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Midjourney is easiest to learn as a controlled visual experiment: describe the subject and scene, generate several options, change one variable, and use the Editor for local repairs. This guide covers the current V8.1 workflow, while clearly identifying the V7 features beginners may still encounter.
Midjourney is a subscription-based AI image and video service that turns text prompts—and, when needed, reference images—into artwork. The simplest beginner workflow is: sign in at midjourney.com, choose a plan, open Create, enter a description in the Imagine bar, generate a set of options, and refine the strongest result.
Version note: This guide is updated for Midjourney V8.1, which the official version documentation identifies as the current default. V8.1 launched on the website on April 30, 2026, and became the default on June 10, 2026. V7 still matters because Omni Reference is a V7 feature, while V8.1 adds or supports image prompts, Prompt Shortener, an updated Describe tool, Personalization, Raw mode, and optional HD output.
What you need before creating your first Midjourney image
You need a Midjourney account, an active subscription, and an idea for the image you want to make. Midjourney is available through its website and Discord, but the website is the clearest starting point for beginners:
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- Log in at midjourney.com.
- Select a subscription plan.
- Open the Create page.
- Type a prompt into the Imagine bar.
- Review the generated options and continue refining the best one.
Midjourney’s default aesthetic fills in missing details. That is useful when you want to explore quickly, but it can also produce images that look different from what you imagined. The more deliberately you describe the subject, setting, lighting, color, mood, and composition, the more control you give yourself.
Which Midjourney plan should a beginner choose?
All four plans are subscriptions that renew monthly or annually unless canceled. Annual billing is presented as a 20% discount. The practical choice depends mainly on how often you expect to generate and whether privacy or high-volume production matters.
| Plan | Monthly price | Annual price | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $10/month | $96/year | Learning the basics and generating occasionally |
| Standard | $30/month | $288/year | Frequent iteration and larger personal projects |
| Pro | $60/month | $576/year | Higher-volume work and private creation |
| Mega | $120/month | $1,152/year | Very high-volume production teams or creators |
- Basic is the lowest-cost way to learn. It is the sensible starting point if you are unsure how much you will use Midjourney.
- Standard is the practical upgrade for people who expect to iterate frequently because Standard, Pro, and Mega include unlimited image generations in Relax Mode.
- Pro adds Stealth Mode, which is relevant when keeping work out of public-facing spaces matters.
- Mega is aimed at very high-volume users rather than ordinary beginners.
Stealth Mode is available only on Pro and Mega. Treat it as a privacy feature, not as a copyright feature: making an image less visible does not automatically settle ownership, licensing, likeness, trademark, or copyright questions.
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The beginner prompt formula
A useful prompt describes seven things:
- Subject: what should appear in the image
- Medium or visual treatment: oil painting, watercolor, editorial illustration, film still, ink drawing, and so on
- Environment: where the subject is located
- Lighting: the direction, quality, or time of day
- Color: the dominant palette or color relationships
- Mood: the emotional quality
- Composition: how the scene is framed
Use this template:
[subject], [medium or visual treatment], [environment], [lighting], [color palette], [mood], [composition] --ar [ratio] --s [stylize value]For example:
cozy mountain cabin beside a frozen lake, editorial travel illustration, pine forest and distant peaks, soft blue-hour light, muted teal and amber palette, calm winter mood, wide establishing composition --ar 16:9 --s 150This is a starting structure, not a rigid command language. You do not need to specify every category in every prompt. A short prompt such as red fox in a snowy forest leaves more decisions to Midjourney. A detailed prompt makes your intended result clearer and gives you more variables to adjust.
Keep parameters at the end of the prompt. Separate them correctly with spaces, and do not place ordinary punctuation inside the parameter syntax. When an image is close but not right, change one major variable at a time instead of rewriting everything. That makes it easier to understand which change helped.
Optional offline practice: A Midjourney prompt book can be useful for offline exercises, prompt examples, and lists of visual approaches. Use the official Midjourney documentation as the authority for current model parameters, prices, and feature compatibility because books can become outdated as the service changes.
How to improve a weak first result
Do not assume that a disappointing image means the whole idea failed. Diagnose the specific problem:
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| Problem | What to change |
|---|---|
| The subject is vague or wrong | Put the subject first and describe its defining traits plainly. |
| The scene has the wrong shape | Change the aspect ratio with --ar. |
| The image is too decorative | Try Raw mode or reduce the stylize value. |
| The result is technically attractive but emotionally wrong | State the mood and lighting more specifically. |
| The composition is too close | Use words such as wide establishing composition, full-body portrait, or negative space on the left. |
| Too many elements compete for attention | Remove secondary details and use the --no parameter for unwanted elements. |
Prompt wording is not a guarantee. Midjourney interprets language visually, and complex instructions can conflict. Clear nouns, a small number of important modifiers, and a deliberate composition usually provide a better learning environment than a paragraph of unrelated adjectives.
