30+ AI Image Prompts: Midjourney, DALL-E & Stable Diffusion Guide
Master AI image generation with expert prompts for Midjourney V7, DALL-E 3, and Stable Diffusion 3.5. Learn model-specific techniques, artistic styles, and advanced parameters to create stunning AI art.
The Art of AI Image Prompting
Creating stunning AI images requires more than just describing what you want. Each AI image generator—Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion—has unique strengths, syntax preferences, and capabilities. Mastering image prompting means understanding how to communicate artistic vision in a way these models understand.
The difference between mediocre and breathtaking AI art often comes down to prompt structure: the order of elements, specific artistic terminology, technical parameters, and model-specific features. This guide provides 30+ proven prompts across different styles, subjects, and use cases.
Key Elements of Great Image Prompts
- Subject: What is the main focus? (person, object, scene, concept)
- Style: Artistic style or medium (photorealistic, oil painting, 3D render, anime)
- Composition: Camera angle, framing, perspective (close-up, wide shot, bird's eye)
- Lighting: How the scene is lit (golden hour, dramatic shadows, soft diffused)
- Details: Specific attributes, colors, textures, mood, atmosphere
- Quality: Technical keywords (high resolution, detailed, sharp, professional)
Midjourney vs DALL-E vs Stable Diffusion
Best For:
Artistic, stylized images with exceptional aesthetics
Strengths:
- • Natural artistic interpretation
- • Beautiful color palettes
- • Strong composition sense
- • Great for fantasy and concept art
Syntax:
/imagine prompt: [description] --v 7 --ar 16:9
Best For:
Precise control, text rendering, photorealism
Strengths:
- • Accurate text in images
- • Better prompt following
- • Integrated with ChatGPT
- • Family-friendly safety filters
Syntax:
Natural language, detailed descriptions
Best For:
Open-source flexibility, customization, fine-tuning
Strengths:
- • Completely customizable
- • Run locally (privacy)
- • Thousands of community models
- • Advanced parameter control
Syntax:
Comma-separated tags with weights
Midjourney V7 Prompts
Prompt:
A close-up portrait of a weathered explorer in their 50s, intense blue eyes reflecting years of adventure, silver-streaked dark hair tousled by wind, sun-weathered skin with character lines, wearing a worn leather jacket, dramatic side lighting creating strong shadows, shallow depth of field, professional photography, 85mm lens, golden hour lightParameters:
--v 7 --ar 2:3 --style raw --q 2Pro Tips:
- Use specific ages and detailed physical features
- Mention photography terms (lens, lighting) for realism
- --style raw gives more photographic results
- Higher --q (quality) values = more detail (1 or 2)
Prompt:
A mystical floating island suspended in twilight sky, ancient ruins overgrown with luminescent purple vegetation, crystalline waterfalls cascading into clouds below, two moons visible through aurora borealis, magical particles floating in the air, rich color palette of purples, teals, and gold, painterly style, concept art, highly detailedParameters:
--v 7 --ar 16:9 --s 750Pro Tips:
- Layer multiple atmospheric elements (aurora, particles, fog)
- --s (stylize) controls artistic interpretation (0-1000)
- Higher --s = more artistic, lower = more literal
- Specify color palette for consistent mood
Prompt:
Premium wireless headphones in matte black finish, floating against clean white background, subtle soft shadows, studio lighting with rim light highlighting edges, reflective surfaces showing craftsmanship, minimal and elegant composition, product photography, professional advertising style, ultra high resolutionParameters:
--v 7 --ar 1:1 --style rawPro Tips:
- Use "floating" or "levitating" for isolated product shots
- Specify background color and lighting setup
- --style raw for commercial photography look
- Mention "product photography" or "advertising" explicitly
Prompt:
Modern minimalist house with floor-to-ceiling glass walls, cantilevered concrete structure, surrounded by lush forest, interior warm lighting contrasting with blue hour exterior, reflection in infinity pool in foreground, architectural photography, shot with tilt-shift lens, professional visualization, photorealistic renderingParameters:
--v 7 --ar 16:9 --style raw --q 2Pro Tips:
- Reference specific architectural styles and materials
- Time of day dramatically affects mood (blue hour, golden hour)
- Mention camera techniques (tilt-shift) for architectural feel
- Include context (surroundings, landscape) for realism
Prompt:
