Perhaps you’ve experimented with Midjourney prompts, but if you’re unfamiliar with the platform, let us provide a quick introduction about better writing.
What is a Midjourney Prompt?
In Midjourney, a Prompt is a short text command that prompts the Midjourney Bot to generate an image by dividing the words and phrases into smaller pieces known as tokens, which are then compared to the Bot’s training data to create an image.
Prompt Engineering
In simpler terms, prompt engineering is the process of creating effective inputs to generate desired outputs when using AI, such as ChatGPT or Midjourney. The future artist will be someone who can craft creative prompts that lead to the desired image outputs, and prompt engineers are already selling their creations on marketplaces. To improve your Midjourney prompts, you can purchase prompts or become a prompt engineer by following the tips in the following paragraphs.
Why is crafting a quality AI art prompt on Midjourney crucial?
Midjourney charges a monthly fee for image generation after users have used their initial 20 free prompts; the Basic Plan provides limited generation at around ~200 images per month for $10, while the Standard Plan costs $30 and offers unlimited generation, making it crucial for beginners to prompt efficiently to avoid squandering prompts, wasting time, and incurring unnecessary costs, as well as to potentially monetize their skill.
How to write better Midjourney Prompts?
A Midjourney prompt can be as simple as a single word, phrase, or emoji.
If the prompt entered is:
"Kingfisher"Midjourney will generate images of a Kingfisher bird.
Sometimes a simple prompt like “Kingfisher” is sufficient, but often adding specific details can better express one’s vision and create a unique look, since very short prompts rely heavily on Midjourney’s default style.
To enhance the output of your Midjourney prompts, you can incorporate various elements such as image prompts, text prompts, and parameters.
For example, image prompts can affect the composition, style, and colors of the generated image, while text prompts and emojis can add specific details to better express your vision.
Additionally, parameters allow you to customize the image generation process by adjusting aspects such as aspect ratio, model, chaos, and upscale, among others, which can be added at the end of the prompt.
To generate the following image, we utilized the prompt:
Kingfisher, Marble Sculpture
To achieve a different style for the image, I replaced “marble sculpture” with “National Geographic photo” in my prompt resulting in the new prompt:
Kingfisher, National Geographic photo
Kingfisher, National Geographic photoTo refine the image further, we can specify the environment. The options are limitless: Middle-earth, Hogwarts, Mars, underwater, indoor, outdoor, Wild West, and more. For example, by adding “underwater” to our previous prompt, we can get an image like this:
Kingfisher, National Geographic Photo, Underwater
To emphasize the main theme of the image, we can rephrase the prompt for the Kingfisher diving underwater as:
National Geographic photo of a Kingfisher diving underwater
Next, we should add lighting to enhance the impact of the image. There are a variety of commands you could experiment with, such as soft, ambient, overcast, neon, studio lights, disco lights, direct sunlight, and more. For example:
Kingfisher diving underwater, National Geographic Photo, Disco light
Kingfisher diving underwater, National Geographic Photo, Sunset light
Moreover, you can include color prompts to add specific colors to your generated images. For instance, you can use colors like red, green, or yellow.
Kingfisher diving underwater, National Geographic Photo, Sunset light, blue, red
Kingfisher diving underwater, National Geographic Photo, Sunset light, blue, green
Another way to enhance your prompts is by adding color prompts, which can range from specific colors like red, green, or yellow to overall color tones like vibrant, muted, bright, monochromatic, colorful, black and white, or pastel. For example, to create a dramatic effect, you could use the prompt
Kingfisher diving underwater, National Geographic Photo, Sunset light, black and white
One way to enhance the prompt is by adding moods or emotions such as calm, loving, energetic, and more.
