By Nicole Nguyen

Getting a decent shot of my extended family is nearly impossible. Someone inevitably blinks or a background distraction ruins the shot. With recent leaps in AI, could our streak of flawed family photos come to an end?

I was especially eager to try Google's latest Gemini model, which powers a new version of its popular image tool called Nano Banana Pro. Google is also integrating some of the same AI smarts within its Google Photos app.

Adobe, the industry veteran, has new AI capabilities throughout its suite of photo-editing software, as well as a fully AI-enabled app called Firefly. There are now AI tools sprinkled in free popular apps too, including Instagram and the iPhone's Photos app.

In my pursuit of the perfect photo, I tested them all and found that there's a fine line between enhancing and going overboard. The best results were subtle changes. Occasionally, I got transformations so wild -- or horrific -- they could only be dreamed up with AI.

Removing people and things

The first challenge was to make me the only person in front of the Eiffel Tower.

The Magic Eraser in Google Photos, which is available for iOS and Android, automatically outlined the other tourists. All I needed to do was tap to remove. The AI did, however, lop off part of my hair.

Instagram's Restyle tool, powered by Meta AI, had more trouble re-creating the grass after removing the people. The iPhone Clean Up tool did OK with the grass, but couldn't make heads or tails of the tents in the background. And I couldn't get anywhere with Google's Gemini or OpenAI's ChatGPT: Both chatbots distorted my face.

🏆 The winner: Google Photos

Opening closed eyes

Fixing a blink was a much harder task for AI.

ChatGPT turned us into animated characters, even though I didn't ask it to. The Nano Banana Pro within Gemini opened my eyes but inexplicably changed my face, my pose and my shoe strap.

While most models struggle to guess what your eyes look like, Google Photos looks at other photos it has in your stored library. In the mobile app, you can type your edit requests into a text box. I prompted "Open the woman's eyes" and Google Photos recognized the woman as me, then re-created my eyes based on other photos. The results looked completely real. It pays to label photos of yourself and the other people in your life, too.

In other tests, Google Photos' AI editor turned my son's frown into a smile and removed my husband's sunglasses. Text-based photo editing is available for Android users now, and began rolling out to iOS users this month.

🏆 The winner: Once again, Google Photos

Restoring an old photo

There aren't many photos from my parents' childhood in Vietnam, and this snapshot of my dad was marred by a scratch.

Adobe's Firefly Image 5 model, released in October, removed the damage without changing any of the faces. It also colorized the photo. I didn't ask it to, but didn't mind this gratuitous edit.

You can access this model from the Adobe Firefly web app. The first five generations are free, then you can add credits starting at $10 a month. (Adobe is offering unlimited generations through the end of the year.)

Meanwhile, Nano Banana Pro changed most of the children's expressions. The original, lower-powered Nano Banana model turned my dad into something out of a horror film.

🏆 The winner: Adobe Firefly Image 5

Adding holiday cheer

Next, the fun stuff, like adding snow and Santa hats. Given my track record thus far, I was betting on Google or Adobe.

The Google Photos AI editor applied my requested coat to just half of my body. So I switched to Google's full-fledged Nano Banana Pro model that's now inside Adobe Firefly. Yes, you can experiment with different models from Google, OpenAI and others within Adobe's app.

AI edits are best applied one at a time, rather than lumping multiple changes into one prompt. I added red clothing first, then snow, and so on. Another tip: When the subjects are big and in focus, the models preserve faces better.

Nano Banana Pro produced the most real-looking outfit and flurries. The photo looked good, but there's only so far a prompt can go when you want to work on details.

Some kinds of retouching require old-school edits from other Adobe software like Lightroom. I used to get lost in that app but now with AI, there are lots of quick fixes easy enough for non-pros to use. For example, you can whiten teeth with a single tap. This kind of creative control gets pricey, though: Adobe's photo software bundle starts at $20 a month. (You can get a stand-alone Firefly subscription for half the price.)

🏆 The winner: Nano Banana Pro via Adobe Firefly

The best overall?

For high-quality, quick results, Google Photos impressed me most. You can make a wide range of edits by just typing words. It's best at preserving faces while enhancing lighting, removing objects and swapping backgrounds. Though you occasionally run into stuff the AI can't do, like fix hair flyaways.

The open-ended chatbot models are fine for remixing shots with one or two subjects (like, say, putting a rainbow clown wig on your dog) but give them groups and they start to lose focus -- and melt faces.

AI can't fix everything. Even when it did the right thing, I wondered where the line was, and was I stepping over it? Removing a pimple seemed fine. Replacing blinking eyes was borderline. Erasing people made me feel sneaky. Turning my son's meltdown into a smile felt like a downright lie.

Go ahead and use AI to polish your memories. Just don't be surprised when you start to miss the imperfect ones, blinks, bad moods and all.

Write to Nicole Nguyen at nicole.nguyen@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 30, 2025 08:00 ET (13:00 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.