Six parameters worth learning first
Midjourney offers many parameters, but beginners do not need to memorize the entire list. Start with the following levers and change them one at a time.
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| Parameter | What it changes | Beginner use |
|---|---|---|
--ar or --aspect |
The shape of the image | Use --ar 2:3 for a portrait-oriented image, --ar 16:9 for a banner or video frame, or another ratio suited to your layout. |
--s or --stylize |
How strongly Midjourney’s artistic preferences influence the prompt | The documented range is 0–1000. Lower values generally give the text more authority; higher values invite a more stylized interpretation. |
--raw |
Reduces the default styling | Try it when the result looks too ornamental or when the literal prompt needs more influence. |
--no |
Elements to avoid | For example, --no text, border. Use it as a corrective instruction, not as a guarantee that every unwanted detail will disappear. |
--chaos |
Variation among the initial results | Increase it when the four starting options feel too similar and you want a broader exploration. |
--seed |
A repeatable starting value for controlled experiments | Keep a seed while comparing wording changes, but do not treat it as a promise of identical composition across unrelated prompts. |
--v |
The model version | Use it when a specific model or feature requires a particular version, such as V7 for Omni Reference. |
Parameters belong at the end of the prompt. A useful experiment is to hold the subject and composition constant, then compare three stylize settings. The purpose is not to find one universally correct value; it is to learn how much freedom you want Midjourney to take.
Image Prompts, Style References, and Omni Reference are different tools
Reference features are often confused because all of them begin with an image. They do not have the same job.
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An Image Prompt influences a new creation through visual inspiration. It can help communicate a general subject, arrangement, color idea, or visual direction that is difficult to describe in words. It should not be treated as a precise copy-and-edit command.
If your goal is to alter a particular part of an existing image—such as replacing a background, repairing a hand, or changing one object—the Editor is usually the more appropriate tool. An Image Prompt asks Midjourney to create a new interpretation; the Editor is designed for localized alteration and composition work.
Style References: preserve visual language, not the subject
A Style Reference is for the general feel of an image: its colors, medium, textures, lighting, or visual language. It is not intended to copy the specific objects or people in the reference. Use --sref in supported prompt workflows, then describe the content you want in the text prompt.
For example, the text prompt should describe the new subject and scene. You do not need to write an instruction such as copy this style; the Style Reference supplies that part of the direction.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsStyle References work with V6 and later. Style Weight, written as --sw, controls the strength of the reference and has a documented range of 0–1000, with a default of 100. Lower it when the reference overwhelms your requested content; raise it when the visual language is not coming through strongly enough.
Omni Reference: preserve a subject’s identity or form
Omni Reference is the V7 mechanism for placing a character, object, vehicle, or non-human creature from a reference image into a new creation. It accepts one image and uses --oref in Discord or the corresponding control in the web interface. Omni Weight, written as --ow, ranges from 1–1000 and defaults to 100.
Omni Reference is closer to subject consistency than Style Reference, but it is not an exact-likeness or logo-fidelity guarantee. Intricate details may not match perfectly. It also uses twice as much GPU time as a regular V7 image, according to the official documentation.
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Omni Reference has important compatibility limits. It does not work with several V6.1-based editing features, including Vary Region, Pan, and Zoom Out, until the reference and related parameters are removed in the Editor. If you need to edit an Omni Reference result, open it in the Editor’s Edit tab and remove the reference and --ow before submitting the edit.
| Tool | Best for | Do not confuse it with |
|---|---|---|
| Image Prompt | Broad visual inspiration for a new image | A precise alteration of the source |
| Style Reference | Color, medium, lighting, texture, and overall visual feel | Preserving a particular person or object |
| Omni Reference | Bringing one character, object, vehicle, or creature into a V7 creation | A guarantee of exact identity, detail, or trademark reproduction |
| Editor | Localized changes, background extensions, resizing, and retexturing | A general-purpose style reference |
Personalization: useful after you learn the baseline
Personalization acts as a style assistant based on images you select or like. You can apply a profile with --p. Midjourney documents Personalization as compatible with V6, V7, and V8.1.
The Global Profile must first be unlocked by selecting preferred images. Stylize controls the strength of personalization, with a documented range of 0–1000 and a default of 100.
For learning, it is sensible to create a few unpersonalized images first. If you turn on a profile immediately, you may not know whether an unexpected look came from your wording or from your learned preferences. Once you understand the baseline, Personalization can help a series of images feel more coherent without repeating every style instruction in every prompt.
