It took forever, but Midjourney V7 is finally here. And it can create photo-realistic images that are kind of terrifying in the best (and worst) way possible.
Brace yourself. Things are about to get real.
More real than our old, dusty photo-realistic Midjourney images post or our hyper-realistic dog tutorial. At this point, neither of the strategies in those posts comes close to this. And they’re way more complicated.
This new version of MIdjourney (V7) can create photorealistic images so believable that you’ll question reality. Seriously. There’s now officially no way to tell what’s real and what’s AI. Which is cool. And horrifying. But mostly cool… I think.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get any crazier…
Some genius on the world wide web (other than me) figured out a bizarre Midjourney hack: If you pretend your prompt is a real camera photo by starting it with a filename like IMG_4358.CR2 or IMG_02202021.HEIC, Midjourney V7 will give you something that looks exactly like a real photo. And we have all the proof in the world of this later on in this post via several Midjourney images.
Say hello to fake selfies or anything that looks like it came straight off a camera roll.
Prefer to listen? Tune into the podcast version below!
Why Are CR2 and HEIC the Keys To Midjourney Photo-Realism?
These are real file extensions used by Canon and Apple, respectively. CR2 is Canon’s RAW format. HEIC is what iPhones use for high-efficiency images. Fun, right?
Photographers and tech nerds already know this (I didn’t). But apparently, Midjourney knows, too. Because it was trained on millions of images from around the web. And real photos? They almost always come with filenames. Especially if they were uploaded without renaming them. So when you type one in, it assumes you’re looking for a very authentic, realistic shot.
And it delivers.
Honestly, it’s kind of brilliant. And kind of scary. This is AI hallucinating authenticity based on file naming conventions.
Important Note: You can use whatever number you want after the “IMG_” part of the prompt. Just keep the format intact, okay?
Try It Yourself: The Midjourney V7 Realism Prompts
Here are two quick prompts to get started, and then we’ll move on to custom prompts. I saved the best for last.
1. The IMG_9584.CR2 Prompt
Copy/Paste Into Midjourney:
IMG_9584.CR2
Result:
2. The IMG_01042023.HEIC Prompt
Copy/Paste Into Midjourney:
IMG_01042023.HEIC
Result:
That’s it. Midjourney V7 does the rest and produces something totally random but typically highly realistic.
Here’s where it gets a lot more fun, though…
Add whatever you want after the filename to get a hyper-realistic image of whatever you want (within reason).
3. She Looks Like Her Name Is Becky
Copy/Paste Into Midjourney:
IMG_9854.CR2: Portrait of an attractive 25 year old girl partying at a night club in the year 2011
Result:
4. This Stoned, Lazy Teenager Is Keeping It Real
Copy/Paste Into Midjourney:
IMG_9854.CR2: A lazy and stoned teenager sitting on a porch alone in Michigan in the year 2001
Result:
5. A Corporate Stock-Photo-Looking Photograph
Copy/Paste Into Midjourney:
IMG_9854.CR2: A beautiful 25 year old girl with brown hair starts giggling, white background, cinematic
Result:
6. Waiting at the Bus Stop
Copy/Paste Into Midjourney:
IMG_9854.CR2: A party girl waits at the bus stop all alone on an empty street in suburban America, golden hour
Result:
7. 2Pac Is Alive Again, Thanks to AI
Copy/Paste Into Midjourney:
IMG_9854.CR2: 53 year old Tupac Shakur rapping enthusiastically to a sold-out concert in 2025, he is wearing street clothes, the stadium has cool ambient lighting, cinematic
Result:
The Community Reaction Has Been Real, Too
Redditors are obsessed with this hack (until they move on to the next shiny object). People are sharing some of the most realistic AI images we’ve ever seen—many of which were created with this file-naming trick. The results? Creepy good. Just like my examples above.
Photographers are impressed. Designers are freaking out. And everyone else is just wondering how long it will be until AI-generated images end up on dating profiles, family albums, and passports.
Let’s be honest: they probably already have.
Wrapping It Up
We’re entering the era of indistinguishable fakes. Midjourney V7 is at the bleeding edge of that shift.
And now? You’ve got a simple hack to push it even further. Try it out, post your hyperrealistic results from Midjourney, and confuse your friends. Or maybe terrify them and watch them run away screaming.
