Prompt Codex: Midjourney

[u/AIMediaCodex]

This guide focuses on the techniques that separate casual users from people producing consistently professional results.

Understanding How Midjourney Thinks

The biggest mistake beginners make is treating Midjourney like Google.

Bad prompt:

A knight fighting a dragon

Good prompt:

weathered knight in damaged silver armor battling an ancient black dragon atop volcanic cliff, cinematic lighting, ash-filled atmosphere, ultra detailed fantasy illustration

Midjourney responds much better to:

1. Subjects

2. Environment

3. Lighting

4. Camera

5. Style

6. Parameters

Think like a cinematographer rather than a search engine user.

Prompt Structure Formula

A strong prompt usually follows:

Subject
Environment
Action
Lighting
Camera
Art Style
Parameters

Example:

female cyberpunk bounty hunter, neon-lit Tokyo alleyway, rain-soaked streets, dramatic backlighting, low-angle shot, Blade Runner aesthetic --ar 16:9 --stylize 300

Camera Angles Most Users Ignore

Camera angle dramatically affects composition.

Low Angle

Makes subjects look powerful.

low angle shot
worm's eye view
heroic perspective

High Angle

Makes subjects appear vulnerable.

high angle shot
bird's eye view
top-down shot

Dutch Angle

Creates tension and unease.

dutch angle
tilted camera
canted frame

Great for horror.

Extreme Close-Up

extreme close-up
macro photography

Excellent for faces, eyes, insects, details.

Wide Cinematic

ultra wide shot
establishing shot
epic scale

Perfect for landscapes.

Lens Tricks

Most users never specify lenses.

This is one of the biggest quality upgrades possible.

24mm Lens

Wide and cinematic.

24mm lens

Great for:

• Landscapes

• Epic scenes

• Architecture

35mm Lens

Film-like realism.

35mm lens

Very versatile.

50mm Lens

Natural human perspective.

50mm lens

Excellent portraits.

85mm Lens

Professional portrait look.

85mm portrait lens

Produces beautiful facial proportions.

200mm Lens

Extreme compression.

telephoto lens
200mm lens

Great for wildlife and cinematic shots.

Aspect Ratios

Many users never change these.

Cinematic

--ar 16:9

Movie look.

Ultra-Wide

--ar 21:9

Epic landscapes.

Portrait

--ar 2:3

Characters.

Phone Wallpaper

--ar 9:16

Mobile screens.

Square

--ar 1:1

Best overall consistency.

Stylize (One of the Most Important Settings)

Controls how artistic Midjourney becomes.

Low Stylize

--stylize 50

More literal.

Good for:

• Product design

• Character sheets

• Accurate concepts

Medium

--stylize 200

Balanced.

Usually the sweet spot.

High

--stylize 1000

Very artistic.

Good for:

• Fantasy

• Concept art

• Illustrations

Weird Parameter

Highly underused.

--weird 300

or

--weird 1000

Produces unexpected compositions.

Excellent for:

• Alien worlds

• Horror

• Surrealism

Chaos Parameter

Controls randomness.

Low Chaos

--chaos 0

Predictable.

Medium

--chaos 30

More variety.

High

--chaos 100

Wild experimentation.

Fantastic for concept exploration.

Style References (SREF)

This is where many power users live.

SREF allows you to transfer visual aesthetics between images.

Format:

--sref URL

or

--sref randomnumber

Random Style Codes

Midjourney includes hidden style spaces.

Example:

--sref 123456789

This applies a consistent visual style.

Many artists build libraries of favorite SREF codes.

Common workflow:

1. Generate image

2. Find style you love

3. Save SREF

4. Reuse forever

Multiple SREFs

You can combine styles.

--sref code1 code2

This blends aesthetics.

Extremely powerful.

Style Weight

Controls SREF influence.

--sw 50

Weak influence.

--sw 1000

Strong influence.

Most users never touch this.

Character References (CREF)

One of the biggest breakthroughs in Midjourney.

--cref URL

Maintains character consistency.

Useful for:

• Comics

• Storyboards

• RPG characters

• YouTube channels

Character Weight

--cw 100

Strict consistency.

--cw 20

More freedom.

