Midjourney Guide: How to Write Prompts and Use Parameters
Midjourney turns a written description into images, and it is known for a distinctive, polished look. Beginners often get mediocre results because they treat it like a search box instead of a brief. This guide covers how to write a prompt, the handful of parameters that matter most, how style references work, and what to confirm before you use the images for anything commercial.
⚡ Quick facts
- What it is: A text-to-image generator you use on midjourney.com or in Discord
- Prompt formula: Subject first, then setting and composition, then style or medium
- Parameters to learn: --ar for shape, --stylize for how artistic, --chaos for variety, --sref for style
- Cost: Paid service, so check current plans on the site
- Check first: Which model version you are on, since parameter support differs by version
Where and how you use it
Midjourney works on its own website and through Discord, and both use the same account. The website is easier for browsing your library, editing parts of an image and managing uploads. Discord is handy for quick iteration with the /imagine command. Third-party guides in 2026 describe the V8 family of models as the current default, but version numbers move often, so confirm in Midjourney’s documentation which version your prompts use.
How to structure a prompt
Describe the image in the order a viewer would notice it: what it is, where it is, then how it looks. A weak prompt is “a cool city”. A stronger one is “a narrow Mumbai street after rain, neon shop signs reflected in puddles, a cyclist in the distance, wide-angle photograph, soft evening light”. Notice the pattern.
- Subject: the main thing, with a few concrete details.
- Context and composition: setting, time of day, camera angle, distance.
- Style or medium: photograph, watercolour, 3D render, flat vector, film still.
Use plain words and avoid long lists of adjectives. If a detail matters, say it once clearly. If something should not appear, describing what you want instead usually works better than naming what you do not.
Parameters worth learning first
Parameters go at the end of a prompt and start with two dashes. Treat them as fine-tuning after the wording is right.
- --ar sets the aspect ratio, for example
--ar 16:9for a banner or--ar 4:5for a social post. - --stylize (or
--s) controls how strongly Midjourney applies its own aesthetic. The default is 100 and the range runs to 1000. Lower values follow your wording more literally and higher values give more artistic freedom. - --chaos increases the variety between the images in a set, which is useful when exploring ideas.
- --hd is described in recent guides as generating native 2K output on newer versions. Confirm current support in the official docs.
Style references and consistency
A style reference, written as --sref, lets you supply an image or a style code so new images borrow its look without copying its subject. A companion setting, --sw, controls how strongly the style applies. This is how designers keep a consistent look across a set of illustrations. Character and object consistency tools have varied between versions, so if you need the same character across images, check the compatibility chart for your model version before you start.
Common mistakes
- Changing parameters before fixing the wording.
- Asking for readable text in the image. Text rendering has improved but still needs checking.
- Stacking many styles in one prompt, which tends to produce muddy results.
- Judging from one image instead of reviewing a set of variations.
Before you use images commercially
Read Midjourney’s current terms to see what your plan allows, especially for business use. Be careful with prompts that imitate a living artist or a branded character, because that raises ethical and legal questions that are still being tested in court. Artists’ objections to AI imagery are real and ongoing, as in the debate over a Bristol AI mural. If you only need quick edits to your own photos, free tools such as Gemini can be enough; see our guide to Nano Banana prompts for photo editing. For a wider set of options, read our roundup of free AI tools.
Official source: Midjourney. Features, limits and prices change often, so confirm details there before you rely on them.
Frequently asked questions
Is Midjourney free to use?
Midjourney has changed its trial and plan options over time, and it is generally a paid service. Check the current options on midjourney.com before you plan a project.
What does --ar mean in Midjourney?
It sets the aspect ratio of the image. For example, --ar 16:9 gives a wide landscape image and --ar 9:16 gives a tall phone-screen image.
What is --sref used for?
It applies the visual style of a reference image or style code to a new image, so a set of images can share one look. The --sw setting changes how strongly the style is applied.
Can I use Midjourney images commercially?
That depends on your plan and Midjourney’s current terms, so read them directly. Also consider copyright and trademark risks if your prompt imitates a specific artist or brand.
Why do my Midjourney images look generic?
The prompt is usually too short or too abstract. Add a concrete subject, a setting, a camera or medium and a lighting mood, then adjust --stylize if the result is too artistic or too literal.