So Google had this AI image editor they were testing in secret. Called it "Nano Banana" (because apparently Google's naming department was having a day). Reddit detectives figured out it was Google's before Google even admitted it.

The tool was quietly dominating LMArena's image editing leaderboard for weeks, beating everything from Midjourney to DALL-E. One user on Reddit noted: "It doesn't just blur pixels—it creates smart masks and applies edits that feel natural."

Now everyone has access to it through Gemini, and honestly? While people are making TikToks of their dog as a Renaissance painting, you could be making actual money.

Here's the thing about Nano Banana — it maintains 95% character consistency across edits and delivers accurate results on the first try.

You can literally tell it "make this look more professional" and it knows what that means. No Photoshop skills required.

Which got me thinking... what if you turned this into a business?

Why this order? Product photos and headshots have immediate, obvious value. Everyone can see bad photos. Social media requires more relationship building. Stock photo customization needs B2B sales skills. Educational graphics serve a smaller market. Property staging has longer sales cycles.

You know those Amazon listings with terrible photos? The ones that look like they were taken in someone's basement with a 2005 flip phone? Those sellers are leaving money on the table.

What you'd do: Take their sad product photos and transform them into something that actually makes people want to buy. "Make this phone case photo look professional with clean white background and studio lighting."

Who's desperate for this: Literally every small Amazon seller, Etsy shop owner, and Shopify store that's not making millions yet. According to industry data, businesses can see up to 34% increases in conversions when they upgrade from amateur to professional-quality product photos.

The beautiful part: You can charge $15-25 per photo for something that takes you 30 seconds. Compare that to traditional photo editing services that charge $0.20 to $5 per image and take hours to complete.

Half of LinkedIn looks like a police lineup. Harsh lighting, terrible backgrounds, photos that scream "I took this in my car."

What you'd do: Transform their basic selfies into headshots that don't make hiring managers cringe. "Make this look like a professional headshot with office background."

Target market: Job seekers, consultants, anyone who realized their current photo is sabotaging their career.

Pricing sweet spot: $25-50 per headshot. Professional headshots normally cost $200-400, so you're offering 80% savings while delivering comparable quality in minutes instead of weeks.

Small business owners know they need better social content. They just don't know how to make their basic photos look... not basic.

Your service: Take their phone photos and make them Instagram-worthy. Change backgrounds, improve lighting, add that mysterious quality that makes people double-tap.

Example prompt: "Make this coffee shop photo look trendy and atmospheric with warm lighting."

Who's buying: Local businesses, personal brands, anyone whose Instagram currently looks like it was curated by a bot.

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Generic stock photos are... generic. Companies want images that actually relate to their business, not just "woman pointing at laptop in excitement."

The opportunity: Take stock photos and customize them. Change the laptop screen to show their software. Swap the generic office for their industry. Make the people look like their actual customers.

Your pitch: "I'll make stock photos that actually look like they belong to your business."

Who pays for this: SaaS companies, agencies, anyone tired of using the same stock photos as everyone else.

Online course creators need custom graphics to explain concepts. Currently they're either using terrible PowerPoint clipart or paying designers $100+ per graphic.

What you'd create: Educational diagrams, process illustrations, concept visualizations. "Show a flowchart of how customer data moves through this software system."

Market: Course creators, trainers, anyone who needs to explain complex stuff visually.

The math: According to freelance editing rate surveys, course creators are used to paying $50-100 per custom graphic and waiting days for delivery. You could charge $30 and deliver in hours, not days.

Empty houses don't sell. But hiring a staging company costs $3,000-5,000. Enter: you with Nano Banana.

What you'd do: Take photos of empty rooms and digitally furnish them. "Fill this living room with modern furniture, add some plants, make it look like a place humans actually live."

Who needs this: Real estate agents who are tired of losing listings because their properties look like abandoned warehouses.

Some agents are already paying $100-200 per room for digital staging services. According to industry pricing data, traditional staging costs $3,000-5,000 per property. You could charge $50 per room and still be massively undercutting the competition.

New to this? Start with product photos. They're the easiest to sell (bad photos are obvious), fastest to deliver, and have the clearest ROI for clients. Once you nail that, expand to headshots, then social media content.

Pick your lane. Don't try to be everything to everyone. Master one type of edit first.

Start local. Walk into 5 businesses this week and offer to improve their worst photo for free. When they see the before/after, they'll ask about pricing.

Build a simple portfolio. Before/after shots are your best friend. Nothing sells this service like seeing the transformation.

Price for speed, not just quality. Your advantage isn't just good results — it's getting good results in minutes, not days.

Tools you actually need:

Most of these "businesses" are just you + Nano Banana + decent prompting skills. But in a world where freelance photo editors charge $25-150 per hour and good visuals can make or break a business, that's enough.

Plot twist: You don't need to be an artist. You just need to be the person who figured out how to talk to the AI properly.

Your Weekend Mission

Pick one idea from this list. Find 3 businesses that clearly need help (check their websites — you'll find them). Offer to fix their worst photo for free.

When they see what's possible, they'll ask about pricing.

That's when you realize you're not just playing with AI anymore — you're running a business.

Catch you in the lab,
-San