Midjourney Prompt Engineering Guide
The Visual Benchmark for Aesthetic Photorealism, Texture, and Cinematic Lighting
Midjourney v6.1 represents the gold standard in generative visual aesthetics. Unlike traditional text-to-image models that require extensive keyword padding, Midjourney excels when prompts specify precise photographic optics, historical film stocks, lighting setups, and composition ratios. Its parameter system allows micro-control over stylistic bias, grid randomization, style references, and character consistency.
Parameter & Token Syntax Cheat Sheet
Official parameter flags, modifiers, and delimiters recognized by the Midjourney engine.
| Parameter / Flag | Name | Accepted Values | Default | Description & Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| --v 6.1 | Model Version | 5.2, 6.0, 6.1, niji 6 | 6.1 | Enforces Midjourney's latest model architecture featuring coherent anatomy and sharp text rendering. --v 6.1 |
| --ar <w:h> | Aspect Ratio | 16:9, 9:16, 4:5, 3:2, 2:3, 21:9, 1:1 | 1:1 | Sets horizontal-to-vertical frame dimensions. Essential for cinematic banners or vertical mobile framing. --ar 16:9 |
| --stylize <0-1000> / --s | Stylization Strength | 0 - 1000 | 100 | Controls Midjourney's artistic flair. Lower values (50-100) favor strict prompt accuracy; higher values (250-750) enhance artistic flair. --stylize 250 |
| --chaos <0-100> / --c | Grid Randomness | 0 - 100 | 0 | Increases structural divergence between the 4 generated grid options, producing unexpected concept explorations. --chaos 15 |
| --weird <0-3000> / --w | Weirdness Factor | 0 - 3000 | 0 | Introduces unconventional, surreal, and offbeat aesthetic elements into the visual output. --weird 250 |
| --sref <url> | Style Reference | Image URL(s) | — | Transfers the visual aesthetic, color palette, and textural grading of a reference image to your output. --sref https://example.com/palette.jpg --sw 100 |
| --cref <url> | Character Reference | Image URL(s) | — | Preserves facial features, hairstyle, and character identity across multiple distinct shots. --cref https://example.com/character.jpg --cw 80 |
| --no <tokens> | Negative Prompt Exclusion | Comma-separated terms | — | Instructs Midjourney to avoid specified elements (e.g., text, frame, blur, oversaturated). --no text, blurry, cartoon, oversaturated |
| --raw | Raw Style Engine | Flag | — | Subdues Midjourney's default beautification algorithm to yield more natural, documentary-style photography. --style raw |
Engineering Best Practices
- Structure your prompt logically: Subject Framing › Physical Environment › Lighting & Atmosphere › Camera / Film Specs › Parameters.
- Specify physical camera equipment (e.g., 'Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM', 'Leica Summicron-M 50mm') instead of generic words like 'photorealistic'.
- Use film stocks to establish authentic color palettes ('Kodak Portra 400' for warm skin tones; 'Fujifilm Superia' for emerald greens; 'Ilford HP5' for rich B&W).
- Keep --stylize between 50 and 180 for editorial and product photography to prevent over-dramatized artificial rendering.
Common Anti-Patterns to Avoid
- Do NOT use legacy 2022 keyword spam ('hyperrealistic, 8k, octane render, trending on artstation'). v6.1 ignores or degrades with these.
- Avoid contradictory focal lengths in one prompt (e.g. 'extreme macro wide-angle telephoto').
- Do not use commas inside parameter flags; flags must be separated by single spaces at the end of the prompt.
Gold-Standard Template Breakdown
How an optimized Midjourney prompt looks in production with all parameters aligned.
Architectural Rationale: Pairs specific camera optics (Leica 35mm f/1.4) with an authentic chemical film stock (Portra 400) and strict aspect ratio parameters to avoid synthetic AI textures.
Compatible Prompts (40)
Curated and battle-tested prompts verified for the Midjourney engine.

Cinematic Anamorphic Cyberpunk Alleyway
Capture atmospheric neon reflections and volumetric rain haze in a futuristic Tokyo street with 35mm anamorphic flares.

