Best Midjourney Photography Prompts & Keywords with Examples!

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Are you a photographer, or someone who enjoys taking photos? I’m not. But whether you are or aren’t, it doesn’t make a huge difference. With Midjourney, photography is always fun.

So today, you’re going to learn specific Midjourney photography prompts and keywords that will take the common captures you’ve been producing and flip them on its head. Picture that.

At Run The Prompts, most of our content is about Midjourney art, but today we’re switching things up and heading over to photography. Why? Because it’s not something to leave behind in the dust and is something you should all have in your MJ belt. We like it when you’re well-rounded like that.

Photography in Midjourney is like having a high-end camera and a magical lens that can capture not just what exists, but what could exist. The key to unlocking its true potential? The right Photography keywords and prompts in Midjourney can dramatically enhance your…”photography”. Don’t worry, you don’t need to use the quotes.

In this post, I’m going to serve up a feast of examples showcasing how inserting specific photography keywords into your Midjourney prompts can dramatically alter your creations. We’ll concentrate on the essentials: lighting, lenses, film stocks, and composition, to create fantastical imagery that was once just a figment of your imagination.

For photographers, Midjourney is a secret weapon, although in some senses that weapon is a sharp double-edged sword. It’s a great tool for storyboarding and generating creative ideas for photos. Imagine being able to pre-visualize a shoot or explore different concepts without even picking up your camera or hiring Instagram models. That’s the kind of advantage Midjourney offers. 

On the flip side, and you knew this was coming, Midjourney does, of course, pose a threat to traditional photography. Case in point: we are still in the early wild west days of AI image creation, and already, I was able to generate a perfectly acceptable-looking LinkedIn profile picture with Midjourney. And that was five months ago. No photographer or dumb photo shoot is needed.

However, if you’re a photographer, don’t let that crumble you completely. Until people get to the point of preferring AI-generated wedding, engagement, and high school senior photos, you’re safe. And I don’t think that day will ever come.

But Midjourney photography is not just about Photographers. Marketing agencies are quickly catching on to the power of this tool for creating photos for PR, content, and communications. It’s a testament to the evolving landscape of digital art and its growing relevance in the commercial domain.

However, it’s important to remember that while Midjourney allows for commercial use, the images created are in the public domain and lack copyright protection. This is a critical point for professionals to keep in mind when integrating Midjourney into their processes.

So, without further ado, let’s zoom in on some of these key photography elements and how they translate into Midjourney prompts. In typical Run The Prompts fashion, the example photos won’t be your average, everyday photography shots. We’re going all out with diverse and creative examples, just like you’ve come to expect.

1. Midjourney Camera Lense Keywords & Prompts

In traditional photography, the choice of camera lens can make or break a photo. I didn’t know that personally; I had to look it up.

Anyway, there are all kinds of different camera lenses you can use in Midjourney to shift the appearance of your photo.

Here are some sick examples of the fisheye lens, pinhole lens, vintage lens, and wide-angle lens. Our subject? A cool boxer wearing a sombrero, somewhere deep in Mexico.

A. Fisheye Camera Lens Photo

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
Boxer dog wearing a sombrero in Mexico in the early morning, fisheye lens –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

B. Pinhole Camera Lens Photo

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
Boxer dog wearing a sombrero in Mexico in the early morning, pinhole lens –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

C. Vintage Camera Lens Photo

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
Boxer dog wearing a sombrero in Mexico in the early morning, vintage lens –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

D. Wide Camera Angle Lens Photo

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
Boxer dog wearing a sombrero in Mexico in the early morning, wide angle lens –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

E. All Four Camera Lens Photos at Once!

2. Midjourney Outdoor Lighting Keywords & Prompts

There are a ton of different lighting options in Midjourney to experiment with freely. We’re going to focus on outdoor lighting.

Lighting in photography can transform a mundane scene into something extraordinary, imbuing it with emotion and depth.

So, let’s add some depth.