Cyberpunk street market at night, neon signs in various Asian scripts casting colorful reflections on wet pavement, steam rising from food stalls, crowds of people with holographic umbrellas, towering megastructures in background, flying vehicles overhead, rich atmospheric perspective, inspired by Blade Runner, digital painting, cinematic compositionParameters:
--v 7 --ar 21:9 --s 600Pro Tips:
- Reference existing art styles or movies for consistency
- Ultra-wide aspect ratios (21:9) great for environments
- Layer details at different depths for rich scenes
- Combine lighting sources (neon, holograms) for cyberpunk
DALL-E 3 Prompts
Prompt:
A friendly dragon with rainbow scales teaching a group of diverse children how to read, sitting in a cozy library filled with floating books, warm sunlight streaming through stained glass windows, soft watercolor illustration style, gentle colors, whimsical and heartwarming, children's book art, detailed but not photorealisticPro Tips:
- DALL-E 3 excels at following complex instructions
- Specify exact number of subjects for accuracy
- Great for text within images (book covers, signs)
- Natural language works better than technical parameters
Prompt:
A clear and simple infographic explaining the water cycle, with labeled arrows showing evaporation from ocean, condensation in clouds, precipitation as rain, and collection in rivers, using a limited color palette of blues and greens, clean vector art style, educational diagram suitable for classroom, text labels clearly readablePro Tips:
- DALL-E 3 best for readable text in images
- Specify "labeled" or "with text" for diagrams
- Request "simple" or "clear" for educational content
- Works well with specific color palettes
Prompt:
A minimalist logo for a coffee company called 'Morning Brew', featuring a stylized coffee cup with steam forming the letter 'M', clean lines, modern sans-serif typography, limited color palette of deep brown and cream, vector art style, professional brand identity, simple and memorable design, suitable for scalingPro Tips:
- Specify exact company name for text accuracy
- Request "minimalist" or "simple" for clean logos
- Mention "vector art" for scalable designs
- Include intended use (business card, website, etc.)
Prompt:
An eye-catching Instagram post design for a fitness brand, featuring motivational text 'Your Only Limit Is You' in bold modern typography, background of an athlete silhouette doing a sunrise workout, gradient overlay from orange to pink, clean composition with breathing room, mobile-optimized vertical format, energetic and inspiring moodPro Tips:
- Specify social platform and format (Instagram square, Story)
- Include exact text you want displayed
- Mention "mobile-optimized" for app-specific designs
- DALL-E 3 handles typography better than other models
Prompt:
A professional overhead shot of a gourmet burger with sesame seed bun, melted cheese, crispy bacon, fresh lettuce and tomato, served on a rustic wooden board with hand-cut fries and a small dish of aioli, natural window lighting, shallow depth of field, food photography for restaurant menu, appetizing and well-composed, warm color gradingPro Tips:
- Specify exact ingredients for food accuracy
- Mention plating style and props (board, plate)
- Natural lighting descriptions work well
- DALL-E 3 good at photorealistic food imagery
Stable Diffusion 3.5 Prompts
Prompt:
masterpiece, best quality, 1girl, long flowing silver hair, bright amber eyes, wearing futuristic armor with glowing blue accents, confident smile, detailed face, sakura petals floating in wind, soft lighting, anime style, highly detailed, sharp focus, trending on pixivParameters:
Negative: low quality, blurry, ugly, bad anatomyPro Tips:
- Start with quality tags: masterpiece, best quality
- Use comma-separated tags, not sentences
- Specify exact number of characters (1girl, 2boys)
- Negative prompts crucial for avoiding common issues
Prompt:
epic fantasy wizard casting spell, detailed ornate robes with mystical runes, glowing magical energy, ancient library background, dramatic lighting, oil painting style, highly detailed, 8k, trending on artstation, by greg rutkowski and alphonse mucha, volumetric lighting, cinematicParameters:
Negative: low quality, blurry, text, watermark, signaturePro Tips:
- Reference famous artists for style consistency
- Quality keywords: 8k, highly detailed, sharp focus
- Mention art platforms: "trending on artstation"
- Lighting descriptions critical for atmosphere
Prompt:
professional headshot photo, 30 year old woman, business attire, confident smile, neutral grey background, studio lighting, shallow depth of field, bokeh, shot with 85mm f1.8 lens, photorealistic, high quality, 8k uhd, dslr, professional photographyParameters:
Negative: low quality, blurry, anime, cartoon, illustration, paintingPro Tips:
