AI Image Prompt Generator: Better Midjourney Prompts
Learn to write detailed AI image prompts that actually render what you imagine — with copy-paste templates for Midjourney, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion.
Most AI image failures aren't the model's fault — they're the prompt's. A prompt like "a cat" forces the model to guess the style, lighting, and mood. A good image prompt answers those questions up front, in one vivid paragraph.
The 5-part formula
Every strong image prompt covers five things in this order: subject, style, lighting, composition, mood. Example: "A fox curled up on a mossy log, watercolor painting style, soft morning light, close-up composition, peaceful mood." Five clauses, one coherent scene — models follow it far better than a bag of adjectives.
Copy-paste templates
- Portrait: "Portrait of [person/character], [age/ethnicity/appearance], [style: photorealistic / anime / oil painting], [lighting: golden-hour / studio / neon], shallow depth of field, [mood]."
- Landscape: "A [place] at [time of day], [weather], [style: cinematic photo / fantasy illustration], dramatic [lighting], wide composition with strong foreground element, [mood]."
- Product shot: "[Product] on a [surface], minimalist studio photography, soft key light with gentle shadows, centered composition, clean [background color], premium feel."
- Character sheet: "[Character], full-body turnaround, [art style], neutral background, consistent proportions, [lighting], concept-art quality, multiple angles implied."
Tool-specific tweaks
Midjourney responds well to style keywords and parameters: append --ar 16:9 for aspect ratio and --v 6.1 for the latest model. DALL-E 3 follows plain-language descriptions and dislikes parameters — write it like a caption, not a command. Stable Diffusion benefits from comma-separated tags plus a negative prompt (e.g. "blurry, extra limbs") to suppress artifacts.
Iterate, don't restart
When a render is close but off, change ONE clause at a time — swap the lighting or the style, keep the rest. Regenerating from scratch every time burns through your free credits fast. Save prompts that work well; a personal library of 20 proven prompts beats endless guessing.
Practical tip: before generating, read your prompt aloud and ask: could a human illustrator draw exactly this? If the answer is no, add the missing detail — that's the difference between "a dog" and a gallery-worthy image.