Complete Midjourney V6 Prompt Guide: Master Every Parameter
Of course! Here is the rewritten blog post. I've focused on injecting a more personal, conversational tone while keeping all the technical details and examples perfectly intact.
The Complete Midjourney V6 Prompt Guide: Master Every Parameter & Create Stunning AI Art
Welcome to the PromptMaster AI blog! If you’ve ever stared at a blank /imagine prompt in Midjourney, feeling that weird mix of excitement and total paralysis, you are definitely in the right place. I've been there. Midjourney V6 is an absolute powerhouse, capable of generating images that are so creative and realistic they can break your brain a little. But with all that power comes a dizzying array of settings, switches, and parameters. What does --stylize actually do? When should you use --chaos? And how do you frame the perfect shot with --ar?
I remember feeling like I was trying to operate a spaceship with an instruction manual written in another language. But here's the good news: it's far simpler than it looks. In my experience, understanding Midjourney V6 parameters is the key that unlocks the next level of your creative potential. It’s the difference between getting a good image and getting the exact image you had in your head. It’s time to stop leaving it to chance and start taking control.
Think of this guide as your map to navigating every major Midjourney V6 parameter. We'll break down each command, explain what it does in plain English, and give you practical examples you can copy and paste right into Discord. By the end of this, you'll be crafting prompts with the confidence of a seasoned pro, turning your wildest ideas into digital masterpieces.
What's New with Midjourney V6? 🎨
Before we dive into the nuts and bolts, let's just take a moment to appreciate what makes V6 so special. This isn't just a minor update; it feels like a quantum leap forward.
Jaw-Dropping Realism: Seriously, the level of detail, lighting, and texture in V6 is on another level. It can create photorealistic images that I honestly can't distinguish from actual photographs. Smarter Prompting: V6 understands natural language so much better. You can write longer, more descriptive sentences without feeling like you have to stuff in a bunch of keywords. Just talk to it. In-Image Text: Yep, you read that right! This was the big one for me. V6 can actually generate legible text within your images. It's not perfect yet, but it's an absolute game-changer. Just put your desired text in "quotation marks." Enhanced Coherence: The model is way better at understanding how things in your prompt relate to each other, which leads to more logical and cohesive scenes.With these upgrades, a solid understanding of parameters is more important than ever to really steer this powerful engine.
The Anatomy of a Basic V6 Prompt
Every great creation starts with a solid foundation. In Midjourney, that foundation is your prompt structure. While you can get amazing results with just a few words, what I've found works best for a professional structure looks something like this:
[Image Prompt(s)] [Text Prompt] [--parameter 1 value] [--parameter 2 value]
Image Prompts: You can drag and drop one or more images into your prompt to influence the style, composition, or subject. Midjourney will use them as a visual starting point.
Text Prompt: This is the heart of your idea. This is where you describe what you want to see. Be descriptive! I try to think about the subject, medium, environment, lighting, color, and mood.
Parameters: These are the little commands that fine-tune how the image gets made. They always start with a double hyphen (--).
Let's start with the big ones—the parameters you'll probably use in almost every prompt.
Mastering Style with --stylize (or --s)
For my money, the --stylize parameter is the most influential setting in your entire toolkit. It basically controls how much of Midjourney's own "artistic training" gets applied to your image.
I like to think of it as an "artistic opinion" slider.
Low--stylize (e.g., --s 50): Midjourney sticks very closely to your prompt, even if it ends up looking a bit less "artsy." This is fantastic for when you want a very literal interpretation of your words.
High --stylize (e.g., --s 750): Midjourney takes a lot more creative liberty. It will use its knowledge of good composition, color theory, and form to make your image look more polished, sometimes even ignoring a few of your specific details to do so.
The default value is --s 100, and the range goes from 0 all the way to 1000.
Example: Low vs. High Stylize
Let's see it in action with a simple prompt.
Low Stylize Prompt:a simple line drawing of a cat sleeping on a book --s 0a simple line drawing of a cat sleeping on a book --s 1000💡 Pro Tip: For photorealism, a lot of us have found that a lower --stylize value paired with the --style raw parameter (we'll get to that one!) works wonders. It lets the natural language of the prompt do most of the heavy lifting.
Framing Your Vision: Aspect Ratios (--ar)
This one seems simple, but trust me, don't sleep on it. The --ar command sets the aspect ratio—the width-to-height proportion—of your final image. Getting this right is absolutely essential for good composition.
The default is a 1:1 square, but V6 is super flexible.
Common Aspect Ratios:
--ar 1:1: The classic square. Great for profile pics and most Instagram posts.
--ar 16:9: Your standard widescreen cinematic ratio. Perfect for desktop wallpapers or YouTube thumbnails.
--ar 9:16: The vertical format for phone screens. Think Instagram Stories and TikTok.
--ar 3:2: A classic photography ratio you see all the time in both portrait and landscape shots.
--ar 4:5: A really popular vertical ratio for print and social media.
Example: Creating a Cinematic Shot
cinematic film still from an epic fantasy movie, a lone knight on a cliff overlooking a stormy sea at sunrise, anamorphic lens flare, detailed armor, moody lighting --ar 16:9--ar 16:9 here immediately gives the image that widescreen, movie-like feeling. The same prompt at --ar 1:1 would feel much less epic and cramped.