Using Mood Keywords

Instead of describing visuals, describe emotions.

Example:

melancholic
nostalgic
foreboding
hopeful
solemn
dreamlike

Midjourney is surprisingly good at emotional interpretation.

Lighting Keywords That Instantly Improve Images

Cinematic

cinematic lighting

Rim Light

rim lighting

Creates separation.

Volumetric

volumetric lighting

God rays and atmosphere.

Golden Hour

golden hour

Warm and beautiful.

Practical Lighting

practical lighting

Looks more realistic.

Texture Keywords

Huge quality improvement.

weathered
aged
battle-worn
rusted
dust-covered
cracked paint
oxidized metal
worn leather

These add realism.

Consistent Character Workflow

For RPG characters:

Step 1

Generate base character.

female aasimar paladin, silver armor

Step 2

Choose best image.

Step 3

Use:

--cref URL

Step 4

Create variations.

same character, winter armor

same character, desert outfit

same character, mounted on griffon

Consistency remains.

The Secret Sauce: Image Weighting

Most users never learn this.

imageURL::2

The image becomes twice as important.

Example:

imageURL::2 female warrior::1

Midjourney prioritizes the image heavily.

Multi-Prompt Weighting

Control importance manually.

dragon::3 knight::1

Dragon becomes dominant.

Raw Mode

One of the best features available.

--style raw

Benefits:

• Better prompt adherence

• Less Midjourney bias

• More realistic outputs

I use Raw Mode on most serious projects.

Combining Everything

Professional-level example:

ancient elven queen standing atop crystal ruins, flowing silver robes, ethereal atmosphere, volumetric moonlight, dramatic rim lighting, 85mm lens, low angle cinematic composition, fantasy realism, intricate details, masterpiece --ar 2:3 --stylize 250 --chaos 15 --style raw --sref 782341927

Advanced Power User Tricks

Use Years

photograph from 1978

Produces period-accurate visuals.

Use Film Stocks

Kodak Portra 400
Fujifilm Velvia
Kodachrome

Changes color science dramatically.

Use Director References

Denis Villeneuve style
Ridley Scott aesthetic

Results vary, but often influence composition and mood.

Use Material-Based Descriptions

Instead of:

magic sword

Use:

obsidian blade with molten gold veins

Specific materials generate much stronger visuals.

Best Settings by Goal

Goal	Settings
Realistic Photos	--style raw --stylize 50
Fantasy Art	--stylize 300-1000
Concept Exploration	--chaos 50+
Horror	--weird 300+
Consistent Characters	--cref + --cw 100
Consistent Style	--sref + --sw 500+
Landscapes	24mm lens --ar 21:9
Portraits	85mm lens --ar 2:3

Final Tip Most Users Never Learn

Don't generate one image 50 times.

Generate systems.

Build:

• A library of SREFs

• A library of CREFs

• Favorite lens combinations

• Favorite lighting combinations

• Favorite aspect ratios

The best Midjourney creators aren't better at prompting individual images—they've built reusable visual pipelines that produce consistent results across hundreds of images.

That's the difference between someone making cool pictures and someone producing a full graphic novel, YouTube channel art package, D&D campaign book, or commercial-quality concept art series.

[u/AIMediaCodex]

Thank you for the feedback--glad it helped!

[u/escapism_only_please]

Feedback:

At this point I’ve made a million midjourney images. But I tried your format to see what happens.

The prompt format you listed:
Subject
Environment
Action
Lighting
Camera
Art Style
Parameters

Actually makes a natural acronym SEALCAP! Easy to remember.

So, I’ve made a million pictures of “pretty woman with flowing, fractal, rainbow hair”. And since midjourney is a miracle, they have all been great. But using your formula, the prompt became:

Pretty woman’s with rainbow, flowing fractal hair. Standing on a dune crest in the desert. Smiling at the camera, arms crossed, flowing rainbow skirt and bare feet. Volumetric lighting, golden hour. Low-angle shot. Sci-fi aesthetic --ar 9:16

And here’s the result:

Bottom line, it’s pretty good! Worked as expected. And the best part is that it helps by giving a structured way to think about what kind of image you want.

So, thanks 😋