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Midjourney is easiest to learn on its website: open Create, type a description into the Imagine bar, submit it, and choose from the four images generated. You can then create variations, change the aspect ratio, edit part of the image, organize it, and download the result.
This guide reflects Midjourney’s web workflow and documentation available in August 2026. Model names, controls, pricing, and feature availability can change, so model-specific instructions are identified where relevant.
What is Midjourney?
Midjourney is a generative image and video service. It turns text descriptions and image references into new visual creations. You can use it to explore paintings, illustrations, concept art, product scenes, portraits, interiors, thumbnails, and other visual ideas.
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It is better understood as a creative exploration tool than as an exact production specification. A prompt guides the result, but Midjourney may interpret details differently. Anatomy, hands, faces, fine objects, logos, and typography may require repeated attempts or later editing.
Midjourney’s current official workflow is primarily web-based. Older tutorials often begin in Discord with the /imagine command; Discord remains an optional interface, but beginners will usually find the website’s Create, Organize, Explore, and Edit areas easier to follow. See the official Website Overview.
What you need before starting
- A Midjourney account.
- A browser and internet connection.
- A subscription plan. The current Getting Started flow directs new users to choose a plan before creating.
- Optional: a reference image in PNG, GIF, WEBP, JPG, or JPEG format.
- Permission to upload any image that belongs to somebody else or depicts another person.
Choose a Midjourney plan
Midjourney’s plan comparison lists four subscription tiers. Prices and features can change, so check the current plan comparison before paying.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual total | Relevant features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $10 | $96 | 3.3 hours of Fast GPU time monthly |
| Standard | $30 | $288 | 15 hours of Fast GPU time and unlimited image generations in Relax Mode |
| Pro | $60 | $576 | 30 hours of Fast GPU time and Stealth Mode |
| Mega | $120 | $1,152 | 60 hours of Fast GPU time and Stealth Mode |
The annual option is listed as a 20% discount and is paid upfront. Plans automatically renew unless canceled.
- Choose Basic for occasional experimentation and learning prompt fundamentals.
- Choose Standard if you expect to generate many variations or use Midjourney regularly. It is the most practical default for frequent beginners because Relax Mode becomes available.
- Choose Pro if you need more Fast GPU time or private generations.
- Choose Mega only for high-volume professional production. Its larger quota is unnecessary for most beginners.
Privacy warning: Stealth Mode is listed only for Pro and Mega. A personal account does not automatically mean every creation or reference is private.
Create your first Midjourney image
- Go to Midjourney.com and sign in.
- Select a subscription plan.
- Open Create.
- Find the Imagine bar.
- Type a description and press Enter or click the send button.
- Wait for Midjourney to generate a set of four images.
- Open the image you like best.
- Use the available controls to create variations, edit, download, or organize it.
Try this first prompt:
A friendly golden retriever sitting in a sunny kitchen, realistic pet photography, soft morning lightThe four-image set is not a final answer. Treat it as a visual exploration step. Select the strongest composition, make variations, and inspect the preferred result at full size before downloading or publishing it. The official Getting Started Guide explains this workflow.
Write prompts as clear descriptions
You do not need a complex prompt language. A useful starting structure is:
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subject + medium/style + setting + lighting + composition + mood + aspect ratio- Subject: what should appear.
- Medium: photograph, watercolor, oil painting, ink drawing, 3D render, poster, or collage.
- Setting: the location and surrounding context.
- Lighting: studio light, golden hour, neon, candlelight, or overcast light.
- Color: monochrome, pastel, muted, warm, or high contrast.
- Mood: calm, dramatic, playful, mysterious, or nostalgic.
- Composition: close-up, wide shot, overhead view, centered portrait, or eye-level view.
Midjourney’s Prompt Basics guidance recommends clear descriptions and notes that short, simple prompts can work better than long lists of instructions.
Improve a weak prompt one change at a time
Start with:
A nice houseAdd specific visual information:
A small modern cedar house in a pine forest, early-morning mist, warm window light, architectural photography, wide compositionThen add a format requirement:
A small modern cedar house in a pine forest, early-morning mist, warm window light, architectural photography, wide composition, muted green and brown palette --ar 16:9Change only one or two variables between attempts. If you alter the subject, lighting, style, composition, and aspect ratio at once, you will not know which change helped.
