Disclaimer: This is an independent creative test made with AI, for demonstration only. It isn't an ad for any brand shown or named, and isn't affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by them. All trademarks belong to their owners
Nano Banana Pro - skincare model shots in a lily pond from a moodboard
Four skincare model shots in a lily pond, each with a different woman, built from one moodboard
Tested by Nouamane Benbrahim
Ever tried turning a Pinterest moodboard into real campaign shots and ended up with something that only kind of looks like it?
I had a board full of lily ponds: a woman floating face-up in a black dress, another one lying back in a wooden boat, a cucumber eye close-up, even a frog holding up a lotus leaf. I wanted to put a real cleanser in that world, so I used the Youth to the People superfood cleanser. They're not a client, I just borrowed their bottle for the test.
Here's my exact process.
1. Have Claude read the moodboard back to you
First, I attach the moodboard and say "study it and understand the aesthetic then repeat to me what you learned". I don't make a single image until I've read that answer.
This is where you find out if you're both seeing the same board. Mine came back with stuff I'd felt but never put into words. Almost every frame is built out of circles: lily pads, cucumber slices, a wooden bowl, a single water droplet. The camera looks down in almost every shot. Everything is wet. Nobody smiles. And the clothes are black with a bit of gold, so all the greens glow.
Those notes went into every prompt after that.
2. Ask for range up front
Then I said "I want 5 people shots and 5 product shots, give me range". That one line shaped the whole shot list. Claude came back with a different moment and a different camera distance for each one: a woman floating, a woman in a boat, a splash at the water's edge, and a super tight eye close-up.
This post is about the people shots.
3. Write every woman out in full
Since I asked for range, every shot has a different woman. That means there's no face reference to lean on, so each prompt spells her out completely: her age, her hair, her eyes, bare skin, and her skin tone with its undertone, like "deep brown skin with a warm red-copper undertone".
I also gave her something to do with the bottle. Here she holds it loosely against her collarbone, which keeps the label facing up at the camera.
Exact prompt
Create a new photorealistic image. This is a photograph taken in a still lily pond from the start — not a composite. Unified lighting across subject and environment. The product is the exact bottle from the first reference: clear round glass pump bottle, white pump, translucent pale lime-green gel, black label text and monogram — do NOT redesign it. THE VIBE: An Ophelia-like calm — a woman floating in a dark pond among lily pads, utterly at peace, skin cool and luminous. IDENTITY LOCK: A woman in her late twenties with deep brown skin with a warm red-copper undertone, close-cropped natural black hair wet against her head, strong cheekbones, full lips, dark brown eyes, bare skin, no visible makeup, small gold hoop earrings. THE SUBJECT: She floats face-up, eyes closed, head tilted slightly to one side, wearing a draped black satin gown that spreads darkly in the water. One hand rests on her collarbone loosely holding the bottle, the other drifts open among the pads. THE FACE: Natural skin texture, no airbrushing, no plastic or waxy skin; luminous sheen on cheekbones and nose bridge from water beads, warmth in the shadows. THE SETTING: Near-black still water crowded with sage and jade lily pads; a white water lily with a yellow centre floats near her temple. THE LIGHT: Soft overcast light from above, gentle specular on wet skin and satin, muted desaturated green-black grade. THE KEY DETAILS: Water droplets on her skin and the bottle, lily pads partially overlapping her gown. THE MOOD: Serene, editorial, dreamlike. THE COMPOSITION: High overhead angle, her body diagonal through the frame, face in the upper third, lily pads cropping the edges. THE CAMERA: Cinematic editorial, 50mm, focus on her face and the bottle, gentle falloff; Deakins naturalism, subtle grain. THE LABEL: Label legible, fine print soft.
4. Put her somewhere the moodboard would
For the boat shot she leans back with her eyes closed, one hand trailing in the water and the bottle upright in her lap. The pink lotuses come straight off the moodboard, and they're the only bright color in the frame. I asked for a high angle looking down, with open dark water at the top.
Exact prompt
Create a new photorealistic image. This is a photograph taken on a lotus pond from the start — not a composite. Unified lighting across subject and environment. The product is the exact bottle from the first reference: clear round glass pump bottle, white pump, translucent pale lime-green gel, black label text and monogram — do NOT redesign it. THE VIBE: Sculptural calm — a woman drifting in a narrow wooden boat through a lotus pond, regal and meditative. IDENTITY LOCK: A woman in her thirties with light skin with a golden neutral undertone, sleek jet-black hair pulled into a low bun, dark brown almond eyes, bare skin with a dewy finish, gold drop earrings. THE SUBJECT: She reclines in the boat, head tilted back, eyes closed, one arm draped over the gunwale, fingertips trailing in the water. She wears a voluminous black textured high-neck dress with sculptural sleeves. In her lap her other hand holds the bottle upright. THE FACE: Natural skin texture, no airbrushing, soft sheen on cheekbones, faint golden warmth, no rosy blush. THE SETTING: A narrow varnished dark wooden rowing boat on dark blue-grey still water, surrounded by dense lily pads and several open magenta-pink lotus blossoms. THE LIGHT: Soft overcast daylight from above, gentle specular on the boat's wood and the glass, muted cool grade with the pink lotuses as accents. THE KEY DETAILS: Ripples from her trailing fingers, water beads on the bottle, a single pink lotus near her shoulder. THE MOOD: Fashion editorial meets skincare campaign — elegant, still. THE COMPOSITION: High angle looking down, the boat entering diagonally from lower right, open dark water in the upper frame as negative space. THE CAMERA: Cinematic editorial, 35mm, deep-ish focus, Deakins naturalism, subtle grain. THE LABEL: Label legible, fine print soft.
