How to Use Midjourney: Prompts, Settings and Tips

To use Midjourney, sign in at midjourney.com, choose a paid plan (there is no free trial), open the Create page and type a prompt into the Imagine bar at the top. Midjourney returns a set of four images; you then vary, upscale, edit or animate the one you like. Add parameters such as --ar 16:9 or --stylize 250 at the end of your prompt, or set them in the settings panel, to control shape and style.

This guide covers everything a beginner needs in October 2026: setup, writing prompts that work with the current V8.2 model, the settings that matter, references and the new Edit Model, video, and the mistakes that waste your fast GPU hours.

What you need to start with Midjourney

You need three things: an account, a paid subscription and an idea. Midjourney does not list a free trial on its plans page, so budget at least $10 for the first month.

Prices are from the official Midjourney plan comparison. Basic is enough to learn; Standard is the better buy once you create every week, because Relax mode makes image generation unlimited. Our Midjourney pricing guide explains each tier in depth, and if the price is a problem, see our list of cheaper Midjourney alternatives.

How to use Midjourney: step by step

1. Sign in and subscribe. Go to midjourney.com and log in. Pick a plan on the subscribe page; yearly billing saves 20%. Companies with more than $1 million in annual revenue need Pro or Mega for commercial use.
2. Open the Create page. Go to the Create page at midjourney.com/imagine. The Imagine bar sits at the top of the page. It has an image icon for adding or uploading images and a settings icon for your default options.
3. Set your defaults. Click the settings icon. Choose an aspect ratio, pick the model version (V8.2 is the default) and SD or HD size, and adjust the Aesthetics sliders for stylization, weirdness and variety. Under More Options you will find GPU speed (Fast or Relax), Stealth mode on Pro and Mega, video resolution and batch size.
4. Write your first prompt. Type a clear description and press Enter. For example: a ceramic coffee mug on a wooden table by a rainy window, soft morning light, shallow depth of field, editorial product photo --ar 4:5. Midjourney shows four images that fill in as they render.
5. Pick and refine. Hover over the image you like. Use Variations (Subtle keeps the composition, Strong changes more), Rerun to try the same prompt again, or “use prompt” to copy the text back into the Imagine bar and tweak it. Use Run batch as HD for higher resolution versions.
6. Edit the result. Open the image in the Editor to extend the frame (outpaint), repaint an area (inpaint) or type a written instruction such as “change the mug to matte black”. This uses the Edit Model available in V8.1 and V8.2.
7. Animate it (optional). Use the video option on an image to turn it into a short clip. All plans can make video in Fast mode; HD video needs Standard or above.
8. Download and organize. Go to the Organize page to download, sort, filter and file your images into folders.

How to write Midjourney prompts that work

V8.x models understand natural language well. You get better results from a clear sentence than from a pile of comma-separated keywords like “8k, ultra detailed, trending”. A reliable structure is:

1. Subject: who or what, with specific details (age, material, color, pose).
2. Setting: where it is and what surrounds it.
3. Style or medium: photo, watercolor, 3D render, flat vector illustration, 1970s film still.
4. Lighting and mood: golden hour, neon, overcast, high-key studio.
5. Camera or composition: close-up, wide shot, top-down, 85mm portrait.
6. Parameters: aspect ratio, stylize, chaos and so on, after the text.

Example: portrait of an elderly Rajasthani puppet maker in his workshop, colorful puppets hanging behind him, warm window light, documentary photography, 85mm lens --ar 2:3 --stylize 150.

For 50 ready-made examples across photography, illustration, logos and product shots, see our collection of Midjourney prompts with styles and parameters. The general principles in our prompt engineering guide also apply: be specific, say what you want rather than what you do not, and change one thing at a time.

Midjourney parameters cheat sheet

Parameters go at the end of the prompt, each starting with two hyphens. These are the ones that work with V8.1 and V8.2, according to Midjourney’s parameter documentation.