1970s American Road Trip Nostalgia (Kodak Portra 400)
Recreate candid, warm 1970s color photography with authentic Kodak Portra 400 halation and natural golden hour lens flare.

Classic Film Noir Dramatic Venetian Blind Silhouette
Master dramatic chiaroscuro black-and-white lighting with crisp Venetian blind shadows and cigarette haze.

Vogue Editorial Studio Portrait (85mm f/1.4)
Flawless studio fashion portrait with organic skin texture, delicate catchlights, and shallow focal depth.

Rembrandt Lighting Elderly Craftsman Portrait
Capture dignified age and weathered hands using classical Rembrandt triangle lighting on medium format.

Brutalist Concrete Cathedral Morning Volumetric Light
Architectural monumentalism featuring raw board-formed concrete and soaring beams of morning sunlight.

Scandinavian Minimalist Forest Living Room (Japandi)
Warm Japandi interior with floor-to-ceiling glass framing a misty pine forest and natural wood joinery.

Luxury Swiss Chronograph Macro Studio Splashes
Ultra-sharp 100mm macro shot of an automatic titanium watch with crisp water beads on sapphire crystal.

Botanical Skincare Serum Dropper in Natural Sunlight
Clean organic skincare bottle bathed in warm morning bathroom sunlight with cast palm frond shadows.

Isometric 3D Floating Cyberpunk Ramen Shop
Charming, intricate voxel-detailed isometric diorama of an airborne noodle bar with neon signs and steam.

70mm IMAX Sci-Fi Desert Monolith Odyssey
Expansive 70mm IMAX cinematic frame of an extraterrestrial obsidian monolith standing in shifting desert dunes.

Wong Kar-Wai Step-Printing Neon Rain Romance
Evoke the moody, melancholic 1990s Hong Kong cinema aesthetic of Christopher Doyle with kinetic step-printing motion blur and neon saturation.

Neo-Western Dusk Silhouette on Desert Ridge
Capture the stark, sun-drenched poetry of modern Western cinema with golden hour backlighting, dust devils, and telephoto compression.

Deep Oceanic Abyss with Bioluminescent Leviathan
Plunge into deep ocean cinematography with heavy volumetric marine haze, submersible halogen beams, and ethereal deep-sea bioluminescence.

Leica M11 Street Candid Rain Reflection (Paris)
Capture Henri Cartier-Bresson's decisive moment in modern Paris with crisp 35mm rangefinder optics and cobblestone puddle reflections.

Hasselblad 100MP Medium Format Studio Beauty Portrait
Ultra-high-resolution studio portrait capturing genuine human skin pores, iris depth, and subtle vellus hair texture.

19th-Century Wet-Plate Collodion Tintype Portrait
Recreate authentic 1870s chemical tintype photography with silver nitrate emulsion artifacts, chemical spills, and sepia tonality.

National Geographic Arctic Wildlife Telephoto Expeditions
Capture majestic Arctic wildlife in extreme conditions with 600mm super-telephoto compression, windblown snow, and natural rim light.

Golden Hour Tokyo Train Window Commuter Silhouette
Intimate documentary study of late-afternoon sunbeams streaming through a Yamanote train window, illuminating dust and commuter contemplation.

Biophilic Mass Timber High-Rise Atrium & Rainforest
Architectural visualization of a sustainable mass-timber skyscraper featuring a multi-story spiraling atrium filled with subtropical flora.

Japanese Brutalist Concrete Tea House & Moss Garden
Harmonize raw board-formed concrete brutalism with the delicate serenity of Japanese wabi-sabi garden architecture.

Parametric Kinetic Facade Desert Cultural Center
Futuristic Zaha Hadid-style parametric architecture in an arid desert with fluid perforated solar shading panels.

Cliffside Mediterranean Minimalist Infinity Villa
Perched on a dramatic rocky cliff, a whitewashed minimalist villa with an infinity edge pool melting into the Aegean Sea.

