Crafting the Perfect Prompt: Your Guide to Mastering AI Image Generation


 


Crafting the Perfect Prompt: Your Guide to Mastering AI Image Generation Midjourney Edition


Looking for more posts to check out? You can find my AI image collection posts on my medium blog here

    Hi! Happy Friday! I’ve put together some tips and strategies to help and inspire you on your AI image prompt generating journey. Below you’ll find lots of information to improve your prompt creation and hopefully plenty of inspiration as well. If you have questions feel free to ask in the comments. 

    If you’re looking for prompt inspiration check out my popular post from last week featuring the best Midjourney prompts I found here for medium subscribers, and for those not subscribed find the post on my blogger by clicking here. You can also find more AI image prompt ideas in my other medium posts and on blogger. So, please enjoy and if you like what you’ve found please share, save, follow or subscribe! I appreciate you reading and hope it helps you discover some great new AI image ideas, prompts and tips.

  • If you’re hoping to create generative image prompts it’s good to have a distinct vision for the type of image you want to capture. It’s important to determine a specific theme, style, or subject matter that you want the prompt to highlight and center on. This can help guide your creative process and ensure that the final AI generated image result aligns with your desired aesthetic and message.
  • Use keywords and themes that best match the aesthetic you envision for your AI prompt ideas. From abstract concepts to vivid colors, unique shapes, and bold patterns. Consider what you want to include in an AI image generation prompt that will inspire and guide you on your artistic journey.
  • Expand your sources of inspiration: AI Image Generation prompts can draw from a vast array of influences, such as written works, visual art, melodic verses, creative mediums, and contemporary trends. Explore different avenues of inspiration to develop prompts that align with your specific needs and goals.
  • Experiment and perfect the prompts: Once a satisfactory AI image prompts has been created, it can be beneficial to refine or adjust their length in order to test for improved or comparable generative image prompts.
  • Explore a variety of image generators and find the one which brings your vision to life while staying within your budget. With numerous options available, such as Midjourney’s vibrant designs, Dall E-3’s chat integrated image generation, Night Cafe’s dreamy landscapes, Stable Diffusion’s customization capabilities, or Huggingface’s inventive graphics. You can experiment with free AI Image generation or opt for a monthly subscription or credit-based plan. 
Beautiful woman in a futuristic grocery store AI image generated prompt using Polaroid/Instant Camera 

Experiment with a variety of camera types and apertures

You can experiment with a variety of camera types and apertures to see how they impact the final results of your images. From wide angle lenses that capture sweeping landscapes to zoom lenses that bring distant objects into focus, each option offers a unique perspective. For example, a wide aperture will create a shallow depth of field, blurring the background and bringing the subject into sharp relief, while a narrow aperture will result in a more detailed and expansive image. By playing with different combinations, you can unlock the full potential of your photography skills and create stunning visual compositions. Here are just a few examples to inspire your creativity:

Camera Types

  • DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex): Known for versatility and high image quality. Ideal for prompts aiming for professional-level detail and depth of field.
  • Mirrorless Cameras: Offer similar quality to DSLRs but in a more compact form. Great for prompts that imply modern, high-quality, but more portable photography styles.
  • Point-and-Shoot: Good for casual, everyday photography. Use in prompts when suggesting simplicity and spontaneity.
  • Film Camera: Suggests a vintage or retro aesthetic. Useful in prompts aiming for grain, light leaks, or a nostalgic feel.
  • Medium Format Camera: Imparts a sense of professional, high-resolution imagery. Excellent for prompts related to fashion photography or detailed landscape shots.
  • Polaroid/Instant Camera: Implies instant, candid shots with a distinct, retro border. Perfect for prompts seeking a fun, spontaneous, and vintage feel.
A beautiful woman with dark hair in a white dress AI generated image prompt using Film Camera, 85mm
Beautiful woman, Fantasy Art setting, f/1.8, Medium Format Camera, AI generated image prompt

Camera Settings

  • Aperture (f-stop): Mention specific f-stops (e.g., f/1.8 for shallow depth of field or f/16 for deep focus) to suggest how much of the scene should be in focus.
  • Shutter Speed: Use terms like “slow shutter speed” for motion blur effects or “fast shutter speed” to freeze motion, ideal for capturing movement or stillness.
  • ISO: Specify low ISO (e.g., 100) for bright conditions and high-quality images with minimal grain, or high ISO (e.g., 3200) for low-light conditions, implying a possible increase in grain.
  • Focal Length: Mentioning focal lengths can hint at the angle of view or level of zoom. For example, “24mm for wide landscape shots” or “85mm for beautiful portrait shots with bokeh”.
  • White Balance: Suggesting specific white balance settings (e.g., “warm white balance for a sunset scene”) can help set the mood or time of day.
  • Manual vs. Auto Focus: Specify “manual focus for a more artistic, selective focus” or “auto focus for sharp, clear images,” depending on the desired outcome.
Expressionism style image of a fox wandering a secluded country road, AI generated prompt
Renaissance style attractive man, in the future, AI generated image

Various Art Genres

As I mentioned in my previous statement, if you are seeking inspiration for generating images and are unsure of where to begin or what types of AI art generation are possible, there are various art genres to explore when brainstorming your AI prompts. These can be combined with the previously listed camera settings or types to create a more intricate AI-generated image, one with layered depth, vibrant colors, and complex compositions.

