How to Use Midjourney: Complete Beginner's Guide (2024)

What Is Midjourney and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?

If you've been scrolling social media lately and wondered how people are creating those strikingly beautiful, almost cinematic AI-generated images, there's a good chance Midjourney is behind them. It's one of the most popular AI image generators on the internet — capable of producing paintings, concept art, photorealistic portraits, fantasy landscapes, and just about anything else you can describe in plain English.

This guide walks you through exactly how to use Midjourney from start to finish, covering everything from account setup and your first prompt to advanced techniques that produce consistently stunning results. We'll also look at what makes a great prompt, how to fine-tune your outputs, and — if you're not ready to pay for a subscription — how to get a comparable quality for free using Open Journey, an open-source alternative that produces a very similar artistic style without the price tag.

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How to Use Midjourney: Setting Up Your Account

Before you can generate a single image, you need to get access to Midjourney. Unlike many web apps, Midjourney runs inside Discord — a popular chat platform — which surprises a lot of first-time users.

Step 1: Create a Discord Account

If you don't already have a Discord account, head to [discord.com](https://discord.com) and sign up for free. You'll need a valid email address and a username. The process takes about two minutes.

Step 2: Join the Midjourney Discord Server

Once you have a Discord account, go to midjourney.com and click the "Join the Beta" button, or search for the Midjourney server directly inside Discord. Accept the invite to join the server.

Step 3: Subscribe to a Plan

Midjourney no longer offers a free trial. You'll need to pick a paid subscription plan before you can start generating images. As of 2024, plans start at around $10/month for the Basic plan, which gives you roughly 200 image generations per month. The Standard plan at $30/month provides unlimited relaxed generations, and the Pro plan at $60/month adds private mode and faster generation speeds.

Step 4: Find a Generation Channel

Inside the Midjourney Discord server, look for channels labeled something like #newbies-1, #newbies-2, and so on. These are public rooms where you type your prompts and images appear. You can also add the Midjourney bot to your own private Discord server for a cleaner experience — go to the Midjourney server, right-click the bot, and choose "Add to Server."

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Understanding the Midjourney Bot and Basic Commands

Midjourney works through a bot that responds to slash commands typed in a Discord channel. This is the core mechanic — you type a command, describe what you want, and the bot returns four image variations within about a minute.

The /imagine Command

The most important command is /imagine. Type it into the chat box, press the space bar, and a "prompt" field will appear. This is where you describe the image you want. For example:

> /imagine prompt: a golden retriever sitting in a field of sunflowers at sunset, photorealistic, soft lighting

The bot will process your request and return a 2x2 grid of four images. From there, you have several options:

• U1–U4 buttons: Upscale a specific image (enlarges it and adds detail)


• V1–V4 buttons: Create four new variations based on one of the four images


• Re-roll button (🔄): Start fresh with the same prompt

The /settings Command

Type /settings to open a panel where you can adjust Midjourney's default behavior — things like which AI model version to use, the default image quality, and whether you prefer "Relax" mode (slower but doesn't burn through fast GPU hours) or "Fast" mode.

Other Useful Commands

• /info — see your subscription status and remaining fast hours


• /help — basic help menu


• /describe — upload an image and Midjourney will suggest prompts that might recreate it


• /blend — merge two images together

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How to Write Good Midjourney Prompts

This is where most beginners get stuck. Typing a few words gives you something, but learning to write descriptive, structured prompts is what separates good outputs from great ones.

The Anatomy of a Strong Prompt

A well-built Midjourney prompt usually follows this rough structure:

Subject + Style + Medium + Lighting + Mood + Parameters

For example: "a lone astronaut standing on the surface of Mars, digital painting, dramatic backlighting, cinematic atmosphere, volumetric fog --ar 16:9 --v 6"

Let's break that down:

• Subject: a lone astronaut standing on the surface of Mars — be specific


• Style: digital painting — tell the bot how you want it rendered


• Lighting: dramatic backlighting — lighting changes everything in AI art


• Mood/Atmosphere: cinematic atmosphere, volumetric fog — emotional tone


• Parameters: --ar 16:9 --v 6 — technical flags (more on these below)

Tips for Better Prompt Writing

• Be specific, not vague. "A beautiful landscape" is weak. "A misty fjord at dawn with snow-capped mountains reflected in still water" is much better.


• Name art styles and artists. Prompts like "in the style of Studio Ghibli" or "reminiscent of Ansel Adams photography" give the model a strong visual reference.


• Use adjectives liberally. Words like lush, ethereal, gritty, hyper-detailed, vibrant all push the output in meaningful directions.


• Describe what you DON'T want using the --no flag. Example: --no text, watermark, blurry keeps clutter out of your images.


