Tutorials

Midjourney for Beginners: Your First AI Images

April 22, 2023 2 min read Updated: 2024-08-15

Midjourney for Beginners: Your First AI Images

Midjourney creates stunning AI-generated images from text descriptions. This guide will get you from zero to creating impressive images.

What You’ll Need

  • A Discord account (free)
  • A Midjourney subscription ($10/month minimum)
  • Ideas for what you want to create

Step 1: Join Midjourney Discord

  1. Go to midjourney.com
  2. Click “Join the Beta”
  3. This opens Discord – accept the server invite
  4. You’re now in the Midjourney server

Step 2: Subscribe

You’ll need a subscription to generate images:

  1. Type /subscribe in any Midjourney channel
  2. Click the link that appears
  3. Choose your plan
  4. Complete payment

Step 3: Your First Image

Find a newbie or general channel, then type:

/imagine prompt: a cozy coffee shop on a rainy day, warm lighting, watercolor style

Wait 60 seconds, and you’ll see four image variations.

Understanding the Grid

Midjourney gives you four images at once in a 2x2 grid. Below each grid you’ll see buttons:

  • U1-U4: Upscale that image (make it bigger/more detailed)
  • V1-V4: Create variations of that image
  • 🔄: Re-run the same prompt for new results

Basic Prompt Structure

Good prompts follow this pattern:

[Subject] + [Details] + [Style] + [Quality/Technical terms]

Examples:

  • “A mountain landscape at sunset, dramatic clouds, oil painting style, highly detailed”
  • “Portrait of an elderly fisherman, weathered face, documentary photography, black and white”
  • “Futuristic city street, neon lights, cyberpunk style, 8k resolution”

Tips for Better Results

Be Descriptive

More detail = more control. Instead of “a dog,” try “a golden retriever puppy playing in autumn leaves, soft afternoon light.”

Use Style References

Add art styles, artists (use carefully), or mediums:

  • “watercolor painting”
  • “studio photograph”
  • “anime style”
  • “oil painting”

Add Quality Modifiers

These help improve output:

  • “highly detailed”
  • “professional photography”
  • “8k resolution”
  • “award-winning”

Common Parameters

Add these at the end of your prompt:

  • --ar 16:9 – Aspect ratio (horizontal)
  • --ar 9:16 – Aspect ratio (vertical)
  • --ar 1:1 – Square
  • --stylize 100 – How “artistic” (default 100, range 0-1000)

Example:

/imagine prompt: mountain landscape at golden hour --ar 16:9 --stylize 200

What Midjourney Does Best

  • Artistic and creative images
  • Fantasy and sci-fi concepts
  • Product mockups
  • Background art
  • Concept art and illustrations

Limitations

  • Struggles with text in images
  • Hands and fingers can look wrong
  • Specific real people are restricted
  • Very precise technical diagrams difficult

Next Steps

  1. Experiment with different styles
  2. Learn more parameters
  3. Study prompts that create images you like
  4. Build a collection of prompt templates

The key to Midjourney mastery is experimentation. Generate lots of images, save your best prompts, and iterate.

Want to go deeper? Check our Midjourney prompts guide for advanced techniques.

Frequently Asked Questions

Midjourney starts at $10/month for the Basic plan (200 images). Standard is $30/month for unlimited relaxed generations. There's no free trial anymore, but the Basic plan is affordable for testing.

Midjourney built their platform on Discord because it already had community features they needed. It's unconventional but works well once you're familiar with it.

Yes, if you have a paid subscription. The Basic plan and above include commercial usage rights. Check their terms for specifics on large-scale commercial use.

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