How to Use Midjourney: The Complete Guide to AI Image Generation

Midjourney has rapidly become the go-to tool for AI image generation, producing results that rival professional photography and illustration. Since launching in 2022, it's attracted millions of creators — from professional designers to hobbyists exploring visual ideas for the first time.

What sets Midjourney apart is its aesthetic quality. While other generators focus on photorealism alone, Midjourney excels at artistic styles, cinematic lighting, and compositions that feel intentionally crafted rather than randomly assembled. It's particularly strong at concept art, product mockups, editorial illustrations, and stylised portraits.

The platform runs entirely through Discord (with a newer web interface in alpha), which means there's a learning curve around commands and parameters. But once you understand the basics, you can iterate on ideas faster than any traditional design workflow.

Open Midjourney →

Head to midjourney.com and sign up. You'll also need a Discord account since the primary interface runs through Discord's messaging platform. Join the official Midjourney Discord server from the website.

Once you're in, the workflow is straightforward: type /imagine followed by your description in any Midjourney bot channel. The bot generates a grid of 4 images based on your prompt within about 60 seconds.

For your first prompt, try something descriptive:
/imagine a cozy bookshop interior at golden hour, warm lighting, wooden shelves filled with books, watercolour painting style

Key controls to learn immediately:
- V1-V4 buttons create variations of a specific image from the grid
- U1-U4 buttons upscale an image to full resolution
- --ar 16:9 sets the aspect ratio (crucial for real-world use)
- --v 6.1 selects the model version
- --style raw reduces Midjourney's default aesthetic stylisation

The best results come from iteration. Don't expect perfection from the first grid — use variations to refine towards what you're envisioning, adjusting your prompt each round.

Beyond basic prompting, Midjourney offers powerful creative controls:

Image Prompts let you upload a reference image (paste the URL before your text) and Midjourney will incorporate its style, composition, or colours. Use --iw (image weight) to control how strongly the reference influences the output — from subtle inspiration to close replication.

Remix Mode allows you to change your prompt between variations. Enable it with /settings and toggle Remix on. Now when you click V1-V4, you can modify the prompt while keeping the composition — perfect for trying different styles on the same scene.

Multi-Prompts use :: to separate concepts with different weights. For example, hot dog::2 food art::1 emphasises the food aspect over the art direction. This gives you precise control over how Midjourney balances competing elements.

The /describe Command is an underrated learning tool — upload any image and Midjourney will suggest 4 prompts that could recreate it. It's the fastest way to learn what language and descriptors produce specific visual effects.

Consistent Characters using --cref (character reference) lets you maintain the same character across multiple generations — essential for storytelling, branding, and series work.

Mastering Midjourney is really about mastering prompt craft. Here are the techniques that separate good results from exceptional ones:

Structure your prompts in layers. Follow this formula: Subject + Setting + Style + Lighting + Technical specs. For example: 'a samurai warrior (subject) standing on a misty mountain ridge (setting), ukiyo-e woodblock print style (style), dramatic backlit dawn (lighting) --ar 16:9 --v 6.1 (technical)'.

Use specific art and photography references. 'Shot on Hasselblad', 'Kodak Portra 400 film', 'in the style of Studio Ghibli', or 'Bauhaus design' all produce dramatically different results. Midjourney understands hundreds of artistic references.

Control mood with lighting descriptors. 'Golden hour', 'moody chiaroscuro', 'neon noir', 'soft diffused studio lighting', and 'dramatic rim lighting' each transform the same scene entirely. Lighting is often more important than the subject itself.

Use negative prompts strategically. Add --no text, watermark, blurry, distorted to exclude common artefacts. For photorealistic work, --no illustration, cartoon, painting helps keep the output grounded.

Build a personal prompt library. When you discover prompt formulas that consistently produce great results, save them. The compound value of a well-organised prompt library far exceeds any single generation.