• Specify composition. "Close-up portrait," "wide establishing shot," "bird's eye view," "rule of thirds" all affect how the scene is composed.

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Midjourney Parameters You Need to Know

Parameters are flags added to the end of your prompt that control technical aspects of the generation. They're one of the most powerful tools in Midjourney's toolkit.

Aspect Ratio: --ar

Controls the dimensions of your output image. Common values:

• --ar 1:1 — Square (default, great for profile pictures)


• --ar 16:9 — Landscape/widescreen (wallpapers, YouTube thumbnails)


• --ar 9:16 — Portrait/vertical (mobile wallpapers, social media stories)


• --ar 4:3 — Classic photo ratio


• --ar 3:2 — Standard photography ratio

Model Version: --v

Specifies which version of the Midjourney model to use. As of 2024, --v 6 is the latest and produces the most photorealistic, coherent results. Earlier versions like --v 5.2 are still available and some users prefer their specific aesthetic qualities.

Style: --style

The --style raw flag reduces Midjourney's default "beautification" effect, giving you outputs closer to what you literally described rather than an idealized, polished version.

Chaos: --chaos

A value between 0–100 that controls how varied and unexpected the four image outputs are. Low chaos (0–20) gives you consistent, predictable variations. High chaos (80–100) produces wildly different interpretations of the same prompt — great for exploration and brainstorming.

Quality: --q

Controls rendering time and detail. Values are 0.25, 0.5, and 1 (default). Higher quality takes longer and uses more GPU credits. For most use cases, the default is fine.

Stylize: --s

Ranges from 0 to 1000, defaulting to 100. Lower values stick closely to your prompt. Higher values let Midjourney apply more of its own artistic interpretation, which can produce stunning but less predictable results.

Seed: --seed

Every image has a seed number (shown in the image metadata). Using the same seed with a similar prompt gives you more consistent results across generations — useful when you want to iterate on a character or scene without drifting too far.

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How to Use Midjourney for Specific Use Cases

Knowing the commands is one thing. Understanding how to apply them to real creative projects is another.

Creating Illustrations and Concept Art

For illustrations, combine style keywords with descriptive prompts:

> /imagine prompt: warrior woman in ancient Rome, detailed illustration, ink and watercolor, vibrant colors, dynamic pose, action shot --ar 3:4 --v 6

Try adding terms like concept art, character sheet, detailed linework, or reference specific illustrators whose style you admire.

Generating Photorealistic Images

For photography-style outputs, use camera and lens terminology:

> /imagine prompt: elderly fisherman mending nets at a Mediterranean harbor, golden hour light, shot on Canon 5D Mark IV, 85mm lens, shallow depth of field --ar 3:2 --v 6 --style raw

Adding terms like DSLR, film grain, 35mm, Kodak Portra 400, or unedited RAW pushes outputs toward photorealistic results.

Designing Logos and Branding Assets

Midjourney isn't a traditional vector tool, but it excels at generating logo concepts:

> /imagine prompt: minimalist logo for a coffee brand, clean lines, earth tones, geometric shapes, flat design, white background --ar 1:1 --v 6

Note: You'll usually need to clean up AI-generated logos in a vector tool afterward, as small details like text and fine linework can be imperfect.

Making Social Media Content

For eye-catching social posts:

> /imagine prompt: cozy home office setup with plants and warm lighting, lifestyle photography aesthetic, Instagram-worthy, neutral tones --ar 4:5 --v 6

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Midjourney vs. Open Journey: Which Should You Use?

Here's the honest comparison many users need to see before committing to a paid subscription.

Feature

Midjourney

Open Journey

Price	From $10/month	Free to start
Free trial	No	Yes
Art style	Signature Midjourney aesthetic	Midjourney-like style (fine-tuned on SD)
Image quality	Industry-leading	Excellent, comparable quality
Generations per month	Limited by plan	Generous free tier
Platform	Discord bot	Web app
Commercial rights	Yes (with subscription)	Yes — you own every image
Art styles available	Varied via prompts	20+ built-in styles
Speed	1 minute (Fast mode)	Under ~4 seconds
Privacy	Public unless on Pro plan	Available
No credit card needed	No	Yes

The bottom line: Midjourney produces stunning results, but its $10–$60/month subscription isn't trivial — especially if you're a hobbyist, student, or small business just starting out. Open Journey delivers a comparable artistic output in a web-based interface, generates images in under 4 seconds, and lets you start creating immediately without entering payment details.

Open Journey is an open-source AI image generator built on Stable Diffusion and fine-tuned to produce that distinctive Midjourney-style aesthetic — think rich colors, painterly depth, and cinematic lighting — for free. It supports 20+ art styles including photorealistic, anime, oil painting, watercolor, pixel art, and digital art, giving you creative range that goes beyond what most paid tools offer by default.

