Whether you’re an experienced photographer or just a newcomer in the ever-changing world of text-to-image AI, the pursuit of realism in imagery is an exciting journey. In this guide, we will explore a set of Midjourney realistic prompts for you to create as lifelike photos as possible. But before we dive in, let’s briefly define realism or photorealism.
What is Photorealism/ Realism?
Photorealism or realism is a concept that strives to make images, be they digital renderings or traditional photographs, appear as true-to-reality as possible. It involves creating pictures where textures, colors, and lighting are so meticulously captured that it becomes difficult to distinguish the AI-generated images from real ones.
In photography, achieving photorealism involves playing with lens types, focus, and exposure to capture even the smallest details.
Midjourney Realistic Prompts for Landscape
Camera Lenses and Filters for Perfect Landscape Shots
For capturing perfect landscape shots, the right camera lenses and filters make a significant impact.
Wide-angle lenses are perfect for revealing the vastness of landscapes, showcasing their full beauty. Meanwhile, telephoto lenses allow you to zoom in on distant subjects, offering a unique perspective by compressing the scene.
To improve colors and reduce glare, especially in water and skies, using polarizing filters in your landscape photos is recommended. Neutral density filters control exposure in bright conditions and create long-exposure effects. Graduated neutral density filters balance sky and foreground exposure. For intricate details of flowers and small natural elements, go for macro lenses.
Including these lenses and filters into your Midjourney prompts equips you to capture stunning and realistic landscape image results.
Midjourney Realistic Prompts for Landscape and Image Results
/imagine Corn Fields shot with Fujifilm X – T4 NIKKOR 14 – 24mm f/ 2. 8G ED lens, natural light, style of National Geographic
/imagine photorealistic image shot with Canon EOS R5, 24mm lens, an idyllic church nestled amidst vast fields of poppies, emanating a sense of warmth and nostalgia, award-winning photo –ar 3:2
/imagine Hokkaido in the wintertime, Canon RF 16mm f:2.8 STM Lens, hyperrealistic photography, style of unsplash and National Geographic
/imagine photorealistic image shot with Fujifilm X-T4, 24mm lens, remote mountain peak, panoramic view of neighboring peaks and valleys, travel blog photography, adventure, hiking trail –ar 3:2
/imagine photorealistic image shot with Sony A6000, 21mm lens, flowing waterfall, cascading over moss-covered rocks, surrounded by a carpet of ferns and towering evergreens, evoking a sense of awe, magical, beautiful nature –ar 3:2
Midjourney Realistic Prompts for People
While there are many tips and tricks to instruct Midjourney to generate photorealistic images of people, in this article, you can follow this formula and see if the results satisfy your imagination.
Subject + Environment + Composition of Image + Lighting + Camera + Aspect Ratio
If you find a specific detail that works well with what you’re trying to generate, it is typically a good idea to take note of it to experiment further with the image output you’re given.
Also – do not hesitate to experiment with the above structure as it is simply a general outline.
Midjourney Realistic Prompts for People and Image Results
Promtp: /imagine Young woman with dreadlocks, playing a cello, eyes closed in concentration, vibrating strings, classical concert hall, evening, audience in soft focus, grand arches, ornate ceiling, medium shot, upper body, spotlights casting a warm glow on her face, the polished wood of the cello reflecting the light, hyperrealistic details. –ar 16:9
/imagine Teenage girl in a graduation gown, throwing her cap in the air, beaming smile, tassel flying, school grounds, late afternoon, school building in the background, long shot, capturing the full scene, warm lighting, cap frozen mid-air, high-speed capture. –ar 16:9
/imagine Young girl with freckles, holding a bunch of wildflower, bright blue eyes, auburn hair, English countryside, midday, clear sky, rolling green hills, a small brook babbling nearby, close-up shot, head and shoulders, natural lighting, sun casting dappled shadows through the trees, vivid color saturation. –ar 1:1
Modern & Vintage Camera Effects
/imagine Lone woman reading book under tree shade, serenity and focus, dawn in 2000, wide shot, full body, captured with a Canon EOS 3, Kodak Ektar 100 film, first light of the day, dew on the grass, vibrant colors. –ar 16:9
/imagine Two elderly women knitting, warm smiles, colorful yarn, cozy living room, afternoon in 1965, fireplace, family photos, a cat sleeping on a chair, medium shot, upper body, captured with a Pentax Spotmatic, Kodak Tri-X film, soft light from the window, detailed texture of the yarn. –ar 4:3
/imagine Couple on a motorcycle. Wind in their hair. Open road. Route 66. Midday in 1969. Desert landscape, distant mountains, a diner sign. Wide shot, full body. Shot on a Hasselblad 500C, Ektachrome film. Bright sunlight, dust trail, saturated colors. –ar 16:9
/imagine Three friends sharing a laugh. Joy and friendship. Outdoor café. Seoul’s Hongdae district. Daytime in 2015. Street art, a passing Hyundai Genesis, other customers. Medium shot, waist up. Captured with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Kodak Portra 400 film. Bright sunlight, steam rising from the coffee cups, high contrast. –ar 16:9
Tips & Tricks with /prefer Command
When you’ve tested with many prompts and finally come up with a great set of camera models, focal lengths, parameters, and other stuff that work really well together, but the copy-and-paste thing might be boring and take time. That’s when the /prefer command of Midjourney comes in handy.
You can save the parameters set with the /prefer command, name them and later time, you only need to include that name in your prompt without having to write a long suffix. You can also create various styling commands that you can call at the end of prompts.
An example of this would be wanting to add a specific camera model style with a specific aspect ratio suffix, as well as raw mode enabled. Here is how you could go about doing this:
/prefer option set PRv1 value camera settings: Minolta X-570, Kodak Professional Portra 400 Film, Kiron 75-150mm f/3.8 lens. –ar 16:9 –style raw
We can divide this command up into three parts:
- /prefer option – the command
- set PRv1 – the name chosen for the parameter
- value camera settings: Minolta X-570, Kodak Professional Portra 400 Film, Kiron 75-150mm f/3.8 lens. –ar 2:3 –style raw. This is the contents of the saved parameters called whenever you use –PRv1 at the end of a prompt
Now, by simply adding –PRv1 at the end of your prompt, you will call the saved settings without having to specify them in your request.
Finally, if you decide you’d like to delete this parameter, you can do so by using the command /prefer option set <PRv1> in Discord.
