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Midjourney prompt anatomy: get the image you pictured

Subject, setting, light, lens and style, plus the parameters that matter. With prompts you can copy.

FreeBeginner3 min readUpdated 2026-09-28Midjourney

Think like a photographer

Image models respond best to visual language: what's in frame, where, how it's lit and what it was "shot" on. Abstract words like "amazing" or "beautiful" do very little.

  1. 1Subject: who or what, doing what
  2. 2Setting: where and when
  3. 3Lighting: golden hour, overcast, studio softbox, neon
  4. 4Camera: close-up, wide shot, 35mm, shallow depth of field, top-down
  5. 5Style: editorial photo, watercolour, 3D render, flat vector illustration

Example prompts

text
A barista pouring latte art in a small London café, early morning,
soft window light from the left, close-up, shallow depth of field,
editorial food photography --ar 4:5

Flat vector illustration of a person organising floating app icons,
pastel violet and sky blue palette, lots of white space,
clean geometric shapes --ar 16:9 --no text

Parameters worth knowing

--ar sets aspect ratio (16:9, 4:5, 9:16). --stylize controls how strongly Midjourney applies its own aesthetic. --chaos adds variety between the four results. --no removes elements. --seed helps reproduce a result. --sref uses an image as a style reference for consistency.

Tip: Use --no text rather than writing "no text" in the prompt. Mentioning a word can make it more likely to appear.

Using images commercially

Check your plan's terms before using images commercially, avoid prompting for real people, trademarks or a living artist's name, and disclose AI-generated imagery where your platform or client requires it.

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