How to Write Midjourney Prompts (Basics)

Are you struggling to come up with new ideas for your AI art or even just getting started? Or are you finding that your current prompts aren’t generating the type of images you’re looking for? 

I’m here to guide you through my process of creating effective Midjourney prompts that help you create stunning works of art (that you can even sell!).

But why do prompts matter? 

Great Midjourney prompts are the secret sauce to creating consistent images that you can use or sell for passive income. Think of them as the GPS that guides you through a creative journey, helping you arrive at your destination with a masterpiece in hand. 

Looking for a community to help you create AI masterpieces? Check out my friends at The Women of AI!

With good prompts, you can create art that is not only visually stunning but also has a purpose and a story to tell. And let’s face it, consistent sellable art means consistent passive income. 

So, if you want to build a thriving art business, it all starts with crafting great Midjourney prompts that will guide you towards creating stunning art that your audience will love.

What is a Midjourney Prompt?

A Midjourney prompt is a set of written instructions or guidelines that inspire the creative process of generating an image using AI. 

It can be as simple as a single word like “dog”. Or it can be as complex as this prompt that generates an image of a girl:

girl stitting, girl close up pose, girl is looking down, girl is having long hair, she is smiling, she is wearing green top, saturated plain colors, american scene matte painting, matte drawing, ultra detailed, by artgerm and skottie young, anime girl character –niji 5 –upbeta –v 4

Simple prompts can generate incredible images, although the outputs are unpredictable because you have left much of the creativity for AI to determine. 

Very specific and lengthy prompts can narrow in on the look and feel of the art or image.  These prompts take some practice because sometimes providing lots of descriptive words can create a confused looking image.

How To Create a Midjourney Prompt?

Ok, so I’m assuming you have already created an account with Midjourney and Discord to start creating – if not, here is a quick start guide.

Now the process for creating depends on whether you have an idea of what you want to create or not. 

You Have An Idea of What You Want

Let’s say you have an idea of what you want to create…

One strategy is to browse the Explore section of Midjourney and look for prompts that catch your eye. You can use keywords to search for prompts related to specific themes or subjects that interest you, such as “nature”, “futuristic”, or “abstract”. By exploring different prompts, you may stumble upon something that inspires you and sparks your imagination.

Another strategy is to think about the kind of mood or feeling you want to convey with your artwork, and use that as a starting point for your prompt. That’s right, you don’t even need a subject to start creating!

For example, if you want to create a piece with a dreamy, ethereal quality, you could enter a prompt like “floating in clouds” or “lost in a hazy mist”. This can help you narrow down your focus and generate more specific and targeted results.

How to Explore in Midjourney

Click on “Explore” in the left column. 

In the top text bar, type in a keyword of what you are wanting to create. 

You can click on the tab on top right to toggle between similarity or advanced for different search views. The “advanced” search just allows you to use filters to select new, hot, top starred, or favourited work.  You can also filter to show grids or upscales.

What’s a grid?

Grids are the four images that are generated based on the prompt entered by the user. These images are presented in a grid-like format and are meant to provide the user with multiple options and variations to choose from when creating their AI-generated artwork.

What’s upscale?

Upscaling is a technique used in image processing and editing that involves increasing the resolution of an image to make it appear sharper and more detailed. Upscaling prepares your AI for it to be used in your next project.

Now you can scroll through the artwork that is presented to you to see what resembles the look you are going for.

If you find something you like, you can select the menu on the image and choose to copy the full command or the prompt. The difference between command and prompt is that the command includes any upscaling commands. While the prompt is just the basic prompt that was initially used.

Now you can paste this command into Discord and change the prompt to suit your needs.

You Have No Clue What to Create in Midjourney

Having a creative block? It happens to all of us!

You can try using the explore feature above that we talked about. 

Another option is to simply play around with different prompts and have fun exploring the endless possibilities. Try entering random words or phrases that come to mind and see what kind of results you get. You might be surprised by the unexpected and interesting images that Midjourney generates.

My passion is generating realistic images to use for blog posts, social media, ebook covers and more. Midjourney can be a great tool to help you do just that. By exploring different prompts and experimenting with different settings, you can generate a wide variety of images that are sure to capture your audience’s attention.

To help get you started, I have created a table of the parameters you want to use in your prompts. Consider factors like style, medium, camera lens, angle, scenery, aspect ratio, and more. By carefully selecting and tweaking these parameters, you can create images that are tailored to your specific needs and preferences.