Use aspect ratios and basic parameters
Parameters are special controls placed at the end of a prompt, after the descriptive text. They begin with two dashes and should be separated from the description by a space. See the live Parameter List for current compatibility and syntax.
Aspect ratio
Use --ar to control the shape of the result:
--ar 1:1--ar 1:1: square posts, profile images, and icons.--ar 4:5: portrait-oriented social posts.--ar 3:2: traditional photographic composition.--ar 16:9: presentations, banners, desktop wallpapers, and video thumbnails.
Other beginner parameters
--stylizecontrols how strongly Midjourney applies its artistic interpretation.--chaosincreases variation among the generated options.--noasks Midjourney to exclude an element, although it cannot guarantee that every related artifact will disappear.--seedcan help establish a similar starting condition, but it does not guarantee an identical character, composition, or result.--rawreduces some of Midjourney’s default stylistic intervention where supported.--hdis documented for V8.1 high-definition generation up to 2K without upscaling, where available.
Do not assume that every parameter works in every model or workflow. Midjourney’s documentation currently distinguishes V8.1, V7, Niji 7, and other feature-specific behavior. On August 18, 2026, Midjourney’s Help Center identified V8.1 as live.
Understand the model and Editor distinction
Midjourney is not one completely uniform experience. The current documentation identifies V8.1 as live and documents features such as image prompts, an updated Describe tool, Prompt Shortener, and HD output. Omni Reference is documented for V7.
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There is also an important Editor qualification: V8.1 images can be opened in the Editor, but the Editor documentation says Editor functionality is currently using V6.1. A control shown in one model or tutorial may therefore be missing or behave differently in another.
What to do after the first four images
Open your preferred image for a larger view and use the available controls to:
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- Create subtle or stronger variations.
- Rerun the same prompt and settings.
- Reuse the prompt.
- Search for similar images.
- Open the image in the Editor.
- Download the result.
- Add it to a folder or mark it as a favorite or spotlight image.
- Use it as the basis for a video where your account and the feature support it.
The practical iteration loop is:
- Generate four initial options.
- Select the strongest composition.
- Create variations from that image.
- Choose the best variation.
- Use the Editor for localized corrections.
- Inspect details at full size.
- Download and organize the finished version.
A variation builds alternatives from a selected image. A rerun generates again from the same prompt and settings. A prompt revision changes the concept itself. An Editor change targets an existing image.
Use image references
Image references influence a new generation; they are not a guarantee that Midjourney will reproduce the reference exactly. The current reference workflows include:
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- Image Prompt: influences content, composition, style, and colors.
- Style Reference: guides the visual style.
- Omni Reference: helps maintain a character or object across images where compatible.
- Starting Frame: used for video creation.
- Moodboards and Personalization: establish a preferred visual direction.
On the web Create page, add an image through the image menu. The documented maximum upload size is 10 MB. Supported extensions listed in the Image Prompts documentation include .png, .gif, .webp, .jpg, and .jpeg.
For supported models, --iw controls image-reference influence. The current documentation lists a default of 1 and a range of 0–3 for V8.1 and V7; Niji 7 lists a range of 0–2.
A minimalist travel poster of a mountain lake --iw 2A higher image weight gives the reference more influence. It does not turn the reference into an exact copy.
Only upload images you have the right to use. Midjourney’s Terms of Service place responsibility on users for uploaded content, including necessary permissions concerning people shown in images.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsEdit an existing image
The Editor is more suitable than a new image prompt when you want to correct one area of an existing result.
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- Open an image from Create or Organize.
- Click Edit.
- Use erase or selection tools to identify the area to change.
- Describe the replacement in the Imagine bar.
- Generate alternatives.
- Use undo, redo, or reset if the result moves in the wrong direction.
- Download the preferred version.
The Editor supports combinations of Remix, inpainting or Vary Region, Pan, Zoom Out, Erase, Undo, Redo, and Reset. Remember that V8.1 images can be used in the Editor while the Editor’s documented functionality currently uses V6.1.
Personalization and style controls
Once ordinary prompts make sense, explore Moodboards, Personalization profiles, Style Creator, Style References, and global personalization. These tools can make results better match a preferred visual direction.
Personalization also changes how a prompt behaves. A tutorial image made with default settings may not be reproducible if your personalization profile is active. If your results look unexpectedly different, check whether personalization or a style reference is enabled.
