1In one sentence
A good Midjourney prompt is a short list of concrete things to see, written as descriptive phrases separated by commas, with the subject first and the settings last.
2New words
- Descriptive phrase — a few words that describe one thing you want to see: "soft window light", "wooden board", "flat vector style". Midjourney reads phrases, not conversation.
- Style word — a phrase that sets the overall look: "studio photography", "watercolor", "flat vector", "1960s poster".
- Negative — a thing you want left out. Midjourney ignores "no people" inside the sentence; you must use the --no parameter: --no people.
- Quotes — words in double quotes, like "Sam's Bakery", tell Midjourney to try to write exactly that text in the picture.
3Why you would want it
Midjourney is not Claude. It does not understand "make me something nice for Instagram, you know, warm and friendly". It understands "overhead flat lay of croissants, marble table, warm morning light". The more of your prompt is made of things a camera could see, the better the result. Also, it reads the beginning of the prompt most carefully, so put the subject first and the mood last.
4The recipe, in order
| Slot | Question it answers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | What is the picture of? | a sourdough loaf |
| Setting | Where is it? | on a wooden board in a small bakery |
| Style | Photo, drawing, painting, which era? | studio product photography |
| Light | What is the light like? | soft window light from the left |
| Mood and colors | How should it feel? | warm, calm, cream and brown tones |
| Shape and settings | Parameters at the very end | --ar 4:5 --s 100 |
5Try it now
- Type only: bread. Press Enter. Look at the four pictures: pretty, random, not yours.
- Now type: a rustic sourdough loaf, cut open to show the crumb, on a wooden board in a small bakery, studio product photography, soft window light, warm tones --ar 4:5.
- Add a negative: paste the same prompt and add --no hands, text at the end.
- Try a text test: a chalkboard sign that says "Fresh Today", bakery counter, morning light --ar 4:5. Check the spelling in all four.
6What you will see
The one-word prompt gives four beautiful but unrelated loaves (a painting, a close-up, a kitchen scene). The full prompt gives four pictures that match your list almost item by item. The chalkboard test will spell "Fresh Today" correctly in some pictures and not others.
7Watch out
- Long prompts are not better prompts. After about 40 to 60 words, extra phrases get ignored or fight each other. One idea per picture.
- Words like "best quality", "4K", "masterpiece" do nothing useful. Describe light and material instead; that is what makes pictures look expensive.
- Midjourney makes its own decisions about anything you did not mention. If the loaf must be round, say round.
8Go further
Rewrite one of your Chapter 1.4 prompts using the six-slot table, then read Chapter 1.6 to learn what the codes at the end actually do.