Best Midjourney prompts

Getting Midjourney prompts right is the cornerstone of creating great images. The new Midjourney 5.1 understands your prompts even better, so giving it concise and descriptive prompts is of the essence.

I have been using Midjourney since the beginning, and during this time I’ve learned a lot about how to craft the best Midjourney prompt. Here’s my advice:

Midjourney prompts for realism

With the release of Midjourney version 5.1, you don’t have to try as hard to achieve realism in AI-generated images. Usually, it’s enough that you mention “photography” in the prompt, although it also helps to write “realistic”.

waves on the beach at sunset, light pink and turquoise, serene maritime themes, afro-caribbean influence, light amber and azure, documentary travel photography

What about Midjourney prompts for ultra-realistic images?

Here, we’re not limited by the prompt but by the model itself. You can, of course, tell it to create an “ultra-realistic”, “hyper-realistic”, or just a “realistic” image, but it may take a few tries to get one that’s really realistic.

More midjourney prompts for photography/realism:

• Misty mountains at dawn, shades of lavender and indigo, mystical landscapes, Nordic folklore influence, soft rose and periwinkle, nature photography.
• Rustic barn in autumn, burnt orange and golden yellow, cozy farm life, American countryside influence, deep brown and mustard, lifestyle photography.
• Old town alleyways at dusk, warm orange and ochre, romantic European ambiance, Renaissance art influence, deep burgundy and olive green, street photography.
• Cherry blossom garden in spring, pastel pink and white, peaceful floral scenery, Japanese culture influence, soft lilac and mint green, nature photography.
• Vibrant market streets at noon, bright red and turquoise, bustling urban life, Latin American influence, electric blue and sunny yellow, documentary photography.

Midjourney prompts for realistic portraits

You can achieve realistic portraits by specifying that the goal is a “photograph” or by adding a camera model, such as “Nikon D850”.

portrait of woman in striped shirt, in the style of golden light, nikon d850, serene faces, uhd image, free brushwork, soviet, beautiful women

People are also often hit and miss, or you might have to do a couple of tries before you get one that you like. With Midjourney 5.1, you can be more descriptive and the model will usually take your entire prompt into account.

More Midjourney realistic portrait prompts:

• Portrait of a man with a fedora, in the style of chiaroscuro lighting, Canon EOS R5, confident expressions, monochrome image, fine detail, contemporary art, film noir influence.
• Portrait of a young girl with a flower crown, in the style of natural light, Fujifilm X-T4, dreamy expressions, high contrast image, bokeh effect, impressionist art, pastoral influence.
• Portrait of a mature woman in a silk scarf, in the style of warm colors, Sony A7R IV, elegant expressions, shallow depth of field, classic image, oil painting, vintage influence.
• Portrait of a boy in a hoodie, in the style of urban grunge, Panasonic GH5, rebellious expressions, low key image, gritty texture, street art, hip hop influence.
• Portrait of a couple in love, in the style of romantic light, Leica SL2, affectionate expressions, high dynamic range image, soft focus, classical art, Renaissance influence.

Midjourney prompts for product photography

Tell Midjourney what your product is (i.e., “lipstick”) and tell it you want a product photo. Often, it also helps to specify additional information, such as the background color and mood. If your product is really specific, you might have a hard time explaining it to Midjourney. Using an image prompt with “–iw 2” parameter helps, but it does not guarantee great results.

red lipstick exploding, dark background, product photography, ultra realistic --c 10

More Midjourney prompts for product photography:

1. Ice cream melting in a waffle cone, bright and colorful background, product photography, whimsical and playful
2. Watch with intricate gears and cogs, black background, product photography, high-end luxury
3. Running shoes splashing through water, blurred background, product photography, action-packed and dynamic
4. Coffee beans cascading out of a burlap sack, wooden background, product photography, rustic and natural
5. Diamond ring sparkling under a spotlight, reflective background, product photography, elegant and sophisticated

Midjourney prompts for logos

At the moment, Midjourney isn’t a good logo designer for several reasons. First, you will not get an SVG file but just PNG, so you will still have to retrace it. Midjourney is slightly better for logo concepts or ideas, but it’s still very difficult to convey to it what you want. To top it all off, AI image generators can’t handle text, but you can create icons. Here’s my best result so far:

Guide to Midjourney prompts

What is a prompt?

A prompt is a short text phrase that the Midjourney Bot interprets to produce an image. It breaks down the words and phrases in a prompt into smaller pieces, called tokens, that can be compared to its training data and then used to generate an image. Crafting a well-thought-out prompt can help you create unique and exciting images.

Prompt Structure

There are two main structures for Midjourney prompts: basic and advanced.

• Basic prompts: A basic prompt can be as simple as a single word, phrase, or emoji. The Midjourney Bot will use its training data to generate an image based on this simple input.
• Advanced prompts: More advanced prompts can include one or more image URLs, multiple text phrases, and one or more parameters. This allows for greater customization and control over the generated image.

Types of Prompts

• Image prompts: Image URLs can be added to a prompt to influence the style and content of the finished result. Image URLs always go at the front of a prompt.
• Prompt text: The text description of what image you want to generate. The quality of the prompt text can greatly impact the final image, so make sure to consider the tips provided in this guide.
• Parameters: Parameters change how an image generates. They can modify aspect ratios, models, upscalers, and lots more. Parameters go at the end of the prompt.

Prompting Notes

• Prompt length: Prompts can be very simple or quite complex. Keep in mind that short prompts rely heavily on Midjourney’s default style, while longer prompts allow for more customization. However, super-long prompts aren’t always better. Focus on the main concepts you want to create.
• Grammar: The Midjourney Bot does not understand grammar, sentence structure, or words like humans. Word choice matters, and using more specific synonyms can lead to better results. Simplify your prompts and use clear organization to make them easier for the Bot to interpret.
• Focus on what you want: Describe what you want instead of what you don’t want. If you need to exclude something from your image, try using the –no parameter in advanced prompting.
• Think about what details matter: Be specific or vague, depending on your desired outcome. Any details left out will be randomized, so consider the subject, medium, environment, lighting, color, mood, and composition when crafting your prompts.
• Use collective nouns: Using specific numbers or collective nouns can lead to more precise results. For example, “three cats” is more specific than “cats,” and “flock of birds” is better than “birds.”