Control Your Creations: A Guide to Midjourney Parameters

Midjourney lets you turn words into images. While a simple prompt works, learning parameters gives you much more control over your final results. These special commands added to your prompt help shape everything from the image's look to the generation process itself.

This guide covers the key parameters available in Midjourney right now. Understanding them is useful whether you're new or have been using Midjourney for a while. Let's look at how these commands work.

How Parameters Work

Parameters are added at the end of your prompt. You start them with a double dash (`--`). If you use several parameters, just list them after each other with a space in between. The order usually doesn't matter.

Key Midjourney Parameters

Aspect Ratios (--ar)

This parameter sets the shape of your image, defining the width compared to the height. A common aspect ratio is 16:9, like a wide TV screen. You can also use shapes like 3:4 or 9:16, or even create custom shapes.

Setting the aspect ratio can greatly change the composition of your image. It tells Midjourney how to frame the scene you describe.

Chaos (--chaos or --c)

Chaos adds randomness to the first set of four images Midjourney creates. It takes your prompt and introduces unexpected variations while trying to keep the main idea. You set it with a number from 0 to 100.

A low chaos value keeps results similar to your prompt. A higher value leads to more surprising, sometimes surreal, images. This is great for exploring different ideas you didn't originally plan.

Speed Modes (--fast, --relax, --turbo)

Midjourney usually runs in fast mode by default. There are other options to manage how quickly your images are generated and how they use your subscription time.

• [P]`--relax`: This mode slows down your image generation but does not use up your fast GPU hours. It's good for non-urgent tasks.[/P]

• [P]`--turbo`: This mode generates images much faster than `--fast`, but it uses your GPU time at a higher rate. Use this when speed is critical.[/P]

Managing different parameters and speed modes can become a lot to handle when you're running multiple ideas. Tools are available to help manage this process.

Consider exploring the Midjourney Automation Suite to streamline using parameters for bulk generations or testing variations.

Image Weight (--iw)

When you include a reference image in your prompt, the `--iw` parameter controls how much influence that image has on the final result compared to your text prompt. The default value is 1.

Using a value higher than 1 makes the generated image lean more towards the style or content of the reference image. A value below 1 gives more weight to the text prompt.

No (--no)

This command tells Midjourney what you want to try and exclude from your image. You follow `--no` with the items you don't want to appear, separated by commas.

For example, `--no hats, cars`. While useful, Midjourney doesn't always perfectly exclude items, especially if they are strongly linked to the main subject of your prompt. Sometimes you might need to try prompting certain things out strongly.

Repeat (--repeat or --r)

This simply runs your prompt multiple times. You specify how many times after the command, e.g., `--repeat 4`. On standard plans, you can repeat up to 10 times; pro plans offer more.

Running a prompt multiple times can give you slightly different results, especially if combined with the Chaos parameter to add variety to each run.

Seeds (--seed)

When you run a prompt, Midjourney uses a random seed number to create the initial static noise it builds the image from. You can find the seed number of a generated image and then use it again with the `--seed` parameter on a new prompt.

Using the same seed with the same prompt will produce nearly identical results. Using the same seed with a modified prompt or aspect ratio can help create images with a similar feel or structure while changing details. You can also invent your own seed number.

Stop (--stop)

This parameter stops the image generation process early. You set it with a number from 10 (very early, looks like blurry static) to 100 (completion). `--stop 10` lets you see the initial seed progress.

Most users don't use `--stop` often, but it can be interesting to see images at early stages of development.

Style Modes (--style raw)

Midjourney has a default aesthetic style. You can switch to 'raw' mode using `--style raw`.

'Raw' mode tends to be less opinionated and closer to how you describe things, often resulting in images that look less stylized and sometimes more photographic or grounded.

Stylize (--stylize or --s)

In the default Midjourney style mode, you can control how much style is applied to your image using `--stylize`. The default value is 100. You can set values much lower (e.g., 20) for less heavy styling or much higher (e.g., 1000) for a stronger, sometimes more abstract style.

Lower stylize values tend to make images look more like basic photography or illustrations, while higher values push them towards Midjourney's artistic aesthetic.

Tile (--tile)

The `--tile` parameter creates images that can be seamlessly repeated to form patterns. This is useful for designing textures, wallpapers, or fabrics.

Images generated with `--tile` are designed to match up perfectly when placed side-by-side.

Weird (--weird)

As the name suggests, `--weird` adds bizarre and unexpected qualities to your images. You can set a value from 0 to 3000. Results become less predictable at higher values.

Using `--weird` in moderate amounts (like 25-100) can introduce interesting, unique twists to your ideas without making the image too chaotic.

Video (--video)

This parameter doesn't create a video based on your prompt's subject. Instead, after your image grid is finished, it creates a short video showing the step-by-step process of how that image was generated from the initial static.

You react to the finished image grid with the envelope emoji, and Midjourney will send you the video file.

Getting More From Midjourney

Combining these parameters allows you to fine-tune your Midjourney creations. You can mix aspect ratios with chaos, use seeds with different prompts, or control stylization and weirdness at the same time.

Learning what each parameter does helps you move from basic prompting to directing the AI more precisely.

For those using Midjourney frequently or needing to generate many images with specific parameter sets, automating parts of the workflow can save significant time and effort. Explore tools designed for this purpose, such as the Midjourney Automation Suite from TitanXT, to scale up your creative process efficiently.

Ready to Experiment?

Now that you know what the main parameters do, try adding them to your prompts. Start with one or two you find most interesting, like aspect ratio or chaos, and see how they change your results. Don't be afraid to experiment!