Download and organize your work
Download from the image view after checking the result at full size. Use Organize to sort and filter creations, place images into folders, find previous prompts, and reuse prompt text and settings. Keeping the prompt and important settings with the downloaded file makes later revisions much easier.
Fix common Midjourney problems
The image does not match the prompt
- Remove irrelevant adjectives and put the main subject first.
- Describe the composition explicitly.
- Change one variable at a time.
- Use an image reference for composition or style.
- Use the Editor for a localized correction.
Prompts guide the model; they are not exact production specifications.
The character or object keeps changing
- Keep the character description stable.
- Use a consistent reference workflow.
- Explore Omni Reference where the compatible model supports it.
- Avoid unnecessary changes between iterations.
- Use the same seed only as a supporting technique, never as a guarantee of identity.
The hands, face, or small details look wrong
Generate more variations, select the strongest base image, and use the Editor for localized changes. For important commercial work, inspect every detail at full size and consider conventional retouching afterward.
The image contains bad text
Midjourney can struggle with long or exact typography. Generate the visual without extensive text, then add final wording in a conventional design application. You can try a simple sign, label, or poster and use the Editor for limited corrections, but do not assume the text will become accurate.
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--no text may reduce unwanted text, but it cannot guarantee that every letter-like artifact disappears.
A control shown in a tutorial is missing
The tutorial may use an older interface, a Discord workflow, a different model, a different page, an overflow menu, or a plan-specific feature. Check the current official documentation rather than relying on static screenshots.
The result is public
Public visibility and commercial rights are separate questions. Stealth Mode is listed only for Pro and Mega, while ownership and permitted use are governed by Midjourney’s terms and applicable law.
Commercial use, ownership, and copyright
Midjourney’s commercial-use guidance says users own images and videos they create, subject to exceptions, Midjourney’s terms, third-party rights, and applicable law.
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- An image upscaled from another user’s creation remains owned by the original creator. You cannot automatically use another user’s image commercially.
- A company with more than $1 million in annual gross revenue must use a Pro or Mega plan for commercial ownership or use under the stated terms.
- Copyright protection varies by country and may depend on human creative contribution. Midjourney does not provide legal advice.
- Stealth Mode concerns visibility; it does not make an unlicensed reference image or third-party material legally usable.
For client, advertising, product, or brand work, retain permission for source images, avoid using another user’s creations without authorization, and review the current Terms of Service before delivery.
Beginner prompt examples
Social-media portrait
Friendly professional portrait of a woman in her 30s, natural expression, soft window light, neutral background, realistic editorial photography, shoulders-up composition --ar 4:5Product image
A matte black reusable water bottle on a pale stone surface, soft studio lighting, clean shadows, minimal commercial product photography --ar 4:5Website hero image
Wide editorial photograph of a quiet coastal studio at sunrise, warm natural light, open negative space on the left for website copy, calm neutral colors --ar 16:9Concept art
A futuristic bookstore inside a renovated train station, cinematic concept art, dramatic blue and amber lighting, wide environmental composition --ar 16:9Children’s-book illustration
A small fox carrying a red umbrella through a rainy woodland, gentle watercolor and ink illustration, soft colors, storybook compositionInterior design
Warm Scandinavian living room with oak furniture, linen sofa, indoor plants, morning sunlight, realistic interior photography, eye-level wide composition --ar 3:2Video thumbnail
High-energy mountain biking scene on a dramatic forest trail, bold composition, clear subject separation, vivid natural colors, space for a headline --ar 16:9Logo-adjacent visual
Simple abstract blue-and-gold geometric symbol, clean vector-inspired shapes, centered on a white background, minimal brand conceptUse the last example as a direction for a visual concept, not as a finished trademark or logo. Check originality, typography, trademark conflicts, and production quality separately.
Quick Recap
A simple first-session checklist
- Choose Basic for occasional use or Standard for regular iteration.
- Open Create on Midjourney.com.
- Write a prompt with a clear subject, medium, setting, and composition.
- Add an aspect ratio only when the output shape matters.
- Review all four initial images.
- Make variations from the strongest option.
- Use the Editor for localized changes.
- Check hands, faces, objects, edges, and text at full size.
- Download and organize the final image.
- Confirm permissions, privacy, and commercial-use requirements before publishing.
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