Use the Editor when generation is not enough
Generation is for exploring possibilities. The web Editor is for repairing, extending, reframing, and reworking a chosen image. It can work with Midjourney images and uploaded personal images and supports:
- Moving and resizing the image or canvas
- Changing the aspect ratio
- Erasing and restoring areas
- Smart Select
- Layers
- Retexturing
- Prompt suggestions
- Exporting the finished result
The Editor can combine Remix, inpainting or Vary Region, Pan, and Zoom Out in one workflow. Although V8.1 images can be used in the Editor, the current editing functionality uses V6.1. That means an image can be generated with V8.1 and then processed through the Editor’s current editing system.
A practical first editing workflow
- Generate a broad composition in the aspect ratio closest to your final use.
- Open the preferred image in the Editor.
- Resize the canvas if you need a different banner, portrait, thumbnail, or print shape.
- Erase the area that needs to be regenerated, or select the local object that needs changing.
- Describe the replacement plainly in the prompt.
- Review the edited variations.
- Upscale or export the strongest result.
Use the Editor instead of repeatedly regenerating the entire image when the main composition already works and only one area is wrong. This preserves more of the successful image while giving you a focused place to experiment.
Plan the final size before you generate
V8.1 offers standard SD and HD output. Midjourney’s Image Size documentation gives a standard square V8.1 image as 1024 × 1024 pixels and HD as 2048 × 2048 pixels. The exact dimensions change with the aspect ratio.
As a simple print calculation, 2048 pixels divided by 300 pixels per inch is approximately 6.8 inches for a square image. That does not mean every HD result is automatically print-ready at 6.8 inches, or that a larger physical print will look good without additional preparation. Detail, aspect ratio, subject complexity, typography, cropping, and later layout work all affect the result.
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Choose the aspect ratio for the destination:
- Square: profile images, product tiles, and many social posts
- Portrait: posters, phone screens, and portrait-oriented artwork
- Landscape: website banners, thumbnails, presentations, and video frames
If you need a precise final layout, generate a strong base image and use the Editor or another layout tool for the final crop, typography, and placement. Midjourney’s output dimensions alone do not solve those design problems.
Turn a finished image into a short video
Midjourney can animate a single image into a five-second video, with an optional text prompt to influence the motion. This makes video a natural follow-on for finished artwork, mood boards, social clips, and original ambient visuals.
- All plans can generate videos in Fast Mode.
- Only Pro and Mega can generate videos in Relax Mode.
- Standard, Pro, and Mega can generate HD video in Fast Mode.
- Video generation consumes more GPU time than a regular image.
- A video can be extended four times, for a maximum length of 21 seconds.
Video-specific controls include:
| Parameter | Purpose |
|---|---|
--motion low |
Subtle movement for calm ambience or a mostly stable composition |
--motion high |
More pronounced movement when the scene can support it |
--raw |
Reduces default styling influence |
--loop |
Creates a looping-oriented result |
--end |
Provides an ending-image direction for the motion |
--bs |
Sets the batch size; documented choices include one, two, or four |
The documented default prompt generates four videos. A smaller batch can reduce GPU cost when you are testing a motion idea; a larger batch gives you more options but uses more resources. Start with low motion for landscapes, paintings, and ambience. Try high motion only when movement is central to the intended result.
Commercial use, privacy, and copyright
Midjourney states that users own the images and videos they create, including after canceling a subscription, subject to important exceptions and the governing terms. Ownership is not transferred merely because you upscale an image created by another user. If another user made the original, obtain permission from that creator before using it.
There is also a business-plan qualification: a business grossing more than $1 million annually must use a Pro or Mega plan to use its images commercially. This is a plan and terms issue, not a statement that every image created by every subscriber receives identical copyright protection worldwide.
Copyright protection for AI-assisted output varies by jurisdiction and by the human contribution involved. Midjourney recommends legal advice for specific questions. If the image is for a client, product, book, advertisement, or monetized channel, keep records of your prompts, source images, edits, licenses, and approvals.
You are responsible for the material you upload and for having the necessary rights to external images. Do not upload someone else’s artwork, personal photograph, logo, or reference image unless you are authorized to use it. Midjourney’s Terms of Service, effective May 27, 2026, govern its website, Discord, Editor, and Video services and require compliance with applicable law, community guidelines, and other policies. Midjourney also warns against abusive or sexualized deepfakes and may remove content or restrict access.
Keep these questions separate:
- Do you have permission to use the input? This concerns the reference image, audio, likeness, trademark, or other material you upload.
- What rights do you have in the output? This depends on Midjourney’s terms and applicable law.
- Is the output private? This concerns visibility and plan features such as Stealth Mode.
- Can you use the result commercially? This depends on the plan, business qualification, input rights, and applicable law.
What to do with original Midjourney artwork after you create it
Once you have a sequence of original stills or short videos—and have cleared every visual, audio, likeness, and other input—you can turn the assets into a presentation, portfolio, social series, or ambient channel.