5. Make one shot with no product photo
The eye close-up is the only shot in the set with nothing attached. It's her eye, two cucumber slices and the edge of a leaf, plus a small bead of green gel on her cheekbone so it still ties back to the cleanser. I asked for pores, peach fuzz, separate lashes and tiny water droplets so her skin doesn't come out airbrushed.
Exact prompt
Create a new photorealistic image. THE VIBE: Hydration made visible — an intimate, almost tactile macro of fresh wet skin, cool and green. IDENTITY LOCK: A woman in her twenties with light-medium skin with a neutral-olive undertone, light hazel-green eyes, dark brown brows, bare skin, no makeup. THE SUBJECT: Extreme close-up of one open eye and upper cheek, gaze just off-camera, calm. A thick slice of fresh cucumber rests over the brow edge at top of frame and another over the lower cheek, and the curved edge of a green lotus leaf enters from the side. THE FACE: Visible pores with subtle variation, fine peach fuzz, dewy sheen on the cheekbone, individual lashes with natural curl, iris with natural green-hazel gradient and soft catchlight; skin beaded with tiny water droplets. No airbrushing, no plastic skin. THE SETTING: Nothing but skin, cucumber, leaf and water. THE LIGHT: Soft diffused daylight from the front-left, crisp specular points on each droplet, cucumber flesh glowing translucent; muted cool-green grade. THE KEY DETAILS: The cucumber's pale seeds and wet flesh, a small bead of translucent pale green gel on the cheekbone. THE MOOD: Clean beauty campaign macro — sensorial, fresh. THE COMPOSITION: Eye on the right-third line, cucumber rounds framing top and bottom as repeating circles. THE CAMERA: Macro lens, shallow depth of field, focus on the iris and lashes, subtle grain.
6. Check every shot against the board
And listen, it's not perfect. All four came out on the first try, but two things bug me:
- The splash shot broke the mood. The prompt said "joyful", so she's laughing with her eyes shut. Every face on my moodboard is calm, and next to the other three she sticks out. The green foam on her jaw also reads a bit like mud.
- The floating shot has a dark blob in the bottom right corner. It crops out easily, but I only caught it on a second look.
Exact prompt
Create a new photorealistic image. This is a photograph taken at the edge of a lily pond from the start — not a composite. Unified lighting across subject and environment. The product is the exact bottle from the first reference: clear round glass pump bottle, white pump, translucent pale lime-green gel, black label text and monogram — do NOT redesign it. THE VIBE: The cleansing moment itself — a splash of cool pond water, a gasp of freshness, joyful and alive. IDENTITY LOCK: A woman in her twenties with medium tan skin with a warm golden undertone, dark wavy brown hair slicked back wet, dark brown eyes, freckles across her nose, bare skin. THE SUBJECT: Kneeling at the water's edge, leaning forward, eyes closed, she splashes water up onto her face with both cupped hands; droplets explode off her cheeks and chin. A light layer of pale green foam lingers along her jawline. Bare shoulders, a black ribbed tank top. THE FACE: Natural skin texture, visible pores, water sheeting across the skin, no airbrushing, no plastic skin. THE SETTING: A mossy stone pond edge, lily pads crowding the olive water behind her. The bottle stands on the wet stone in the foreground, softly out of focus. THE LIGHT: Soft overcast daylight from the side, droplets frozen with bright specular highlights, muted green grade. THE KEY DETAILS: A crown of flying droplets, foam bubbles, wet stone. THE MOOD: Energetic, fresh, candid within an editorial world. THE COMPOSITION: Eye-level close-medium shot, her face in the upper-centre, the bottle in the lower-left foreground as an occluding layer. THE CAMERA: Cinematic, 85mm, fast shutter freezing water, shallow depth of field, subtle grain.
Why it works
The read-back gave me the rules of the shoot before I wrote a single prompt: circles, high angles, wet skin, calm faces, black and gold. Every prompt carried those, so four different women in four different spots still feel like one shoot. The splash is where the prompt asked for joy instead of calm, and it's the one shot I'd redo.
Your turn: grab a moodboard you love and ask Claude to tell you what it sees before you make anything.
And if you're tired of pasting the same notes into every prompt, Emero remembers your look and writes the prompts for you, at cost.
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