A. Before Dawn Lighting Photo

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
A beautiful party girl waits at the bus stop all alone on an empty street in suburban America, before dawn –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

B. Dark Misty Lighting Photo

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
A beautiful party girl waits at the bus stop all alone on an empty street in suburban America, dark misty –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

C. Golden Hour Lighting Photo

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
A beautiful party girl waits at the bus stop all alone on an empty street in suburban America, golden hour –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

D. Mid-Day Lighting Photo

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
A beautiful party girl waits at the bus stop all alone on an empty street in suburban America, mid-day –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

E. All Four Outdoor Lighting Photos at Once!

3. Midjourney Film Stock Keywords & Prompts

Follow me into this dark room for a couple of minutes and discover some film stock keywords that you won’t want to miss.

There are many film stock keywords, but I’m going to provide examples for two of my favorites: Fujifilm Fujicolor and Ilford HP5.

A. Fujifilm Fujicolor Film Stock Photo

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
Minimalist photograph capturing the serene beauty of a solitary tree against a vast desert landscape at sunset, playing with the interplay of shadows and light. Bring out the intricate textures in the sand and emphasize the tree’s lonely silhouette, Fujifilm Fujicolor –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

B. Ilford HP5 Film Stock Photo

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
Minimalist photograph capturing the serene beauty of a solitary tree against a vast desert landscape at sunset, playing with the interplay of shadows and light. Bring out the intricate textures in the sand and emphasize the tree’s lonely silhouette, Ilford HP5 –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

C. All Film Stock Photos At Once!

D. Other Film Stock Midjourney Keywords

Color Film Midjourney Keywords
Kodak Portra
Kodak Gold/Ultramax
Fujifilm Pro160C
Fujifilm Superia
Cinestill 800t

B&W Film Midjourney Keywords
Ilford Delta 3200
Ilford XP2
Kodak Tri-X
Lomo Berlin Kino

4. Midjourney Photo Composition Keywords & Prompts

Composition in photography is about how elements are arranged in the frame. In Midjourney, you can guide this with keywords like “close-up,” “portrait,” and “full-body,” each with their own unique benefits. Check it out!

A. Close-up Composition Photo

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
27 year old extremely beautiful woman in a downtown setting in the evening, close-up –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

B. Portrait Composition Photo

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
27 year old extremely beautiful woman in a downtown setting in the evening, portrait –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

C. Full-Body Composition Photo

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
27 year old extremely beautiful woman in a downtown setting in the evening, full-body –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

D. All Composition Photos at Once!

5. Combining Forces – Mashing it All Together

(Copy/Paste into Midjourney)
Confused 35 year old man looking down at his phone wearing an expensive suit in the middle of desolate train tracks, gloomy day, Ilford HP5, portrait, vintage lense –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

THEN, I used that image for the image prompt below:

https://s.mj.run/I8TP-t1OyVI cartoon of a man sitting on railroad tracks while staring at his phone, reflective, bisexual lighting –ar 2:3 –v 5.2

It took a lot of testing and tweaking, but I finally got what I wanted. I ran the first prompt and used it as an image for my next prompt (which was an image prompt). As always, the prompts are above.

Then, I ran it through Adobe Photoshop to use a little Generative Fill, lighting effects, and others.

The result is a symbolic piece. It’s open to interpretation, but I wanted to create something that clearly represents the dangers of phone addiction, hustle culture, and social media.

This guy is sitting on railroad tracks in a clean, expensive business suit while stuffing his face with his phone, in complete isolation. If this hits close to home, then you might get run over without even realizing it.

Wrapping it up

That was a lot. I get it.

This was one of the longest articles I’ve ever written. It took forever to create, so if you enjoyed it, please do me a favor and share it with 600 of your closest friends.

Now that I’m done whining, I want you to go ahead and play around with these Midjourney photography prompts and keywords. See where your AI camera and creative journey takes you.

Until next time, prompt the planet.