Here are some genres for inspiration:

  • Realism: Focuses on accurately depicting the visual appearance of scenes and objects.
  • Impressionism: Characterized by small, thin brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on light in its changing qualities, ordinary subject matter, movement, and unusual visual angles.
  • Expressionism: Aims to express emotional experience rather than impressions of the external world.
  • Surrealism: Features the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions, and non sequitur; heavily influenced by psychoanalytic theory.
  • Abstract: Art that does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality but instead uses shapes, colours, forms, and gestural marks to achieve its effect.
  • Cubism: Art style where objects are analyzed, broken up, and reassembled in an abstracted form — instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context.
  • Futurism: Emphasizes speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the car, the airplane, and the industrial city.
  • Art Deco: Known for its sleek geometric or stylized forms and by its man-made materials, such as plastics, glass, and chrome.
  • Baroque: Features exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur.
  • Gothic: An art style that flourished in Europe during the High and Late Middle Ages characterized by intricate details, vibrant stained glass, flying buttresses, and pointed arches.
  • Renaissance: Celebrates the individual and humanity, focusing on classical antiquity’s art and philosophy’s rebirth, characterized by harmony, clarity, and perspective.
  • Pop Art: Challenges traditional fine art by including imagery from popular and mass culture, like advertising, comic books, and mundane cultural objects.
  • Minimalism: Characterized by simplicity, focusing on what is essential to the work and removing any unnecessary features.
  • Art Nouveau: Known for its flowing, elongated forms inspired by natural elements, such as floral and other plant-inspired motifs.
  • Neo-Classicism: Inspired by the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome, emphasizing clarity, order, and idealized beauty.
  • Digital Art: Artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process, including virtual reality, bitmap graphics, and algorithm-generated art.
  • Fantasy Art: Artwork that depicts magical or other supernatural themes, ideas, creatures, or settings.
  • Street Art: Visual art created in public locations for public visibility, including graffiti, stencil graffiti, sticker art, wheatpasting, and street poster art.
White bear in a bubble with a bright blue sky in the background, AI image generated using just three words: bear bubble baby

Keep it simple! 

It is important to start with a simple AI image prompt to ensure that the Midjourney AI can accurately interpret your desired image. From my observations, the algorithm can only recognize a maximum of 3–5 ideas within a lengthy AI prompt idea, and it will prioritize concrete concepts before incorporating more abstract elements such as emotions and intangible thoughts.

For example I would not include the following ideas into your prompts as the AI will struggle to grasp them:

  • Emotions and Feelings: While AI can generate images of facial expressions associated with basic emotions (e.g., happiness, sadness), it may struggle to capture the complexity and subtlety of more nuanced feelings (e.g., nostalgia, melancholy, or existential dread).
  • Philosophical Concepts: Ideas like existentialism, solipsism, or the notion of the sublime are challenging for AI to depict accurately because they involve complex layers of thought and interpretation that vary widely among individuals.
  • Abstract Ideas: Concepts like democracy, freedom, justice, and love are deeply contextual and subjective, making them difficult for AI to represent without defaulting to clichéd or overly simplistic imagery.
  • Cultural Nuances: Cultural concepts, beliefs, and practices that are deeply ingrained and nuanced can be difficult for AI to understand and represent accurately without stereotyping or oversimplification.
  • Sensory Experiences: Describing a scene meant to evoke a specific smell, taste, or touch can be challenging for AI since these are deeply personal and subjective experiences that visuals alone may not fully convey.
  • Existential Concepts: Ideas like life after death, the soul, or the concept of infinity are difficult for AI to visually interpret due to their abstract nature and the wide range of beliefs and interpretations surrounding them.
Renaissance style attractive man in his kitchen in the future, cooking with his robot helper, AI generated image

Midjourney V6 offers an effortless solution to generating stunning images without the need for lengthy and overly-detailed prompts. In fact, a simple combination of words, emojis, or even made-up terms can produce impressive results. You no longer need to master or come up with AI prompt ideas that are complex and require prompt engineering in order to achieve satisfying AI-generated images. However, if you have a specific concept or design in mind, these tips can be useful and may spark inspiration for creating unique and unexpected AI images. So go ahead and explore the possibilities with Midjourney V6’s advanced image generation.

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