Using references, Personalization and the Edit Model

Image prompts and style references

Drag an image from your uploads into the Imagine bar and drop it into the section you want. An Image Prompt uses the picture’s content and composition as inspiration. A Style Reference copies the look (colors, texture, mood) without the content. Control how strongly they apply with --iw and --sw.

The Edit Model

V8.1 and V8.2 introduced an Edit Model that replaces Omni Reference, Character Reference and the Retexture tool. You can edit an existing image with written instructions, generate with up to four reference images (useful for keeping a product or character consistent), and inpaint or outpaint in the Editor. It works with image prompts, style references, Moodboards, Personalization and HD.

Personalization and Moodboards

On the Personalize page, rank pairs of images to teach Midjourney your taste. Once your profile unlocks, add --p to prompts to apply it. Your V7 global profile still works with V8.1 and V8.2. Moodboards let you upload a set of images to define a style you can reuse across projects, which is ideal for brand consistency.

Fast, Relax, Draft and Stealth modes

• Fast mode uses your monthly fast GPU hours. Extra fast time costs $4 per hour.
• Relax mode is unlimited for images on Standard and above. Jobs queue and take longer but do not use fast hours. Pro and Mega also get Relax SD video.
• Draft mode is the cheapest way to explore. In V8.1 a draft prompt costs 0.4 GPU minutes and returns 24 images at 512×512, so you can test many ideas before rendering finals.
• HD images in V8.1 render at 2K without upscaling but cost more GPU time (1.3 GPU minutes versus 0.8 for standard size).
• Stealth mode hides your images from the public gallery. It is only included on Pro and Mega, so on Basic and Standard assume your creations are visible to others.

Making video with Midjourney

Midjourney can animate your images into short clips on the website and on Discord. Clips can reach 21 seconds with extensions. Basic plans get SD video only; Standard and above get SD and HD. HD video is GPU hungry: a batch of four HD clips costs about 26 GPU minutes, so a Basic plan’s 200 minutes disappear quickly. If you want full AI videos with voiceover, follow our guide on how to make an AI video from text.

Common Midjourney mistakes to avoid

• Keyword soup. Strings like “masterpiece, 8k, best quality” add little in V8. Describe the scene instead.
• Decimal aspect ratios. Use whole numbers: --ar 139:100, not --ar 1.39:1.
• Asking for long text. Midjourney can render short words but is not the best at paragraphs or small print. For text-heavy designs, add the words in Canva (see our Canva pricing guide) or use a text-focused generator.
• Wasting fast hours on exploration. Use Draft or Relax for brainstorming and keep fast hours for client deadlines.
• Forgetting rights and privacy. Without Stealth mode, your images are public. Larger companies must be on Pro or Mega for commercial use.
• Changing everything at once. Change one word or parameter per rerun so you learn what actually made the difference.

Advanced tips for better results

• Lock a look with a seed. When testing small prompt changes, keep the same --seed so differences come from your words, not randomness.
• Use chaos to brainstorm. A --chaos of 30 to 50 gives four very different directions; drop it to 0 once you pick one.
• Lower stylize for accuracy. For realistic product or architectural images, try --s 50 with --raw.
• Build patterns with tile. --tile creates seamless textures for packaging, wallpapers and fabric mockups, useful for ecommerce product visuals.
• Save winning prompts. Keep a prompt library with the parameters you used, so your team can reuse them.

Still deciding whether Midjourney is the right tool? Our Midjourney review covers strengths and weaknesses, and Midjourney vs ChatGPT image generation compares it with the most popular alternative. For the wider market, see our ranking of the best AI image generators.

Frequently asked questions

Next steps: your first week with Midjourney

Start on Basic or Standard, set your default aspect ratio for the platform you post on, and spend your first session writing ten short prompts using the subject, setting, style, lighting and camera structure. Next, build a Personalization profile and a Moodboard so your images start to look like yours. Then try the Edit Model and one short video. Midjourney updates its models and plans often, so confirm current prices and features on the official Midjourney site before you subscribe.