Midjourney Prompts Guide (2026): Parameters, Styles & Ready-to-Use Examples

Midjourney is still the benchmark for AI image quality in 2026. The gap between what beginners produce and what experienced users produce is almost entirely down to knowing the parameter system and which style shortcuts produce reliable results. This guide covers both — from the basics of v6 syntax to the specific prompt structures that consistently produce professional-grade images.

Midjourney v6: what changed

• v6 understands natural language much better than v5 — longer descriptive prompts work now
• Text rendering improved significantly — you can include short text in images
• Photorealism is the strongest it has been — '--style raw' removes artistic interpretation
• The --p (personalisation) parameter lets you train on your preferred aesthetic over time
• Prompt weight syntax changed: use :: to separate and weight prompt sections

The essential parameters

Midjourney parameters go at the end of your prompt, after two dashes. These are the ones that matter most:

• --ar [ratio]: aspect ratio. Common values: --ar 1:1 (square), --ar 16:9 (widescreen), --ar 9:16 (portrait/story), --ar 4:5 (Instagram feed), --ar 2:3 (portrait print)
• --v 6: specifies version 6. Default in 2026 but worth being explicit
• --q 2: higher quality render. Slower but more detailed. Use for final outputs
• --stylize [0-1000]: how much Midjourney's aesthetic opinion influences the output. Default 100. Higher = more artistic interpretation. Lower = closer to your exact prompt
• --style raw: removes Midjourney's default 'beautification'. Use when you want a specific style without AI aesthetic injection
• --no [items]: negative prompt. Example: --no text, watermark, extra fingers
• --chaos [0-100]: variability between generated images. Higher = more different from each other. Use at 50-80 to explore directions
• --seed [number]: locks in a specific output for reproducibility. Find the seed of an image you like via the envelope reaction in Discord

Style shortcuts that work reliably

These are phrase patterns that trigger consistent, recognisable aesthetic results in Midjourney v6:

Photography styles

• 'shot on Leica Q3' — high-end street and documentary photography feel
• 'editorial fashion photography, Vogue aesthetic' — polished fashion imagery
• 'Annie Leibovitz portrait' — dramatic, intimate celebrity portrait style
• 'shot on iPhone, candid, natural light' — realistic everyday photography feel
• 'commercial product photography, white background, studio lighting' — clean e-commerce shots

Art and illustration styles

• 'Studio Ghibli style' — warm Japanese animation, painterly backgrounds
• 'Wes Anderson aesthetic' — symmetrical, pastel-heavy, deadpan quirky
• 'brutalist architecture photography' — raw concrete, strong geometric composition
• '1970s vintage film photograph, grain, slightly overexposed' — retro film photography
• 'concept art, ArtStation trending' — professional digital concept art quality
• 'flat vector illustration, minimal, Dribbble style' — clean modern UI-adjacent illustration

The prompt formula for consistent quality

This structure produces reliable results across subject types:

[Subject with specific details], [environment/setting], [lighting description], [camera/style reference], [mood or atmosphere] --ar [ratio] --v 6 --q 2 --stylize [value]

The key rule: put your most important element first. Midjourney weights the beginning of the prompt more heavily. If your subject is the most important thing, lead with it. If the style is paramount (e.g. for a mood board), put the style descriptor first.

20 copy-paste Midjourney prompts

Portrait & people

1. Professional headshot: confident businesswoman, late 30s, dark blazer, soft studio lighting, neutral grey background, 85mm portrait lens, shallow depth of field, corporate photography --ar 4:5 --v 6 --q 2

2. Street portrait: young man with weathered face, Istanbul street market, golden hour backlight, documentary photography, Leica Q3, candid moment --ar 3:4 --v 6 --stylize 200

Product photography

3. Luxury product: minimal perfume bottle, black glass, amber liquid, placed on brushed brass surface, dark studio background, rim lighting, luxury fragrance advertising --ar 4:5 --v 6 --q 2 --style raw

4. Food photography: overhead flat lay, avocado toast on sourdough, white ceramic plate, marble surface, scattered seeds and herbs, natural morning window light --ar 1:1 --v 6 --q 2

Environments & architecture

5. Interior design: Japandi living room, warm oak, white plaster walls, single architectural pendant light, afternoon sun casting long shadow, minimal furniture, interior design photography --ar 16:9 --v 6 --q 2

6. Urban: night street, Tokyo neon reflections on wet pavement, low angle, lone pedestrian silhouette, cinematic colour grade, anamorphic lens flare --ar 16:9 --v 6 --stylize 400

Art & concept

7. Concept art: ancient floating city above storm clouds, biopunk overgrowth on crumbling spires, dramatic god rays, matte painting, fantasy concept art, ArtStation --ar 16:9 --v 6 --q 2 --stylize 600

8. Abstract: fluid ink drop expanding in clear water, macro photography, black background, crimson and gold diffusion, ultra slow motion freeze frame --ar 1:1 --v 6 --q 2 --style raw

Prompt weighting with ::

The :: syntax lets you control how much weight each part of your prompt gets. Useful when you want the style to dominate the subject, or vice versa:

Syntax: [element]::[weight]

Example: portrait of a woman::2 golden hour lighting::1 Rembrandt style::1.5
(The woman gets twice the weight of lighting, Rembrandt style gets 1.5x)

Negative weights (removes elements): beautiful garden::1 --no concrete::0.5

The most common Midjourney mistakes

• Not specifying --ar: defaults to 1:1 square for everything, wrong for most use cases
• Using v5 syntax in v6: v6 understands natural language — you don't need comma-heavy keyword lists
• Over-stylizing: --stylize 1000 on a realistic portrait prompt will make it painterly, not photorealistic
• No negative prompt: '--no extra fingers, distorted face, watermark' should be in every portrait prompt
• Forgetting --style raw for photos: v6's default aesthetic interpretation softens and beautifies everything — raw removes this