MidJourney is an amazing tool for creating stunning, AI-generated images, but let’s be real: it’s easy to end up with the same kind of basic images over and over again. If you’re using MidJourney to illustrate your ideas, stop making boring images.
Today, I’m going to share the three tricks I use to create cooler compositions and more interesting images that stand out. There’s one thing you can do before you hit “generate” and two things you can do after.
Trick 1: The Ol’ Switcheroo
The first trick is a simple prompt adjustment, and I owe a special thanks to Sideways Design for pointing it out to me. It all boils down to what you write first in your MidJourney prompt.
What Happens When You Change the Order?
Normally, when you craft a prompt, you might say something like, “A medieval knight walking in a busy mall.” You’ve got your subject (the knight) and your setting (the mall), and MidJourney will produce a pretty cool image. But since you mentioned the knight first, the image will focus on that character. The knight becomes the main subject.
But what happens if you flip the order?
If you write, “A busy mall with a medieval knight,” MidJourney will now focus on the setting—the busy mall.
They’re often wildly different, even though you used the same words. The emphasis has shifted from the knight to the mall, creating a whole new vibe for the picture.
Does It Work Every Time?
I’ll be honest with you: this trick doesn’t work 100% of the time. I couldn’t get it to work with a character reference, which was disappointing. But when it does work, the results are amazing. Here are some examples:
- Prompt 1: “A person plays the electric neon violin under a dimly lit cyberpunk street light.”
- These images are good, with the subject front and center. But let’s be real—they’re not the most exciting pictures MidJourney can produce.
- Prompt 2: “A dimly lit cyberpunk street with a person playing the electric neon violin.”
- Now look at the difference. The camera pulls back, and we get a much wider view of the scene. It feels more immersive and engaging.
Subject First vs. Setting First
Here’s the key insight: if you mention the subject first, MidJourney will usually place them front and center, close to the camera.
If you mention the setting first, MidJourney might create a wider-angle scene, with the subject placed farther away. It gives your image a more cinematic feel.
This works with more complex prompts, too. Take this one:
- Prompt 1: “A shadowy workshop cluttered with ancient timepieces where an elderly clockmaker adjusts the gears of an ancient clock.”
- This gives us a nice, wide view of the workshop, and the composition is stunning.
- Prompt 2: “An elderly clockmaker adjusts the delicate gears of an ancient clock in his shadowy, cluttered workshop.”
- Same words, totally different composition. Now, the focus is on the clockmaker, not the workshop.
Trick 2: Take a Step Back (Zooming Out)
This next trick comes after you’ve already generated your image. Once MidJourney has created an image, you can alter the composition by zooming out.
This is a powerful tool to improve your images and create a more dynamic scene.
How to Zoom Out
After generating your image, head over to the creation actions and you’ll find two buttons: one for a 1.5x zoom and another for a 2x zoom. You can also click a small button next to the zoom options to manually type in any value between 1 and 2.
Note that if you go above 2, it will default back to 2x, and in my experience, 1.9x sometimes doesn’t work correctly.
Take, for example, our image of the violin player. By simply zooming out, we can pull the camera back and change the entire feel of the picture. Now, instead of a close-up, we get a wider, more immersive view of the scene.
Keep Track of Zoom Levels
MidJourney won’t tell you which zoom level you used after the fact, so it’s a good idea to keep track as you experiment. This trick also works wonders with the medieval knight in the mall scene. By zooming out, we can completely change the atmosphere, giving us even more stunning compositions.
Trick 3: Custom Placement (Using the Editor)
The third trick to making cooler MidJourney images is using the editor to adjust your composition. This is where things get really creative.
How to Use the Editor
To access the editor, go to creation actions and click on “more options.” Depending on when you use the editor, the layout might be different, as the MidJourney website is constantly being updated. But the goal is to find the MidJourney editor.
With the editor, you can resize your frame and place your original picture anywhere on the canvas. You can also tweak your prompt, but keep in mind that rewriting the prompt doesn’t always result in major changes.
MidJourney tries to match the scene to what’s already in the image rather than fully following the new prompt.
Chaos Value and Other Settings
There are two key things to look out for:
Chaos Value:
If you generated your image with chaos, try setting it to zero for more predictable results. But if you’re in the mood to experiment, bump up the chaos and see what kind of variety you can get.
Removing the Subject from the Prompt:
Sometimes, leaving the subject in the prompt can cause MidJourney to add the subject to the surrounding scene, which isn’t always desirable.
Here’s a cool tip: make your original image small on the new canvas.
MidJourney might create an entirely new scene around it, blending the new environment into the original picture. It’s fascinating, and the results can be truly unique.
Bonus Tips: Playing with Parameters
Before I wrap up, let’s talk about parameters. One of the most useful ones is the chaos value, but there are others you can play around with, like style raw or stylize. These settings can dramatically change the outcome of your image.
Take our original image of the violin player, for example. By increasing the chaos value to 50, we get a stunning, vibrant background. It’s the complete opposite of a boring image.
