Midjourney V8.1: Tips for Better Results

May 21

Midjourney's V8.1 model is now available on the main website, and it's a strong upgrade from V7 with better prompt adherence, massively improved text rendering, better image quality, and HD mode (!). Here are 10 tips to help you get the most out of it.

Want to see these tips in action? Watch the full video on my YouTube channel for demos and examples.

1. Use HD Mode

HD mode is available in the V8 series and I use it for pretty much everything. It natively renders at 2K resolution instead of the standard 1K, and the difference shows. HD mode produces cleaner illustrations, especially when there’s more complex linework and ornate details. It also helps improve coherence of small faces, hands and bodies.

Since V8.1 doesn't have a dedicated upscaler yet, working in HD mode means your images are already at the same resolution as an upscaled V7 result. Another bonus!

You can set HD as your default in settings, or add --hd directly to any prompt.

2. Be Specific

V8.1 is significantly better at understanding and following detailed prompts than previous models. Take advantage of that. A vague prompt might produce something fine, but if you have a clear vision, give Midjourney a clear and concise description.

Instead of "cartoon style," maybe what you really want is a "1970s Saturday morning cartoon style illustration with flat colors, simple shapes, bold black outlines, and cel shading." There are a lot of cartoon styles. The more specific you are, the closer you’ll get to what you want.

For complex scenes with multiple characters or elements, break the composition into sections. Instead of relying on shorthand like "over the shoulder shot," describe what's on the left, what's on the right, what's in the foreground. The more you anchor the spatial relationships, the better V8.1 handles them.

3. Use Raw Mode or Lower Stylize for More Control

If you're being specific and still not getting what you want, try adding --raw to your prompt or lowering your Stylize value.

Midjourney is always balancing two things: following your prompt and making aesthetically pleasing images. Sometimes its default aesthetics pull the results away from what you actually asked for. Raw mode reduces that influence and tends to work especially well for photographic prompts.

If Raw mode isn't quite enough, try dropping Stylize to 50 or lower (default is 100). Lower values shift the balance toward your prompt text and away from Midjourney's own base aesthetic preferences.

4. Lower Stylize for Better Text Rendering

Text rendering has improved a lot in V8.1! You can now prompt for full sentences and get surprisingly clean results. But V8.1 can still stumble on longer text, occasionally dropping or duplicating words.

If you're trying to get precise text in an image, drop your Stylize value to 25 or even 0. That single change makes a noticeable difference in how cleanly Midjourney renders written text.

5. Use the Updated Describe Feature

The Describe feature got a meaningful update alongside V8.1 and it's worth revisiting if you haven't used it in a while.

To use it, drag an image into the prompt bar and drop it in the Describe box. It generates four different prompts based on what it sees. You can click any one to add it to the prompt bar, or run all four at once.

The updated Describe produces clearer, more detailed prompts that work well with the newer models. It’s not mean to exactly replicate your input image, but can help get you close and is great for brainstorming prompts.

6. Try Conversation Mode

I don’t think many people realize that Midjourney has a Conversation Mode. Instead of writing a prompt like normal, you describe what you want in plain language and Midjourney figures out the prompt for you.

Activate it by clicking the speech bubble on the Create Page. Once it's on, it maintains memory during your session, so you can can build on previous results conversationally. Ask Midjourney to make up a character and a scene, see the results, and then ask Midjourney to change something. It handles that kind of iterative back-and-forth naturally.

7. Use Film and Camera References

Including a specific film stock or camera type in your prompt is a simple way to pull a particular vibe into your results. I like using “Kodak Portra 400 film”, for example, tends to brighten up a scene. A “pinhole camera” produces a very different look. “Kodak Tri-X 400” signals black and white.

These references are approximations. There is a lot of overlap between different film and camera types. Midjourney does not understand the technical nuances, but often understands the general aesthetic of a type of film or camera. Just know that the results are not going to be a 100% accurate reflection of that particular film or camera.

And, if you want something specific like heavy grain or high contrast, include that directly in your prompt rather than relying on the film name alone. But as directional shorthand, these terms can be useful.

8. Try Image Prompts

Image prompts are one of Midjourney's most overlooked features. Unlike a Style Reference (which pulls in aesthetic style) or an Omni-Reference (which pulls in a specific subject), an Image Prompt samples from the whole image at once: composition, color, texture, subject matter, everything loosely blended together.

Two of my favorite uses: blending multiple images to create something new, and using a reference image to guide a character's body position or facial expression.

To set one up, drag your image into the Image Prompts box on the Create Page, add your text prompt and settings, and run it. If you've never used Image Prompts before, they're really worth exploring.

9. Use Images to Replace Old SREF Codes

If you have SREF codes from the V6 models that use the older SV4 style reference system, they won't work the same way in V8.1. (Codes from the Style Explorer use the current SV6 system and are fine.)

The workaround: find an image you created with that old SREF code, one that best represents the style you're after, and use that image as your Style Reference instead of the code. To stay organized, keep a folder in your gallery for these representative images so you're not hunting for them every time.

A looser alternative is adding those images to a Moodboard, but Moodboards are less strict about adhering to a specific style. If you want style consistency, use the image as a direct Style Reference.

10. Use Permutation Prompts to Test Quickly

Permutation prompts let you test multiple variations in a single submission using curly brackets with comma-separated options. Everything outside the brackets stays the same across all versions; the bracketed items each run as their own job.

It's a fast way to compare different phrases, styles, or parameter values without submitting prompts one by one. Just keep in mind that permutation prompts only work in Fast mode, and each variation uses your Fast hours, so be intentional about how many you run at once.