AI tool tutorial

How to use Midjourney for work: prompts, parameters and the rules

Midjourney is an AI image and short video generator that turns a written prompt into images you can vary, edit and upscale on its website or in Discord. This tutorial covers how to write a prompt it understands, which parameters matter for work, a ten-minute poster example, and what its terms say about privacy, ownership and real people.

Independent tutorial. Not affiliated with Midjourney. Midjourney official site

For you or your whole team

Start with a useful first step.

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You will continue on the Tosheo.ai app to create your account and review the trial terms.

What you will practise

Skills worth putting to work.

Write a structured image prompt

Describe subject, medium, environment, lighting, colour, mood and composition.

Use the core parameters

Set --ar for the destination, --stylize for literalness and --sref for consistency.

Iterate without losing good work

Use Vary, Vary Region, the Editor and upscalers instead of rerolling.

Check images before use

Spot invented text, distorted details and resemblance to real people or brands.

Example task / fictional source material

Create an event poster background

Using a fictional organisation, write a Midjourney prompt for a poster background with clear space for text, set the right aspect ratio, refine one detail with editing tools and submit the prompt, the final image and a three-line note on the checks you made and whether the image may be public.

Review criterion

Prompt structure

The prompt names subject, medium, lighting, colour and composition, including where the empty space sits.

Review criterion

Correct parameters

The aspect ratio matches the stated destination and is written in a valid format.

Review criterion

Targeted refinement

At least one problem is fixed with Vary Region or the Editor rather than a full reroll.

Review criterion

Checks and rights

The note covers invented text, likeness of real people and the visibility setting of the account.

Copy and adapt

Prompts to try

Replace the parts in square brackets with your own details, and check every output before you use it.

Poster background

[medium] of [scene] with [two or three objects], [lighting], [colour palette], [mood], empty space on the [left/right/top] third for text --ar [ratio]

Slide header image

Minimal [medium] showing [concept as a physical scene], soft [colour] tones, plenty of negative space, no text --ar 16:9 --s [lower value for a literal look]

Brief checker for an assistant

Here is my Midjourney prompt: [prompt]. List any missing detail about subject, medium, lighting, colour, mood or composition, and suggest one rewrite. Do not add real brand names or real people.

What is Midjourney and what is it good for at work?

Midjourney generates images, and short videos from those images, from text prompts. Its documentation describes a Create page on midjourney.com with an Imagine bar and a creation feed, where you can make subtle or strong variations, upscale, edit and animate results.

At work it suits concept and mood images: campaign looks, newsletter illustrations, event posters and slide backgrounds. It is a poor fit for anything that must be literally accurate, such as a diagram or a real product shot.

How do I get started with Midjourney?

Start on the website: sign in at midjourney.com, open Create and type a prompt into the Imagine bar. In Discord, new users work in the newbie or general channels with the /imagine command. What each plan includes is set out on Midjourney's plan comparison page, so check it before choosing an account for work.

Before you make anything for work, decide whether your images may be public. Midjourney's Terms of Service say content is publicly viewable and remixable by default, and its docs say Stealth mode, which hides your creations from other users on the website, is available only on the Pro and Mega plans.

A 10-minute Midjourney starter tutorial

The example is fictional. Tom works in marketing at Larkspur Books, a fictional chain of four independent bookshops. He needs a background for an autumn reading-night poster, with space for text.

Minutes 0 to 3: write the prompt

Midjourney's Prompt Basics suggests stating subject, medium, environment, lighting, colour, mood and composition when they matter. Tom writes: watercolour illustration of a cosy reading nook with stacked books and an armchair, a window showing autumn trees, warm lamplight, muted orange and deep green palette, calm mood, empty space on the left third --ar 2:3

Minutes 3 to 5: pick and vary

He picks the closest image and chooses Vary (Subtle) rather than starting again.

Minutes 5 to 7: fix one area

One image has a lamp that looks melted. He opens the Editor and uses Vary Region on that area only, describing the lamp he wants.

Minutes 7 to 9: upscale

He upscales the chosen image with the Subtle upscaler so the details stay close to the original.

Minutes 9 to 10: check before use

He looks for invented text on spines, odd objects and anything resembling a real brand. He adds the event wording himself in a design tool.

How do I get better results from Midjourney?

The biggest gains come from concrete visual language and from the parameters, which go at the end of the prompt.

Set the aspect ratio from where the image will go

Midjourney's default is square. Use --ar with whole numbers, such as --ar 16:9 for a slide or --ar 9:16 for a story. Decimals are not accepted.