Embracing the Unexpected: --chaos (or --c)
Feeling stuck in a creative rut? Let me introduce you to my best friend: the --chaos parameter. It controls how much variation you get in that initial 2x2 image grid. It’s like a little creative chaos monkey.
--chaos (e.g., --c 0): The four images will be very similar, almost like minor variations on a single idea. This is the default.
High --chaos (e.g., --c 50): The four initial images will be wildly different. I'm talking different compositions, different styles, and sometimes even different takes on the subject.
The range is from 0 to 100. I love cranking up the chaos when I need to explore unexpected creative directions from a single prompt.
Example: Exploring Character Concepts
concept art for a cyberpunk street samurai, male, neon-lit alley, intricate cybernetic implants, holding a katana --ar 2:3 --c 40--c 40, one image in your grid might be a tight close-up portrait, another a full-body action shot, a third could be in a completely different art style, and the fourth might have a totally unique color palette. It’s perfect for brainstorming.
Fine-Tuning the Finish: Quality (--q)
The --quality (or --q) parameter decides how much time the AI spends generating your image. A higher quality setting uses more of your precious GPU minutes but doesn't always mean a "better" image in an artistic sense. In V6, the options are nice and simple.
--q .25: Renders 4x faster. I use this all the time for rapid prototyping and just testing out ideas. The results will be less detailed, of course.
--q .5: Renders 2x faster. A good middle ground for when you want quick results that are still pretty decent.
--q 1: The default and highest quality setting. This is what you use for your final renders.
(A quick note: there's no longer a --q 2 in V6. The default of 1 is the max.)
💡 Pro Tip: My workflow is usually this: when I'm trying to lock in the perfect prompt, I use --q .25 to iterate super fast without burning through my subscription hours. Once I've got the prompt exactly how I want it, I run it one last time with --q 1 for the final, high-detail version.
Advanced Techniques and Parameters
Ready to go beyond the basics? Okay, this is where V6 really starts to feel like magic. These parameters give you almost surgical control.
--style raw
This is easily one of the most powerful and exciting additions in V6. Using --style raw significantly tones down that default "Midjourney look"—you know, that highly opinionated, super artistic aesthetic. The result is an image that feels much more photographic and follows your prompt more literally. It’s an absolute must if you're chasing photorealism.
#### Example: Raw Photorealism
photograph of a 1970s office, vintage computers, cluttered desks, warm fluorescent lighting, smoke in the air, captured on 35mm film --ar 3:2 --style raw --s 250--style raw combined with a moderate --s value tells Midjourney to skip its usual artistic flair and just produce a straight-up, realistic photograph based on my text.
--no (Negative Prompting)
Telling Midjourney what you
want is important, but telling it what you don't want can be just as powerful. The--no parameter is your negative prompt, telling the AI to try and exclude certain things from your image.
#### Example: Refining a Portrait
stunning portrait of a beautiful woman with freckles, natural light, shallow depth of field, 85mm lens --ar 4:5 --no makeup, jewelry--tile
Ever need a seamless, repeating pattern for a website background, a fabric print, or a game texture? The --tile parameter is your one-click solution. It generates an image that can be tiled perfectly next to itself without any visible seams. It's brilliant.
#### Example: Creating a Seamless Pattern
watercolor floral pattern, vintage botanicals, soft pastel colors, detailed petals and leaves --tileMulti-Prompting with ::
This is a slightly more advanced technique that lets you blend multiple concepts and even give them different levels of importance. You just use a double colon :: to separate your ideas. You can even add a number right after it to assign a weight.
#### Example: Blending Concepts
a fusion of a steampunk::2 cat::1Pro Tips and Best Practices 🚀
- Be Specific, Not Bossy: V6 is smart. Instead of just "a beautiful sky," try talking to it like you're describing a scene to an artist: "a sky filled with dramatic, swirling cumulonimbus clouds at sunset, casting orange and purple light." Feed it rich descriptions.
- Iterate, Don't Just Re-roll: Hitting the re-roll button is tempting, but it's a bit of a lottery. If you don't like the first grid, a better approach is to pick the
--weird (it ranges from 0-3000) that is purely for experimentation. It pushes your images into surreal and unconventional territory. Try adding --weird 250 to a totally normal prompt just to see what happens!Your Creative Toolkit is Ready
Alright, that's the grand tour. The world of Midjourney V6 is massive and incredibly fun, and these parameters are your compass and map. When you move beyond simple text prompts and start mastering commands like --stylize, --ar, --chaos, and --style raw, you gain the power to direct the AI with real precision and intent. Don't be afraid to experiment. Push the values to their limits. Combine parameters in unusual ways. Some of the most stunning images I've ever made started as happy accidents on the path to getting something else.
Now it's your turn.
Feeling inspired but need a little creative spark to get started? That's where we come in. The PromptMaster AI tool is designed to help you build complex, beautiful prompts in seconds. Explore thousands of artistic styles, camera settings, and subjects to craft your next masterpiece.
Try our Visual Prompt Generator and see what you can create today.Ready to create your own prompts?
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