Ever wondered how you would look in an old high school yearbook? Google Gemini can make it happen. You upload your selfie, ask Gemini to restyle you as a student from another decade, and get back a portrait that looks like it was pulled straight from a dusty yearbook. Gemini's Nano Banana image model is what keeps your real face while it rebuilds the hair, outfit, lighting, and backdrop of the era around you.
It is a nostalgic photo to share, and it works for any decade you remember. Below are the exact Gemini yearbook prompts to try, from a classic picture-day portrait to a grainy Y2K digicam shot. Copy any one, paste it into Gemini with your selfie, and change the parts in [square brackets] to pick your decade, outfit, or backdrop. For the standard 90s yearbook look, use our vintage 90s yearbook portrait prompt.
How to make a yearbook photo in Gemini
- Open the Gemini app and upload a clear, front-facing selfie in even lighting, framed chest up like a real school portrait.
- Paste one of the prompts below and set the [decade] you want, along with an outfit or hairstyle to match the era.
- Ask for the studio backdrop of that time, a mottled blue-grey for the 90s or a laser-and-stars background for the 80s.
- Generate a few takes and keep the one where the era details and your face both look right.
The classic picture-day portrait
The one everyone has, a plain straight-on picture-day portrait against the mottled studio backdrop that says school photo more than anything.
A classic school picture-day yearbook portrait of [a person] in [a simple collared shirt], keeping the same face and features, posed straight on with a natural smile. Soft studio lighting, a plain mottled grey studio backdrop, true-to-life retro color, gentle film grain. Authentic standard school-photo look, chest-up framing.
The 80s prom portrait
A big-hair 80s prom look with bold saturated colors, a soft vignette, and that dreamy laser-and-stars studio backdrop everyone remembers.
A 1980s prom yearbook portrait of [a person] with big voluminous hair and [a pastel suit], keeping the same face and features. Soft vignette lighting, a classic laser-and-stars studio backdrop, saturated retro colors with the gentle studio softness of a real school photo. Authentic 80s school portrait style, chest-up framing.
The Y2K digicam portrait
The early-2000s take, shot like a cheap digital camera with hard flash, glossy skin, and that unmistakable washed-out Y2K color cast.
A Y2K digital camera portrait of [a person] with a [frosted-tip haircut] and a casual early-2000s outfit, keeping the same face and features. Harsh on-camera flash, glossy highlights, a slightly washed-out color cast, a small timestamp in the corner. Authentic 2000s digicam snapshot look, chest-up framing.
The varsity letterman portrait
The sports-section staple, you in a classic letterman jacket with the proud varsity look that every yearbook devotes a whole page to.
A retro varsity yearbook portrait of [a person] wearing a classic [letterman jacket], keeping the same face and features, with a proud, confident expression. Soft studio lighting, a mottled maroon backdrop, saturated retro school-photo color, gentle film grain. Authentic sports-section yearbook styling, chest-up framing.
The homecoming court portrait
The dressed-up school-dance shot, sash and crown included, the formal portrait every yearbook runs on its homecoming court page.
A retro homecoming court yearbook portrait of [a person] dressed formally with a [sash and crown], keeping the same face and features, posed with a proud smile. Soft warm studio lighting, a decorated school-dance backdrop, saturated retro color, gentle film grain. Authentic homecoming yearbook styling, chest-up framing.
A few extra tips
- Match the hair to the decade, feathered for the 90s and big and teased for the 80s, and add a real era detail like a scrunchie or a collared polo.
- Keep the framing chest up like a real school portrait, and ask for soft focus and grain so it does not read as a clean modern photo.
- Name the exact year or decade in the prompt, since a cue like "1994" or "Y2K" pushes Gemini toward the right backdrop, colors, and film look.
- For a retro film look beyond school photos, try our vintage retro film portrait prompt.
- Marking the end of school? See our graduation prompts article for cap and gown photos.