Parameter	Examples
Description/Object	A dog, a sunset, a cityscape, a person, a flower, a building, etc.
Background	Sky, grass, water, mountains, trees, urban, abstract, etc.
Photography Type	portrait photography, photojournalism, fashion photography, sports photography, still life photography, editorial photography, architectural photography, landscape photography, food photography, vintage photography, wildlife photography, vogue photography, wedding photography, street photography
Style of…	Unsplash, national geographic etc.
Famous Photographer Styles	Annie Leibovitz style, Peter Lik style, Akos Major, Albert Watson, Alfred Cheney Johnston, Anders Petersen, Ansel Adams, Bella Kotak, Bill Gekas, Don McCullin, James Bidgood, Katia Chausheva, Martin Schoeller, Terry Richardson, Lindsay Adler
Realistic	Hyperrealistic, ultra realistic, HDR, UltraHD, 4K, –upbeta
Detail	insane detail, high details, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600, grainy, film grain
Camera + Lens	DSLR, polaroid, instax, 35 mm, 50 mm lens. Canon RF16mm, STM lens
Scene Lighting	golden hour, street lighting, sunrise lighting, sunset lighting, neon glow lighting
Lighting Type	Spotlight, frontlight, backlight, floodlight, ambient, artificial, broad light, catch light, diffused lighting, contrast lighting, gobo lighting, hard gradient lighting, soft gradient lighting, hard light, high-key lighting, incandescent lighting, key light, low-key lighting, ring flash, short light, soft shadow, natural lighting, sunlight, bokeh effect
Lighting Style	High-key, low-key, chiaroscuro, rim, etc.
Lens Perspective	Normal, wide-angle, zoomed-in, bird’s-eye, etc.
Blur + Distortion	Motion blur, bokeh, lens flare, fisheye, etc.
Exposure	Overexposed, underexposed, long exposure, etc.
Effects	Sepia, black and white, color splash, HDR, etc.
Image Size	–ar 6:4, –ar 2:3 etc.

Ready for examples? Give these prompts a try in Midjourney and see what comes up!

Description	Prompt
Realistic portrait painting	“paint a portrait of a woman in realistic style using oil paint and a neutral background”
Surreal landscape	“create a surreal landscape with a dramatic sky, using pastel colors and a 4:3 aspect ratio”
Cartoon character	“draw a cartoon character with exaggerated features and vibrant colors, set against a simple background”
Abstract art piece	“generate an abstract art piece with a focus on texture and using a limited color palette”
Fantasy creature illustration	“illustrate a fantastical creature using watercolors and a wide-angle lens, set in a forest environment”
Vintage photograph	“create a vintage-style photograph of a cityscape using a sepia filter and a 3:2 aspect ratio”
Digital art portrait	“produce a digital art portrait with a neon color scheme and a geometric background”
Science fiction cityscape	“create a science fiction cityscape with a monochromatic color scheme and a high-contrast, low-angle shot”

Crafting Professional or Advanced Prompts

Now that we’ve had some fun in Midjourney, let’s talk about creating more advanced prompts.

Did you know you can use images as a prompt? Simply insert the URL of the image at the start of your prompt. You can then follow it with your text prompt that describes what you want.

The last input in your prompt is the parameters. You don’t have to have parameters in your prompt but they do help refine your image. I most commonly use the parameters to define the aspect ratio of the image. So if I want to use the image for a blog post, I might use –ar 6:4 or –ar 3:2 at the end of my prompt. These correlate to a 6:4 ratio and a 3:2 ratio image.

I also like to use it to specify what version of Midjourney. So version 5 would be –v 5 and version 4 is –v 4. Version 5 of course is newer and the outputs are awesome. However, there are times when I prefer the output of version 4 over version 5.

Not Getting the Results You Expected?

If you’re not getting the results you want with your Midjourney prompts, don’t worry – there are several things you can do to improve your chances of success.

First, consider refining your prompt. Take a closer look at the parameters you’re using and see if there are any adjustments you can make to get the desired result. For example, if you’re trying to generate a landscape but are unhappy with the results, try tweaking the scenery settings or adjusting the camera angle to get a different perspective.

Another option is to try using different keywords to find prompts that are more closely aligned with your desired outcome. The Midjourney Explore section is a great place to start, as you can search for prompts using a variety of keywords to find the perfect match.

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help! There is a free community you can join called The Women of AI – post your prompts and results in the Facebook group and we can help you refine your results! 

Remember, creating great Midjourney images is all about experimentation and exploration. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get the results you want right away – with a little persistence and creativity, you’re sure to create something amazing.