- Include photography terms: lens specs, lighting setup
- Negative prompts should exclude art styles for realism
- Age, ethnicity, attire descriptions for specificity
- Mention equipment: dslr, specific lens focal lengths
Prompt:
isometric view, low poly 3d render, cozy coffee shop interior, cute furniture, warm lighting, pastel colors, small plants, wooden tables, coffee machine, detailed textures, game asset style, clean and organized, blender render, octane render, trending on polycountParameters:
Negative: photorealistic, messy, clutteredPro Tips:
- Specify view type: isometric, top-down, perspective
- Mention render engines: blender, octane, unreal engine
- Style keywords: low poly, high poly, stylized
- Game art communities: polycount, itch.io
Prompt:
pixel art, 16-bit style, retro game character sprite, warrior knight with sword and shield, standing pose, clean pixel borders, limited color palette, inspired by classic snes games, game asset, transparent background, 32x32 pixelsParameters:
Negative: blurry, anti-aliased, modern, 3dPro Tips:
- Specify bit-depth: 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit
- Mention pixel dimensions if known
- Reference classic games or consoles
- Negative: anti-aliased, smooth (to keep crisp pixels)
Advanced Image Prompting Techniques
Camera Angles:
Eye-level, low angle, high angle, bird's eye view, worm's eye view, Dutch angle, over-the-shoulder
Framing:
Close-up, medium shot, wide shot, extreme close-up, full body, rule of thirds, centered composition
Natural Light:
Golden hour, blue hour, harsh noon sun, overcast, dappled sunlight, backlit, rim lighting
Artificial Light:
Studio lighting, softbox, harsh flash, neon, candlelight, volumetric lighting, god rays
• Traditional: Oil painting, watercolor, charcoal, pencil sketch, ink drawing
• Digital: Digital painting, vector art, low poly, voxel art, glitch art
• Photography: Film grain, polaroid, vintage, tilt-shift, long exposure
• Animation: Anime, Disney style, Studio Ghibli, cartoon, 3D Pixar
• Technical: 8k, 4k, high resolution, ultra detailed, sharp focus
• Artistic: Masterpiece, award-winning, trending on artstation
• Professional: Professional photography, studio quality, commercial
• Detail: Intricate details, highly detailed, hyperrealistic, fine details
Model-Specific Pro Tips
Parameter Guide:
- •
--ar 16:9Aspect ratio (1:1, 4:3, 16:9, 21:9, etc.) - •
--v 7Use version 7 (latest, best quality) - •
--style rawMore photographic, less artistic - •
--s 100-1000Stylization level (lower = literal, higher = artistic) - •
--q 2Quality (1 = fast, 2 = high quality) - •
--chaos 0-100Variation in results (higher = more random)
Best Practices:
- • Use natural language, full sentences work better than keywords
- • Specify exact text you want rendered (great for signs, logos, labels)
- • Mention "I NEED to test how the tool works with extremely simple prompts" for basic results
- • Works seamlessly with ChatGPT for iterative refinement
- • Best for: text in images, precise composition control, family-friendly content
- • Automatically revises prompts for safety, which can limit creative control
Advanced Control:
- • Use comma-separated tags, not full sentences
- • Order matters: put most important elements first
- • Parentheses for emphasis: (detailed face:1.2) - number is weight
- • Square brackets to de-emphasize: [background]
- • Always use negative prompts to avoid common issues
- • Can use custom trained models (LoRAs) for specific styles or subjects
- • CFG Scale (7-15): higher = follows prompt more strictly
Common Image Prompting Mistakes
❌ "A beautiful sunset"
✅ "Golden hour sunset over calm ocean, wispy clouds, warm orange and pink gradient, long exposure smooth water, dramatic sky, landscape photography"
❌ "Photorealistic anime character"
✅ Choose one: "Photorealistic portrait" OR "Anime style character art"
❌ Listing 50+ specific elements
✅ Focus on 5-10 key elements, let AI fill in coherent details
❌ Using Midjourney for text-heavy infographics
✅ Use DALL-E 3 for text, Midjourney for artistic scenes
Master AI Image Generation
Creating stunning AI images is both an art and a science. Midjourney excels at artistic interpretation, DALL-E 3 provides precise control and text rendering, and Stable Diffusion offers unlimited customization. Understanding each model's strengths and syntax is key to getting consistent, high-quality results.
Start with these prompts, experiment with variations, and develop your own prompt library. Pay attention to what works—the specific keywords, structures, and parameters that produce your best images. Over time, you'll develop an intuition for crafting prompts that bring your creative vision to life.