How to Use Midjourney in 2025: Complete Beginner's Guide

What Is Midjourney?

Midjourney is an AI image generation service that creates photorealistic and artistic images from text descriptions (prompts). Since its public launch in 2022, it has become the most widely used AI image generator for creative professionals, designers, marketers, and artists — known particularly for producing images with exceptional aesthetic quality that consistently surpasses other AI image tools.

In 2025, Midjourney has evolved significantly. The v6 model produces photorealistic images that are increasingly difficult to distinguish from photographs, and the v6.1 model (released in late 2024) further improved text rendering, prompt adherence, and fine detail quality.

Getting Access to Midjourney in 2025

Midjourney has transitioned away from its Discord-only interface. In 2025, access is available through:

Midjourney.com (primary): The official web interface launched in 2024 is now the recommended access point. Images are generated and managed in a gallery-style interface accessible at midjourney.com.

Discord: The original Discord interface (in the Midjourney Discord server or via bot DM) remains available but the web interface is more feature-rich and user-friendly.

Subscription required: Midjourney no longer offers a free trial. Subscriptions start at $10/month (Basic) for approximately 200 images per month.

Subscription Plans in 2025

Basic ($10/month): ~200 fast images per month. Good for casual use and experimentation.

Standard ($30/month): 15 fast image hours per month (approximately 900+ images) plus unlimited relaxed generations. Recommended for regular creative use.

Pro ($60/month): 30 fast image hours, stealth mode (private image generation), and concurrent image generation.

Mega ($120/month): 60 fast image hours plus all Pro features. For heavy professional use.

Understanding Midjourney Prompts

A Midjourney prompt is the text description you provide to generate an image. Writing effective prompts is the core skill in Midjourney.

Basic Prompt Structure

A simple prompt can be just a few words: "a red apple on a white table" will generate a functional image. More detailed prompts produce more controlled, refined results.

Basic formula: [Subject] [Setting/Environment] [Style/Medium] [Lighting] [Mood/Atmosphere]

Example: "a lone lighthouse on rocky cliffs, stormy ocean at sunset, oil painting style, dramatic golden and purple light, cinematic mood"

Subject Description

Be specific about your subject:

• "woman" vs. "young Japanese woman with short silver hair, warm expression"
• "city" vs. "futuristic Tokyo at night, neon reflections on rain-slicked streets"
• "dog" vs. "golden retriever puppy playing in autumn leaves"

Specificity gives Midjourney more to work with and produces more targeted results.

Artistic Style References

Midjourney responds well to style references:

• Artists: "in the style of Rembrandt," "Moebius illustration style," "Edward Hopper painting"
• Photography styles: "35mm film photograph," "drone aerial photography," "studio portrait lighting"
• Art movements: "Art Nouveau poster," "Bauhaus design," "cyberpunk aesthetic"
• Specific aesthetics: "Studio Ghibli style," "hyperrealistic 3D render," "vintage film grain"

Describing Lighting

Lighting profoundly affects image quality and mood:

• Golden hour, blue hour, midday harsh sun
• Soft diffused light, dramatic side lighting
• Candlelight, neon light, moonlight
• Studio three-point lighting, Rembrandt lighting

Quality and Detail Terms

Terms that consistently improve output quality:

• "highly detailed," "intricate details"
• "8K resolution," "ultra high definition"
• "professional photography," "award-winning photograph"
• "sharp focus," "bokeh background" (for shallow depth of field)
• "masterpiece," "trending on ArtStation" (for digital art)

Essential Midjourney Parameters

Parameters modify how Midjourney generates your image and are added at the end of the prompt with a double dash.

--ar (Aspect Ratio)

Controls the output image dimensions:

• --ar 1:1 (square, default)
• --ar 16:9 (widescreen, great for landscapes and scenes)
• --ar 9:16 (vertical, great for portraits and phone wallpapers)
• --ar 4:3 (traditional photo)
• --ar 3:2 (classic photography format)

Example: "mountain landscape at sunset --ar 16:9"

--v (Version)

Specifies which Midjourney model version to use:

• --v 6.1 (default, best quality)
• --v 6 (previous default)
• --v 5.2 (older model, different aesthetic)
• --niji 6 (anime/illustration-optimized model)

--s (Stylize)

Controls how strongly Midjourney's aesthetic training influences the output:

• --s 0 (minimal stylization, closest to literal prompt)
• --s 100 (default balance)
• --s 500 to 1000 (more artistic interpretation, less literal)

Higher stylize values produce more aesthetically opinionated images. Lower values produce more literal interpretations of your prompt.

--chaos (Variation Amount)

Controls how varied the four initial image options are:

• --chaos 0 (very similar options, default)
• --chaos 50-100 (very different options, good for exploring possibilities)

--no (Negative Prompts)

Tells Midjourney what to exclude:

• --no watermarks
• --no text
• --no people
• --no blurry background

Example: "product photography of a coffee mug --no shadows --no watermarks"

--seed

Adding a specific seed number makes your prompt reproducible — useful when you want to make small changes to a successful generation.

--iw (Image Weight)

When using an image as a reference, --iw controls how much the reference image influences the output (0.5 to 2.0).

Using Image References

Midjourney can use existing images as stylistic or compositional references.

How to add an image reference: In the web interface, click the image icon in the prompt field to upload a reference image. The image URL can also be pasted directly into the prompt.

Example: [image URL] "a woman in traditional Japanese clothing, cherry blossom background --iw 0.8"

The --iw parameter controls how closely Midjourney follows the reference image style.

Practical Workflow Tips

Start broad, refine with Vary: Generate four initial images, upscale the most promising one, then use Vary (Subtle) or Vary (Strong) to produce variations that refine the best elements.

Use the /describe command: Drop any image into Midjourney's describe command, and it will generate four prompts that might produce a similar image. Excellent for reverse-engineering styles you like.

Build a prompt library: When you find a prompt structure that produces excellent results for your use case, save it as a template. Replace only the specific subject/setting elements.

Batch test aspect ratios: The same prompt often looks dramatically different at different aspect ratios. Test both portrait and landscape for images that could work either way.

Combine style references: Mixing two artist or style references often produces interesting hybrids: "portrait in the style of Vermeer and Moebius" combines classical lighting with graphic illustration technique.

Midjourney's image quality continues to improve with each model update. Staying current with version releases and experimenting with new parameters as they launch is part of mastering the platform.