How to Use Midjourney v6.1 Like a Pro

Midjourney recently released version 6.1, bringing substantial improvements to text rendering, coherency, and photorealism. If you are still using basic prompts like "/imagine a cute cat," you are missing out on the tool's true power.

Here is a quick guide to mastering the parameters in v6.1.

1. Aspect Ratios (--ar)

By default, Midjourney generates square (1:1) images. To generate cinematic, widescreen, or vertical images, use the --ar parameter at the end of your prompt.

• Widescreen (YouTube/Cinematic): --ar 16:9
• Vertical (TikTok/Instagram Reels): --ar 9:16
• Portrait (Photography): --ar 4:5

Example: /imagine a cyberpunk city at night --ar 16:9

2. Stylization (--s)

Midjourney has a default "house style" that is highly artistic. If you want the image to look more like a raw photograph and less like a painting, you need to turn down the stylization.

• --s 0 to --s 100: Raw, less artistic, strictly follows your prompt.
• --s 250 to --s 1000: Highly artistic, lets the AI's creativity run wild.

3. Style Reference (--sref)

This is a game-changer. If you have an image with a specific color palette, lighting, or vibe, you can force Midjourney to apply that style to your new prompt. Simply add --sref [URL of the image] at the end of your prompt.

4. Personalization (--p)

Version 6.1 introduced the --p parameter. Over time, as you rate images in the Midjourney web interface, the AI learns your specific tastes. Adding --p tells Midjourney to generate the image using your personal aesthetic bias.

Stop Using Discord

If you are still generating images via the Discord bot, check if you have access to the Midjourney Web Alpha. The new website interface makes tweaking these parameters as easy as clicking sliders, completely removing the need to memorize complex commands.

Later: How to use Midjourney V8.