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Advanced Midjourney Techniques

Once you're comfortable with basic prompting and parameters, these advanced techniques will level up your results significantly.

Image Prompting

Midjourney lets you include an image URL at the start of your prompt to use it as a visual reference:

> /imagine prompt: [image URL] futuristic cityscape, cyberpunk aesthetic --iw 0.5

The --iw (image weight) parameter controls how much influence the reference image has on the output. Values range from 0.5–2.0. Higher values = more similar to the reference image.

Multi-Prompting

You can give equal weight to multiple distinct concepts using :: to separate them:

> /imagine prompt: sunset:: ocean:: mountains:: --v 6

Or assign different weights:

> /imagine prompt: forest::2 mist::1 sunlight::1

This tells the model to emphasize the forest twice as much as the mist or sunlight.

The /describe Feature

Drag any image into the /describe command and Midjourney will suggest four prompts that might recreate it. This is invaluable for reverse-engineering the style of an image you love — whether it's a painting, a photo, or another AI artwork.

Using Vary (Region)

After upscaling an image, click "Vary (Region)" to select a specific area and reprompt just that section. This is Midjourney's inpainting tool — perfect for fixing faces, changing background details, or adding elements to a composition without regenerating everything.

Pan and Zoom

After upscaling, the "Zoom Out" option extends the canvas beyond the original borders, effectively uncropping your image. "Pan" lets you extend the image in a specific direction. Both features are excellent for creating wider establishing shots or adding more context to a scene.

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Common Midjourney Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Even experienced users fall into these traps. Knowing them upfront saves a lot of frustration.

Mistake 1: Prompts That Are Too Vague

"A nice house" produces boring, generic results. "A modernist beach house at twilight, large glass windows, warm interior lighting, Pacific Ocean in the background, architectural photography" produces something genuinely beautiful.

Fix: Add 5–10 specific descriptors — subject, location, lighting, time of day, style, mood, and composition.

Mistake 2: Conflicting Style Instructions

Trying to combine incompatible aesthetics — like "photorealistic watercolor animation" — confuses the model and produces muddy, inconsistent results.

Fix: Pick one dominant style and use supporting terms that reinforce it rather than contradict it.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Model Versions

Using an older model version by default (or accidentally) when you want modern results.

Fix: Always specify --v 6 for current Midjourney results, or set your default model in /settings.

Mistake 4: Forgetting the --no Flag

Images frequently contain unwanted text, watermarks, extra limbs, or cluttered backgrounds when you don't specify what to exclude.

Fix: Always add --no [unwanted elements] to the end of prompts for cleaner outputs.

Mistake 5: Not Using Variations Strategically

Many users upscale their favorite image immediately and move on. But running V1–V4 variations on a composition you like — then upscaling from those — often produces better results than stopping at the first generation.

Fix: Generate → pick best → run variations → pick best again → upscale. This iterative approach dramatically improves final quality.

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How Open Journey Compares in Practice

If you're following along and wondering whether Open Journey can actually deliver on the same kind of artistic quality this guide covers, here's a practical breakdown.

Open Journey was specifically trained on a dataset of Midjourney-style outputs, which means its default aesthetic — the rich contrast, detailed textures, dramatic lighting, and painterly quality — closely mirrors what you'd get from Midjourney. The key difference is you're working in a web interface rather than Discord, and generation happens in seconds rather than a minute.

You get over 20 preset art styles (no need to write "oil painting style" into your prompt — just select it), full commercial rights on every image you create, and no need for a credit card to get started. For creators who need high-volume output — social media content, game assets, blog illustrations, marketing materials — the speed advantage alone (under 4 seconds vs. 60 seconds) adds up to a significant productivity difference over the course of a project.

The workflow is also more beginner-friendly. You don't need to learn Discord slash commands, manage bot permissions, or navigate server rules. You just type your prompt, pick a style, and hit generate.

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Midjourney for Business and Commercial Projects

Many professionals are integrating Midjourney — and tools like Open Journey — into commercial workflows. Here's what you need to know about using AI-generated art commercially.

Midjourney's Commercial Rights

Under Midjourney's paid subscription:

• Basic, Standard, and Pro plans grant you full commercial use rights to the images you generate.


• If you're on the free trial (no longer widely available), you have only a Creative Commons license — not full commercial rights.


• Always check the current terms of service, as these have evolved over time.

Open Journey's Commercial Rights

Open Journey gives you full commercial rights to every image you create — period. Whether you're designing merchandise, creating marketing collateral, building a product, or selling prints, you own the output. This is one of the most important practical advantages for freelancers and small businesses.

