subject creating a warm rim on the hair and shoulders, with soft bounced light on the face so it stays properly exposed. No harsh shadows on the face.
8
9Camera: 135mm lens at f/2, compressed background, half-body framing, subject standing relaxed with hands in pockets, natural laugh.
10
11Critical: The rim light must be warm without blowing out the highlights. Realistic skin tone and natural skin texture under mixed light. Bokeh optical, not artificial.
12
13Output: Photorealistic outdoor lifestyle portrait.

Environmental portrait at your workplace

Settings: 2:3 · 4K · attach your photo as a reference

1Preserve the facial identity of the person in the attached image exactly.
2
3Wardrobe: Dark gray shirt, no jacket, sleeves pushed up.
4
5Setting: A working architecture studio — drawing tables, models and rolls of paper visible but softly out of focus behind the subject.
6
7Lighting: Mixed available light, large windows camera right, with practical lamps warm in the background. Realistic, not studio-perfect.
8
9Camera: 35mm lens at f/2.8, three-quarter body framing with the environment readable around the subject, standing and leaning lightly against a table, direct engaged gaze.
10
11Critical: The environment must look genuinely used, not staged. Skin texture natural under mixed color temperature.
12
13Output: Photorealistic environmental portrait.

Using your own photo as a reference

Attach up to four reference images per generation, in JPEG, PNG or WebP, at up to 10 MB each. More angles of the same person help: a straight-on shot plus a three-quarter angle holds identity noticeably better than either frame alone.

What makes a reference photo work:

• Sharp and well lit. A slightly boring photo taken near a window beats an interesting one shot in a dim bar.
• Face unobstructed. No sunglasses, no hand across the chin, no hard shadow cutting the face in half.
• Close to the camera angle you want. A reference shot from below tends to carry that perspective into the result.
• One person per reference. Crop group photos down before uploading.

Two habits improve the output more than any wording change. Put the identity instruction in the first line, before wardrobe or lighting. And when you are editing a photo you already have, keep its original aspect ratio, or you will get an unexpected crop through the top of the head.

For where to run all of this without an API key, see running Nano Banana Pro prompts for free.

What to avoid

Nano Banana Pro reconstructs a face; it does not photograph one. The result resembles you strongly without matching you feature for feature. Fine details drift between runs — the exact set of the eyes, a mole, the shape of a tooth. Generate several and pick the closest; the first result is rarely the one you keep.

Beyond that:

• Do not ask it to change ethnicity, body shape, age or skin tone. Setting aside that it is the wrong thing to do with a real person's photo, it defeats the purpose: a headshot exists so people recognize you when you walk in.
• Do not generate credentials you do not hold. Medical scrubs, uniforms, lab coats, institutional badges and company logos on clothing all render convincingly and all misrepresent you.
• Do not skip the skin-texture instruction. Without it, output drifts toward the smoothed, waxy look that reads as artificial immediately.
• Do not stack contradictory directions. "Dramatic shadows" and "even flattering light" in the same prompt produce a muddle. Pick one.
• Check any rendered text. Nano Banana Pro handles text inside images well, but a name badge or lanyard in the background still deserves a proofread before you publish.
• Check the policy where you are posting it. Some employers and professional platforms have their own rules about AI-generated profile photos.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Nano Banana Pro prompt for a professional headshot?

The one at the top of this guide. Its structure matters more than its exact wording: identity preservation first, then wardrobe, lighting, camera and a skin-texture instruction, generated at 4:5 in 4K with your own photo attached as a reference.

Do these prompts work for men and women?

Yes — the lighting and camera blocks are identical. What changes between the sections above is wardrobe, crop and a couple of detail instructions: beard shape and density in the men's prompts, hair texture, volume and flyaway strands in the women's. The skin-texture line is in every prompt here, because the model over-smooths whoever is in front of it.

Will the result look exactly like me?

Close, not exact. Nano Banana Pro preserves identity well enough that colleagues recognize you immediately, while fine details shift between generations. Attaching two or three reference angles and generating a handful of variations gets you the closest match.

How much does a Nano Banana Pro headshot cost on ilisai?

As of July 25, 2026, generation is priced per image: 30 credits at 1K, 45 at 2K and 80 at 4K (1 credit = €0.01). The Free plan includes 400 credits per calendar month and asks for no card — you sign in with a Google or Microsoft account. Iterate at 1K on those included credits; 2K and 4K renders draw from your credit wallet, which you top up as you go.

Can I generate headshots from a photo I already have?

Yes. That is the intended workflow: attach your photo as a reference, keep its original aspect ratio when you are editing an existing shot, and lead the prompt with the identity-preservation line.

Do the prompts have to be in English?

No. Nano Banana Pro handles Spanish, French and other languages with comparable results. Precision matters far more than the language you write in.