Nano Banana, Seedream, and Flux 2 are the three image models dominating creative workflows in 2026. Each has a distinct prompt syntax and a sweet spot — Nano for fast iteration, Seedream for cinematic realism, Flux 2 for typography and complex composition. This guide breaks down how to prompt each, where each wins, and how to translate a single prompt across all three.
How each model differs at the prompt level
The three models reward fundamentally different prompt structures.
Nano Banana
Nano Banana responds best to short, comma-delimited keyword lists with strong subject anchoring. It is fast (sub-3-second generations on most platforms) and forgiving — even a 10-word prompt will produce usable output. Style cues like cinematic, soft daylight, 35mm carry significant weight.
Seedream v4.5 / v5 Lite
Seedream is a "describe like a director" model. It expects natural-language scene description with explicit camera, lighting, and mood beats. Prompts under 40 words underperform; the model rewards specificity. It is the strongest choice for photo-realistic portraits and product photography in late 2026.
Flux 2
Flux 2 is the only model in this trio that handles legible typography and dense compositional logic reliably. Its prompts should specify position (top-left, foreground, behind subject) and relationships (holding, leaning on, beside). It is slower per generation but pays off for posters, packaging mockups, and multi-element scenes.
Translating a single prompt across all three
Start with a single subject + scene statement, then layer model-specific decorations:
- Nano: subject keywords, style keywords, lighting tags.
- Seedream: full sentences with camera + mood beats.
- Flux 2: spatial relationships + any visible text spelled out in quotes.
Promere's cross-model translation feature handles this rewrite automatically — feed in one prompt, get three model-tuned outputs.
When to choose which model
| Use case | Pick |
|---|---|
| Speed-iterating concepts | Nano Banana |
| Cinematic portrait or product hero | Seedream |
| Anything with readable text or multiple subjects | Flux 2 |
| Tight budget, high volume | Nano Banana |
| Final ad creative needing realism | Seedream |
Takeaway
No single model wins across the board in 2026. The teams getting the most out of image generation run all three in parallel and route each brief to the right one. The bottleneck is no longer model quality — it is prompt translation across models.