Bauhaus Glass Geometric Pavilion in Autumn Forest
Mies van der Rohe-inspired steel and glass pavilion hovering among vibrant golden autumn birch trees.

Haute Couture Paris Runway Motion Blur & Silk
Capture the kinetic drama of Paris Fashion Week with intentional slow-shutter motion blur, sweeping silk chiffon, and flash freezing.

Futuristic Liquid Chrome Avant-Garde Couture
Surreal high-fashion editorial featuring sculpted liquid metal corsetry, mirror chrome reflections, and stark minimalist studio lighting.

1990s Supermodel Hard-Flash Studio Editorial
Capture the raw, hedonistic glamor of 1990s fashion photography with ring-flash specular highlights and film grain.

Ethereal Floating Silk Organza in Desert Wind
Surreal high-fashion editorial in a vast desert with billowing 20-meter sheer organza fabric catching golden sun rays.

Cyberpunk Techwear Rain Jacket Studio Lookbook
Commercial streetwear lookbook showcasing waterproof GORE-TEX textures, fidlock buckles, and wet atmospheric studio effects.

Luxury Perfume Bottle High-Speed Water Splash Crown
Commercial advertising photograph of a crystal glass fragrance flacon surrounded by frozen crystalline water droplets and splash crown.

Matte Titanium Mechanical Keyboard Exploded Assembly Macro
Precision industrial engineering photograph of a custom titanium keyboard with levitating switches, brass weight, and PCB.

Cosmetic Serum Micro-Emulsion Droplet Swirl Macro
Microscopic macro photography of glistening hyaluronic acid serum droplets and golden botanical oil spheres suspended in crystal gel.

Handcrafted Ceramic Matcha Bowl Studio Lighting & Wabi-Sabi
Soulful commercial product photograph of a dark wabi-sabi chawan matcha bowl with crackle glaze, bamboo whisk, and frothy green tea.

Unreal Engine 5 Subterranean Bioluminescent Biome
Vast underground cavern ecosystem with towering crystalline stalactites, glowing azure flora, and volumetric god rays.

Low-Poly Isometric Cybernetic Alchemy Laboratory
Charming stylized 3D isometric diorama of an alchemist's sci-fi lab with bubbling neon flasks, holograms, and brass piping.

1980s Retro Synthwave Grid Supercar Sunset Drive
Nostalgic 1980s outrun vaporwave illustration of an exotic wedge supercar driving toward a neon wireframe sunset.

Dark Fantasy Gothic Cathedral Leviathan Summoning
Epic Elden Ring-style dark fantasy concept art of a colossal eldritch leviathan rising amidst shattered gothic stained glass.

Solarpunk Floating Botanical Airship Metropolis
Utopian solarpunk concept art of aerodynamic brass and glass dirigibles carrying lush botanical gardens across sunlit clouds.

Cybernetic Mecha Core Cutaway Technical Blueprint
Intricate engineering schematic illustration of a humanoid mecha pilot cockpit with glowing wireframes and exploded schematics.

Surreal Floating Geometric Monolith Dreamscape
Hypnotic surrealist dreamscape of impossible suspended chrome polyhedra hovering above mirrored pink salt flats.
Frequently Asked Technical Questions
How do I fix overly smooth or plastic skin in Midjourney v6.1?
Lower the --stylize parameter to between 50 and 150, specify realistic skin micro-details like 'tactile skin pores, subtle freckles, vellus hair', and describe natural single-source lighting like 'north-facing window daylight'. Avoid words like 'flawless skin' or '4K'.
What is the difference between --sref and --cref in Midjourney?
--sref (Style Reference) transfers the color grading, visual aesthetic, and medium of an image to your new prompt. --cref (Character Reference) locks and transfers specific facial features, hairstyle, and facial anatomy across new generations.
How does Midjourney handle text inside images?
Midjourney v6.1 supports short text strings when enclosed in double quotation marks (e.g. "BAKERY"). For longer paragraphs or multiple text elements, diffusion models like FLUX.1 are significantly more reliable.