Find Out Which Words Matter in Your Midjourney Prompts
Jun 7
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Have you ever written a Midjourney prompt with many words, then wondered if they all actually do anything? You're not alone. Midjourney can surprise you with how it uses or ignores certain parts of your prompt.
Understanding which words have the biggest impact is key to getting the images you want. Luckily, there's a simple way to test this. It involves using a special number in Midjourney called the seed.
What Exactly is a Midjourney Seed?
Think of a Midjourney seed number like a starting point for randomness. Every time you generate images, Midjourney picks a random seed number for you behind the scenes. This seed influences the initial noise pattern it uses to create your four images.
Midjourney has billions of possible seeds. The same prompt and the same seed number should give you the exact same set of four grid images (as long as you use the same Midjourney version).
How to Find a Seed Number
Finding the seed for an image you already made is easy. Just react to the image with the envelope emoji. Midjourney will send you a direct message with the image and its seed number.
You can also tell Midjourney which seed to use *before* you generate. You do this by adding ` --seed ` followed by your chosen number at the end of your prompt.
Testing Your Prompt Words with Seeds
The real power of seeds for prompt testing comes from keeping this starting point *the same* while changing *one thing* in your prompt. This is like a simple science experiment. You change only one variable (a word or phrase) to see what effect it has, while keeping everything else constant (the seed number).
Step-by-Step Word Testing
Let's say you have a prompt, and you're not sure if a specific word is doing anything. Here's how to test:
Start with your complete prompt. Choose a random seed number or get one from a past image you like. Run the prompt with this seed: `/imagine [YOUR FULL PROMPT] --seed [YOUR SEED NUMBER]`. Save or remember the results.
Now, run the prompt again, using the *exact same seed number*, but remove the word or phrase you want to test: `/imagine [YOUR PROMPT MINUS THE WORD/PHRASE] --seed [YOUR SEED NUMBER]`.
Compare the new images to the first set. If there's no noticeable difference in the general look or vibe, then that word likely didn't have much effect on the outcome.
If the images look significantly different (like faces appearing or disappearing, or the overall style changing), then the word or phrase you tested is important to that prompt.
Using a tool that helps manage your generations and seeds can make this process much easier. Check out the Midjourney Automation Suite from TitanXT to streamline your testing workflow.
Examples of What to Test
You can test many things:
Specific Nouns or Adjectives: Does "serene" actually change the faces? Does "crimson" really affect the color how you expect?
Style Modifiers: How much does adding "in the style of graffiti inspired portraiture" really matter compared to just the basic prompt?
Artist Names: If you include an artist's name, does it significantly change the image style, or does the prompt look similar without it? (This can help you decide if you even need the artist's name).
Similar Words: Do words like "speeding", "rushing", and "racing" create noticebly different results for a superhero prompt at the same seed?
Testing Many Words at Once with Permutations
If you want to test a list of similar words or phrases, permutations are a quick way. You put the words you want to test inside curly brackets `{}` and separate them with commas. For example: `{speeding, rushing, racing, hurrying}`.
When you add this to your prompt and include your constant seed number like `/imagine miniature superhero {speeding, rushing, racing, hurrying} down a busy street full of angry dinosaurs --seed [YOUR SEED]`, Midjourney will ask if you want to generate all the variations. Say yes, and it will run each word in the brackets with the rest of your prompt and the same seed.
This saves time and allows you to see the results side-by-side easily.
Important Things to Know About Seeds
While seeds are great for testing, they don't guarantee everything you might think:
Not for Consistency Across Prompts: Seeds are linked to the initial image grid. While they help keep the *grid* similar with the same prompt and seed, they don't make entirely different prompts generate the *same character* or *same person* consistently, even with the same seed number.
Version Specific: A seed number that works for testing in Midjourney Version 6 will produce completely different results in Version 5.2, 5.0, or earlier. Seeds are tied to the specific Midjourney version used.
Rerolling Creates New Seeds: If you click the reroll button on an image grid or an upscale, Midjourney uses a *new* random seed number, even if the previous generation used a specific seed you provided.
Upscales Share Seeds: When you upscale one of the four images from a grid, the upscale image still carries the seed number from the original grid.
Testing prompts like this helps you learn Midjourney's nuances. For more advanced prompt management and testing, consider automating parts of your workflow. Explore tools like the TitanXT Midjourney Automation Suite.
Quick Troubleshooting Tips
If you have trouble getting seed numbers or using seeds:
Make sure Midjourney can DM you. Check your settings to allow direct messages from strangers so the bot can send you the seed information.
Use the 'React' feature, not 'Reply'. Reacting to the image with the envelope emoji is how the bot knows to send the seed. Replying to an image just puts text into the prompt box.
Use the standard envelope emoji (✉️). Other envelope emojis won't work.
Conclusion
Testing your Midjourney prompts using seed numbers is a powerful way to understand which words and phrases really influence your image results. By isolating variables and comparing outputs at the same seed, you can build prompts that are more effective and predictable.
Keep experimenting and testing! Mastering prompt creation takes practice, and using tools like the one described here can make the process much smoother. Ready to dive deeper into automating your Midjourney generations? Visit https://www.titanxt.io/midjourneyautomator.
