GPT-IMG
The exclusion list is the whole technique
Naming what must not move measurably reduces drift. "Replace the background" on its own is a much weaker instruction than the same sentence followed by "same angle, same scale, same lighting".
GPT-IMGEdit an image without changing the rest
Swap a background, drop an object, restyle one element. The trick is not a better brush, it is naming what must not move, and these models weigh that clause heavily.
Change one thing in a photo and leave the rest alone. Name the edit, name what must stay, and the subject, crop, and lighting come back the way you had them.
Contained EditsBackground SwapsObject RemovalMulti-Round Sessions
150 / 20,000
Image
Upload at least one reference image before generating.
Models that keep an edit contained
Containment is where these models differ most. In our review the same background swap held the crop on GPT Image 2.5 and drifted larger on Nano Banana Pro.
GPT Image 2.5
OpenAI latest image model. Sharper instruction following, cleaner in-image text, up to 4K.
GPT Image 2
Most capable OpenAI model. Supports all quality tiers and up to 4K.
Qwen Image Edit
Edit an existing image by describing the change. Requires a reference image.
Seedream 5.0 Pro
Strong typography and poster layouts. Handles dense in-image text at 1K and 2K.
How to keep an edit contained, round after round
The first four points are the technique and its one hard limit. The last two are what changes once you are editing the same image for the third or fourth time.
GPT-IMG
The frame is redrawn, not patched
The model regenerates the whole image rather than compositing over a region. Composition and detail survive, but the output is a new rendering of your photo, not your original file with a layer applied.
GPT-IMG
So it is the wrong tool for pixel-exact work
If you need the untouched original bytes outside the edited region, such as a legal document, a screenshot, or a scan, use a raster editor with a selection mask instead.
GPT-IMG
One change per run beats three
Three edits in one prompt compete with each other and the weakest one usually loses. Run them as three cheap 1K rounds and you can see which round broke something.
GPT-IMG
Re-state the exclusions on every round
The clause does not carry over from the previous turn. Round four needs the same "same angle, same lighting, same crop" wording that round one had, or drift creeps back in.
GPT-IMG
Branch from a saved version, not forward
When round three is wrong, reopen round two from your history and go again from there. Correcting forward through a long chain is where subjects quietly change shape. Keeping the original in a reference slot helps too.
GPT-IMG
What "the rest" usually covers
Three jobs account for most of these edits: moving a product from a grey sweep to a terracotta wall or a kitchen counter while the angle, the glaze highlights, and the framing stay where they were; taking one object out or putting one in, like clearing a cup off a desk or a stray cable off a wall; and restyling a single element — a shirt colour, a wall finish, a material — without rebuilding the person or the room around it.
Related workflows
Same generator, pointed at a narrower job.
Edit Text in an Image
When the one thing changing is wording, on a sign, a label, a menu, or a poster.
GPT Image 2.5
The default here, and the model that held the subject and the crop through a background swap in our testing.
GPT Image Editor
The general reference-image workspace, for edits broader than a single named change.
Choose Your Plan
Upgrade for larger monthly credits, faster generation, and commercial-ready output.
FAQs
Practical details for this generator page.
Start with contained image edits
Use the prompt panel above with the same account, credits, and history workflow.