Use Cases for Businesses

• E-commerce: product mockups, lifestyle photography, banner ads


• Content marketing: blog header images, social media graphics, infographics


• Game development: concept art, character designs, environment sketches


• Film and TV production: storyboards, mood boards, set design concepts


• Architecture: client-ready visualizations and renders


• Publishing: book covers, editorial illustrations

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Midjourney free to use?

Midjourney no longer offers a free trial. All plans require a paid subscription starting at around $10/month. If you want to explore AI image generation without spending money upfront, Open Journey is a strong free alternative that produces a very similar artistic style and allows you to generate images without entering any payment details.

How long does it take to learn how to use Midjourney?

Most people can generate decent images within 15–30 minutes of their first session. Mastering prompt engineering — knowing exactly what language to use to get consistent, high-quality results — takes a few weeks of regular practice. Advanced features like image prompting, multi-prompting, and regional variation are learned best by experimenting incrementally.

Can I use Midjourney images commercially?

Yes, on paid plans (Basic, Standard, Pro, and Mega), you have full commercial use rights to images you generate. The exception was the old free trial, which used Creative Commons licensing. Always verify the current terms on Midjourney's official website, as licensing policies have changed in the past.

What's the best Midjourney model version to use?

As of 2024, --v 6 is the current flagship model. It produces the most photorealistic, detailed, and coherent outputs. Earlier versions (5.2, 5.1) are still accessible and some users prefer them for specific aesthetic qualities — v5.2 in particular has a softer, slightly more painterly feel that some creators prefer for illustration work.

Why are my Midjourney images coming out blurry or low quality?

A few common causes: you're in Relax mode with a very short prompt (less detail = less to work with), your image was generated at low quality settings (--q 0.25), or you haven't upscaled the image yet (the initial 2x2 grid is a preview; upscaling applies much more detail). Try adding more descriptive language to your prompt, use --q 1 for full quality, and always upscale before downloading.

Can I use Midjourney without Discord?

As of mid-2024, Midjourney launched a web interface at midjourney.com/imagine for subscribers, meaning you no longer strictly have to use Discord. However, the Discord bot remains popular for its community features. If the Discord-first workflow has been a barrier for you, Open Journey has always been a pure web app — no Discord required, no bot to set up, just prompt and generate.

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Tips for Getting Consistent Results Across Multiple Images

One of the trickiest things in AI image generation is maintaining visual consistency — particularly for ongoing projects like a character across multiple scenes, a brand's visual identity, or an illustrated series.

Use the Seed Parameter

As mentioned earlier, using --seed [number] with a similar prompt tends to produce images with similar composition, color palette, and character features. Pull the seed from a generation you love (it appears in the image metadata when you react with the envelope emoji or check the bot's response) and reuse it.

Build a Style Reference Library

Keep a folder of prompts that produce results you love, along with the exact parameters used. Over time, this becomes your personal "prompt library" that you can remix and adapt rather than starting from scratch each time.

Use Consistent Style Keywords

If you want a cohesive visual identity — say, for a brand or a creative project — pick 3–5 style keywords and use them in every single prompt. For example, always including "warm earth tones, soft bokeh, film photography, golden hour" will tie together otherwise different subjects into a recognizable visual style.

Consider Using a Custom Tuned Model

Open Journey is actually itself an example of this concept at scale — it's Stable Diffusion fine-tuned on a specific aesthetic. If you have a very consistent style requirement, tools like Dreambooth (for training on specific characters or objects) or LoRA fine-tuning can produce models that generate your specific subject reliably. Open Journey already comes with 20+ built-in art style presets that do this heavy lifting for you without any technical setup.

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Conclusion: Start Creating AI Art Today

Learning how to use Midjourney opens up a genuinely exciting creative capability — the ability to visualize any idea, in any style, in seconds. From cinematic concept art to photorealistic product photography to whimsical illustrations, the only real limit is how well you can describe what you imagine.

The learning curve is real but manageable. Start with clear, descriptive prompts on subjects you care about. Experiment with parameters one at a time so you understand what each one does. Use variations and iteration rather than hoping the first generation is perfect. And build your personal prompt library so you get consistently great results rather than starting fresh every session.

That said, if the $10–$60/month Midjourney subscription isn't in your budget right now — or you simply want to explore before committing — Open Journey gives you a genuinely comparable artistic output completely free. It's an open-source AI image generator built to produce that same Midjourney-style aesthetic: rich colors, dramatic lighting, painterly detail, and cinematic depth. It supports 20+ art styles, generates images in under 4 seconds, and gives you full commercial rights to everything you create.

Try Open Journey free today — no credit card required, no Discord setup, no subscription. Just describe what you want and start creating.