Want Better AI Images? Simple Prompt Engineering for Midjourney Explained

Have you tried making images with AI tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, or DALL-E 3, but the results weren't quite what you hoped for? You're not alone. Getting AI to create the exact picture in your head takes a specific skill: prompt engineering. It's not just about typing a few words. It's about giving the AI clear, detailed instructions so it understands your vision.

Think of it like baking. You can use a box mix and get a basic cake. Or you can gather quality ingredients, follow a detailed recipe, and bake a custom cake that's exactly how you want it. Prompt engineering is like creating that perfect recipe for your AI image.

In this guide, we'll walk through the key steps to improve your prompts for Midjourney and other AI generators, helping you create stunning images every time.

What is Prompt Engineering for Images?

Prompt engineering is simply the skill of writing inputs for AI tools that give you the best possible results. For image generators, this means crafting text descriptions that guide the AI to produce pictures matching your ideas.

AI image tools don't guess what you want; they just show you what you ask for. So, being descriptive and providing key details is essential. It's about telling the AI the "who, what, where, and how" of your desired image.

Start with Intention

Before writing any prompt, ask yourself: What is the purpose of this image? What feeling should it create? Knowing your goal helps focus your prompt from the start. For example, if you want an image for a camping supply website, you'd want it to feel peaceful and inviting.

Lack of clear purpose is a common problem with prompts. Knowing what you want helps the AI get closer to your desired outcome.

Key Elements of a Strong Prompt

Here are the essential building blocks for creating effective image prompts:

• Subject: Who or what is the main focus? Be specific (e.g., "a middle-aged golden retriever" instead of "a dog"). A thesaurus can help you find better descriptive words.

• Action/Setting: What is the subject doing? How are they interacting with their surroundings? (e.g., "lying lazily by a lake watching birds"). This helps create a cohesive scene.

• Adjectives/Details: Describe the subject and scene (e.g., "scruffy retriever," "calm lake"). But keep it concise. Too many details can confuse the AI.

• Lighting: How is the scene lit? Lighting sets the mood and affects textures and focus (e.g., "golden hour," "smoldering campfire casting a warm glow"). Specific lighting terms are very helpful.

• Lens: What kind of camera lens is used? Different lenses change the perspective and feel of the image (e.g., "wide angle lens" captures more landscape, affecting the view).

• Angle: Where is the virtual camera placed? (e.g., "eye level perspective," "low angle"). This affects how the viewer sees the subject.

• Style/Medium: What visual style do you want? (e.g., "hyperrealistic," "cinematic," "oil painting"). You can reference artists or styles the AI understands, but be mindful of using living artists' names, especially for commercial use.

• Aspect Ratio & Resolution: Define the image's width and height ratio (e.g., 16:9) and how detailed it should be. This is important for how you plan to use the image.

Crafting prompts with these specific details makes a huge difference compared to a simple three-word phrase. While it takes thought, getting the prompt right upfront saves time later.

Handling many detailed prompts can become time-consuming. If you're generating lots of images or managing different variations, consider using a tool designed to simplify this process. TitanXT's Midjourney Automation Suite can help manage your prompts and generations more efficiently, letting you focus on the creative ideas rather than the repetitive tasks.

Getting Help with Prompts

You don't have to start from scratch every time. Other resources can help:

• Lexica: This website lets you search millions of AI-generated images and see the exact prompts that created them. It's a great way to find inspiration and see how others describe specific styles or effects. You can copy prompts and adapt them for your needs.

• AI Assistants (ChatGPT, Gemini): You can ask AI conversational tools to act as a "prompt engineer" for you. Give them your basic idea and your preferences (like style, lighting, aspect ratio), and they can help expand it into a more detailed prompt.

Advanced Settings and Modifiers

Most AI image generators have settings or command words that give you more control:

• Negative Prompts (--no in Midjourney): Tell the AI what you explicitly *don't* want in the image (e.g., "--no trees" if you want an open landscape). This guides the AI away from unwanted elements.

• Prompt Weight/Strength: This setting determines how closely the AI follows your prompt. Adjusting this can give the AI more creative freedom or keep it strictly to your instructions.

• Seed Number: A number associated with a specific image generation. Using the same prompt and seed number often recreates a very similar image. Changing the seed number with the same prompt gives you new variations based on the same core idea.

• Modifiers (--ar, --repeat, --chaos, --weird, --stylize, --raw): These are specific commands used, especially in Midjourney, to control aspect ratio (--ar), generate multiple variations at once (--repeat), introduce randomness (--chaos, --weird), or control artistic style (--stylize, --raw). Experimenting with these can lead to unique results.

Using these settings alongside a well-written prompt gives you powerful control over the final output. Mastering these can feel complex, especially when managing multiple projects or styles.

If you're ready to move beyond manually typing every prompt and parameter, look into automation. Tools like TitanXT's Midjourney Automation Suite can help you streamline your workflow, manage different settings, and generate batches of images more efficiently based on your detailed prompts.

Putting It All Together

Let's take a simple prompt like "a dog sitting by a lake" and improve it using the elements we discussed. Compare that basic prompt result to one generated with a more detailed prompt like: "a middle-aged golden retriever Lying by a calm lake watching birds across the sunset at [golden hour] to the left a smoldering campfire casting a warm glow on his fur a green camping tent in foreground by the fire --eye level --hyperrealistic --wide angle lens --ar 16:9".

You'll see a dramatic difference. The second prompt creates a much richer, more atmospheric image that tells a story and feels intentional.

Conclusion

Creating great AI images isn't magic; it's about clear communication with the AI. By understanding the key elements of a prompt – subject, action, lighting, style, and technical options – and how to use modifiers, you can move from basic outputs to truly stunning results. Remember, intention and detailed descriptions are your best tools. As AI image generation gets better, so will the ways we can talk to it.

Keep experimenting with different prompt elements and settings. The distance between a basic image and the one you envision is often just a better prompt away.

Ready to take your Midjourney creations to the next level and save time? Discover how TitanXT's Midjourney Automation Suite can help you manage your prompts and speed up your workflow.

Thanks for reading!