Use a style reference for a consistent campaign

Add --sref with an image URL to match the look of a reference, adjust its weight with --sw, and keep a text prompt alongside it, which the docs say is required.

Turn stylize down for literal briefs

--stylize (or --s) controls how much artistic flair Midjourney adds. A lower value keeps closer to your words; a higher one gives more interpretation.

Edit instead of rerolling

Variations, Vary Region and the Editor keep a good composition while you fix one detail.

What should I not put into Midjourney, and what do its terms say?

Do not upload photos of colleagues, customers or anyone else without their consent, confidential product designs, client logos or other people's copyrighted artwork as references. Follow your employer's policy on image generation and brand use first; Midjourney's terms are the minimum, not your company's rule.

Midjourney's Terms of Service say you own the assets you create to the fullest extent possible under applicable law, but a company, or an employee of a company, with more than USD 1,000,000 a year in revenue must be on a Pro or Mega plan to own its assets. The terms also grant Midjourney a broad licence to reproduce, adapt, display and distribute the prompts and images you submit and create.

On likeness, Midjourney's Community Guidelines say not to create imagery of real people, famous or otherwise, that could harass, defame or harm them, and the Omni Reference guidance warns against manipulating images of public or private individuals in abusive or sexualised ways. For commercial use, also check with whoever approves brand assets.

Where does Midjourney fall short?

Midjourney is weak wherever accuracy matters more than atmosphere. Generated text inside images is unreliable, so add words in a design tool.

It also sits outside most office tools. If you need an image inside a slide deck with brand fonts and templates, a design tool with generation built in, such as Canva or Adobe Firefly, may be a shorter route. Defaults change between model versions, so check the Version page before following an older tutorial.

How does Tosheo.ai teach Midjourney inside a role path?

Tosheo.ai includes image generation in the paths where it fits the job, mainly marketing, content and small-business owner paths.

Each 10 to 15 minute lesson has a short explanation, a worked example from the learner's role and a hands-on task, marked against a visible rubric with specific feedback. For Midjourney the task is a usable image for a stated destination, plus a short note on rights and checks, and learners can flag a score for review.

Sources and scope

Midjourney Docs, Prompt Basics, checked 19 October 2026 ↗

Midjourney Docs, Creating on Web, checked 19 October 2026 ↗

Midjourney Docs, Parameter List, Aspect Ratio and Style Reference, checked 19 October 2026 ↗

Midjourney Docs, Editor and Vary Region, checked 19 October 2026 ↗

Midjourney Docs, Stealth mode and Keeping Your Creations Private, checked 19 October 2026 ↗

Midjourney, Terms of Service, checked 19 October 2026 ↗

Midjourney, Community Guidelines, checked 19 October 2026 ↗

Midjourney Docs, Using Images and Videos Commercially, checked 19 October 2026 ↗

Before you decide

A few good questions.

Which Midjourney plan does a business need?

It depends on privacy and ownership. Stealth mode needs a Pro or Mega plan, and Midjourney's terms require companies above USD 1,000,000 a year in revenue to be on Pro or Mega to own their assets.

Are my Midjourney images public?

By default, yes. Midjourney's terms say content is publicly viewable and remixable by default, and Stealth mode, which hides creations on the website, is available on the Pro and Mega plans only.

Can my company use Midjourney images commercially?

Midjourney's terms say you own your assets to the extent the law allows, but a company with more than USD 1,000,000 a year in revenue must be on a Pro or Mega plan to own them. Check your employer's brand and legal policy too.

Should I use Midjourney or Discord?

Either works. The website Create page is simpler for most work users, while Discord uses the /imagine command in the newbie or general channels of the Midjourney server.

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How to use Midjourney for work: prompts, parameters and the rules

Start with a useful first step.

Skills worth putting to work.

Write a structured image prompt

Use the core parameters

Iterate without losing good work

Check images before use

Create an event poster background

Prompt structure

Correct parameters

Targeted refinement

Checks and rights

Prompts to try

Poster background

Slide header image

Brief checker for an assistant

What is Midjourney and what is it good for at work?

How do I get started with Midjourney?

A 10-minute Midjourney starter tutorial

Minutes 0 to 3: write the prompt

Minutes 3 to 5: pick and vary

Minutes 5 to 7: fix one area

Minutes 7 to 9: upscale

Minutes 9 to 10: check before use

How do I get better results from Midjourney?

Set the aspect ratio from where the image will go

Use a style reference for a consistent campaign

Turn stylize down for literal briefs

Edit instead of rerolling

What should I not put into Midjourney, and what do its terms say?

Where does Midjourney fall short?

How does Tosheo.ai teach Midjourney inside a role path?

Sources and scope

A few good questions.

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