The Midjourney Prompt Guide: Get Stunning Images Every Time

Great Midjourney images come from structured prompts, not luck. Here’s the formula we use, the parameters that matter, and prompts you can copy today.

The prompt formula

[Subject] + [Action/Pose] + [Environment] + [Style/Medium] + [Lighting] + [Composition] + [Parameters]

Example:

a lone hiker, standing on a ridge at sunrise, misty mountains behind, cinematic photography, golden-hour light, wide shot –ar 16:9

Parameters that matter

• --ar — aspect ratio (16:9 for thumbnails/banners, 1:1 for social, 9:16 for vertical).
• --style / style reference — lock a consistent look across a series.
• --no — exclude unwanted elements.

Ready-to-use prompts

YouTube thumbnail: “bold close-up portrait, surprised expression, vivid complementary colors, studio lighting, high contrast –ar 16:9”

Brand hero image: “minimal abstract 3D shapes, soft gradient background, product-photography lighting, lots of negative space –ar 16:9”

Blog header: “flat-style illustration of [topic], limited color palette, clean vector look –ar 2:1”

Workflow tips

1. Generate a concept, then use style references to keep a series on-brand.
2. Draft prompt ideas with ChatGPT (“give me 5 Midjourney prompts for…”).
3. For control or a free tier, also try Leonardo AI; for text-in-image, Flux.

Common mistakes

• Overstuffing the prompt — fewer, stronger keywords beat a long list.
• Ignoring aspect ratio — always set --ar for your final use.

More in our image generation category and the best image generators comparison.