For example:
Kingfisher diving underwater, National Geographic Photo, Sunset light, Blue and red, Calm mood
Kingfisher diving underwater, National Geographic Photo, Sunset light, blue, red, aggressive
Finally, don’t forget to specify the composition of the image such as portrait, headshot, close-up, bird’s-eye view, and so on. You can also use specific camera-related commands like 20mm, 5mm, 100mm, or 200mm lenses and mention camera models like Sony α7 III, Nikon D850 DSLR 4k, Canon EOS R5, or Hasselblad to get more specific results.
Kingfisher diving underwater, National Geographic Photo, Sunset light, blue, red, aggressive, 100 mm lens
To create an even more unique and specific image, you can also add composition commands to your prompt. For example, you can specify whether you want a portrait, headshot, or birds-eye view. You can also include lens specifications like 20mm, 5mm, or 100mm, as well as camera models like Sony α7 III, Nikon D850 DSLR 4k, Canon EOS R5, or Hasselblad. With these details, you can also adjust aperture settings to create a blurry background effect.
So for example, you could modify your prompt to read:
Kingfisher diving underwater, National Geographic Photo, Sunset light, blue, red, energetic, Sony α7 III, 100mm lens, F 2.8 aperture
Kingfisher diving underwater, National Geographic Photo, Sunset light, blue, red, aggressive, Sony α7 III, F 1.2, headshot
How to add Parameters in Midjourney prompts?
Lastly, parameters can be used to further customize the image.
Aspect Ratio
To further customize the image, aspect ratios can be defined using the command “-aspect” or “-ar”. The default aspect ratio is 1:1, but it can be changed to any whole number ratio desired.
Kingfisher diving underwater, National Geographic Photo, Sunset light, blue, red, aggressive, Sony α7 III, F 1.2, headshot –ar 2:3
Chaos
The “chaos” parameter can be used to control the degree of randomness in the generated image, with values ranging from 0 to 100. Higher values lead to more unpredictable and unusual results. To use this parameter, simply include the command in your prompt.
–chaos <number 0–100>
Negative Prompting
To exclude certain elements from the prompt, you can use the command “-no” followed by the keyword you want to exclude. For example:
"-no fish" or "-no plants"However, it’s worth noting that this command may not always work effectively.
Quality
The rendering quality time can be defined using the parameter -q and can range from .25 to 2. The default value is 1. Higher values result in better quality but also take more time and may cost more, while lower values take less time but result in lower quality. To specify the rendering quality time, use the command -q followed by the value you want to use, for example:
-q .5.Style
To use the latest version of Midjourney, you can specify it by using the command :
--style 4cFAQ
What should be considered regarding grammar and spelling when using Midjourney?
Midjourney Bot does not have an understanding of grammar, sentence structure or word usage like humans, hence, grammar and spelling shouldn’t be given much attention. However, while communicating with the bot, it is recommended to use clear commands and properly organized thoughts using punctuation marks such as commas, brackets and hyphens. Also, it is better to use fewer words to make each word have a more powerful influence.
Can the Midjourney Prompts be written in a language other than English?
The language used in the prompt can be of any choice as there are no restrictions on it. However, altering the language can have an impact on the final result. Here’s an example of the previous prompt rewritten in German:
Eisvogel taucht unter Wasser, National Geographic Foto, Sonnenuntergangslicht, blau, rot, aggressiv, Sony α7 III, F 1,2, Nahaufnahme
What is the best format for Midjourney prompts?
If you’re new to creating prompts on MidJourney, it’s recommended to start with basic descriptions of what you want to see. Gradually add styles until you achieve the desired result. Generally, you may want to choose between an artistic, illustrative style or a photorealistic style.
How to make image more realistic?
Before creating Midjourney portraits, it is important to consider traditional art forms. Please check it out.
Are writing Midjourney prompts copyrighted?
If you were to post the writing prompt elsewhere without the permission of the original author and without making any significant changes to it, that would constitute a copyright violation, as the prompt is undoubtedly protected by copyright.
Conclusion
We have demonstrated how to enhance the quality of Midjourney prompts, but improvement doesn’t come overnight. The best way to enhance your skills is to practice and prompt frequently on Midjourney.