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Read the service terms before uploading. StreamNeo’s Terms say users retain ownership of their content but grant StreamNeo a license to use, reproduce, adapt, publish, translate, and distribute submitted content on the platform and in promotional materials. The user also warrants that the necessary rights have been obtained. Do not use such a workflow for copyrighted artwork, unlicensed music, celebrity likenesses, or reference material you do not control.
Seven beginner exercises
These exercises are designed to teach one concept at a time. They are instructional examples, not claimed test results.
- Change only the aspect ratio. Generate the same subject in square, portrait, and landscape formats. Compare how the framing changes.
- Hold the subject constant. Use the same subject and environment while changing only the medium: for example, watercolor, oil painting, ink, and editorial illustration.
- Compare stylize values. Keep the prompt fixed and compare low, medium, and high values of
--s. Notice when the artistic interpretation begins to outweigh the literal description. - Compare reference types. Use one image as an Image Prompt and another as a Style Reference. The first should influence the new visual idea; the second should influence the visual language.
- Build a small personalized series. Learn the unpersonalized baseline first, then unlock a Global Profile by selecting preferred images and compare results with and without
--p. - Repair a composition. Generate a broad scene, open it in the Editor, extend the background, and change one local object.
- Animate finished artwork. Create a five-second version with low motion and another with high motion. Decide which is better for calm ambience and which is better for an energetic social clip.
Save the prompt, parameters, model version, reference images, and useful variations whenever you create something worth revisiting. A successful image is easier to reproduce or improve when you know exactly how it was made.
A simple first-week Midjourney workflow
- Day one: explore. Use short prompts to learn Midjourney’s default aesthetic.
- Day two: add structure. Use the subject, medium, environment, lighting, color, mood, and composition formula.
- Day three: control framing. Compare aspect ratios and use
--noonly for clear unwanted elements. - Day four: control style. Compare stylize values and try Raw mode.
- Day five: use references. Learn the difference between Image Prompts, Style References, and Omni Reference.
- Day six: edit. Use the Editor for local changes and canvas extensions rather than regenerating a successful image from scratch.
- Day seven: prepare an output. Choose a destination format, upscale or export the best result, and document the rights and source material connected to it.
That sequence teaches the important distinction between generation, which is exploratory, and editing, which is corrective. It also prevents a common beginner mistake: adding every advanced feature before learning what the plain prompt is doing.
Common beginner mistakes
- Following obsolete version advice without checking compatibility. V8.1 is the current default described here, but V7 remains necessary for Omni Reference.
- Using a Style Reference to preserve a person or object. Style Reference is for visual feel; use Omni Reference when a V7 subject reference is the goal.
- Expecting a seed to lock an image. A seed helps with controlled experiments but does not guarantee the same composition for unrelated prompts.
- Trying to fix a local flaw by rewriting the entire prompt. Open the image in the Editor and work on the affected area.
- Assuming HD means ready for every print size. Check dimensions, crop, detail, typography, and final layout.
- Confusing privacy with ownership. Stealth Mode affects privacy, while commercial rights and copyright involve separate questions.
- Streaming assets before checking rights. Clear every input, including music, reference images, logos, and likenesses, before distributing the result.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Midjourney V7 or V8.1 the current version?
V8.1 is the current default described in Midjourney’s version documentation. V7 remains important because Omni Reference is documented as a V7 feature. Use an explicit version when a particular feature or workflow requires it.
Which Midjourney plan is best for a beginner?
Basic is the least expensive way to learn. Standard is more practical for frequent iteration because Standard, Pro, and Mega include unlimited image generations in Relax Mode. Choose Pro or Mega when Stealth Mode or heavier production volume is important.
Does an Image Prompt edit an existing image?
No. An Image Prompt provides broad visual inspiration, while the Editor is intended for precise changes such as background extensions, local replacements, and retexturing.
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What is the difference between Style Reference and Omni Reference?
No. Style Reference influences colors, textures, lighting, medium, and overall visual feel. It is not intended to preserve the exact objects or people in the source. Omni Reference is the V7 tool for bringing one referenced subject into a new creation.
Are Midjourney images automatically print-ready and copyright-protected?
Not automatically. V8.1 HD output is 2048 pixels on the square side, but print suitability also depends on aspect ratio, detail, cropping, typography, and later layout work. Copyright and protection for AI-assisted output also vary by jurisdiction.
The Bottom Line
Start with a Basic plan, a clear seven-part prompt, and one parameter at a time. Learn V8.1’s aspect ratio, stylize, Raw, No, chaos, and seed controls before adding references or Personalization. Use Style Reference for visual language, Omni Reference in V7 for a referenced subject, and the Editor for localized repairs. Before printing, selling, or streaming the result, check dimensions, plan requirements, source-image rights, privacy settings, and the law in your jurisdiction.
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