Midjourney is the gold standard for AI image generation. It produces photorealistic photography, painterly illustration, architectural visualisation, and product mockups that professional designers actually use in real projects. This guide takes you from your first image to consistent, on-brand results.
Getting Started: Setup
Midjourney runs through Discord. Join the Midjourney Discord server, subscribe to a plan (Basic starts at $10/month), and type /imagine in any channel to generate your first image. For privacy, DM the Midjourney Bot directly.
Prompt Structure That Actually Works
Strong Midjourney prompts follow this structure:
[Subject] + [Style/Medium] + [Lighting] + [Composition] + [Colour] + [Technical parameters]
Example: a minimalist home office, architectural photography, golden hour sunlight through floor-to-ceiling windows, wide angle shot, neutral palette with oak accents --ar 16:9 --v 6.1 --style raw
Essential Parameters
--ar 16:9— Aspect ratio (16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 9:16 for portrait)--v 6.1— Version (always use the latest)--style raw— Less AI “beautification”, more photorealistic--q 2— Higher quality (slower but better)--s 0-1000— Stylize (0 = literal prompt, 1000 = very artistic)--no text, watermarks— Negative prompt to exclude elements
Consistent Characters and Brands
Use the --cref (character reference) and --sref (style reference) parameters to maintain consistency across a project:
a woman in her 30s presenting to a boardroom --cref [image URL] --cw 100
The --cw value (0–100) controls how closely the character is followed.
Prompt Techniques for Different Use Cases
Product photography: product photography of [item], studio lighting, white background, commercial quality, 85mm lens
Brand illustrations: flat design illustration, [brand colours], minimal, icon style, vector-like
Social media graphics: [subject], bold typography overlay space, Instagram aesthetic, high contrast, [hex color] background
Upscaling and Variations
After generating a 4-image grid: U1–U4 upscales individual images, V1–V4 creates variations. Use “Vary (Subtle)” for small adjustments and “Vary (Strong)” for more dramatic changes.
Copyright and Commercial Use
On paid plans, you own the commercial rights to images you generate. Do not use reference images without verifying you have the right to use them as references.
