Alright, let’s talk about getting into Midjourney V6. Heard the buzz, you know, version 6 is out, supposed to be smarter. So, I jumped into my Discord, where all the Midjourney magic happens.
First Steps into V6
First thing I did was check my settings. You gotta tell Midjourney you want to use the new shiny version. I just typed /settings right there in the chat with the Midjourney Bot.
Saw the dropdown menu pop up. Found ‘Midjourney Model V6 [ALPHA]’ and just clicked that. Simple enough. Sometimes they hide these things, but this was straightforward.
Okay, setting changed. Time to actually make something. I started like always, typing /imagine followed by a prompt.
My First V6 Prompts – Learning Curve
My first try? I think it was something basic, like “a cat wearing a hat”. Used the same kind of prompt I always used for V5. The result popped up… and honestly? It looked different. Sharper, maybe? More photographic?
Then I tried something a bit more complex. Threw in more details, adjectives, the usual stuff. And here’s where I noticed V6 is kinda picky. It really wants you to be more direct. Less flowery language, more straightforward description.
- Old way (V5): “Imagine a breathtaking scene where a majestic cat sits proudly, adorned with a fancy hat under the golden sun.”
- New way (V6 attempt): “Photorealistic image of a cat wearing a fancy hat, golden hour lighting.”
That second approach seemed to work better with V6. It felt like I had to unlearn some of my old prompting habits. Took a few tries to get the hang of it. Sometimes the images were weird, didn’t quite get what I meant. Lots of trial and error, just generating, looking, tweaking the prompt, generating again.
Trying Out the New Stuff – Text and Realism
Heard V6 was better at putting text in images. That was always hit-or-miss before, mostly miss. So I gave it a shot. Typed something like: /imagine a sign that says ‘Coffee Time’ hanging on a cafe wall –ar 16:9 –v 6.0.
And wow, it actually spelled ‘Coffee Time’ correctly! Not perfect every single time, mind you. Sometimes the letters were still a bit wonky, or it added extra gibberish. But way, way better than V5. You gotta put the text you want inside quotes in the prompt, like “this text here”. Seems to help guide it.
The realism is another thing. Images just feel more… real. Less like digital art sometimes. More photographic. I played around with the –style raw parameter too. Sometimes adding that gives you an even less ‘opinionated’, more unstyled, photographic look. Found myself using that quite a bit when I didn’t want the typical Midjourney aesthetic.
Upscaling and Variations in V6
Once I got images I liked, the usual buttons are there: U1, U2, U3, U4 for upscaling. V1, V2, V3, V4 for variations. The upscaled images from V6? They look really detailed. The upscaler seems improved.
Making variations felt a little different too. The variations seemed to stick closer to the original image structure but still offered decent alternatives. I used the ‘Subtle’ and ‘Strong’ variation options that pop up after upscaling. ‘Subtle’ is great for tiny tweaks, ‘Strong’ if you want something noticeably different but still related.
My Takeaways So Far
So, using V6… it’s definitely a step up. But you gotta adjust.
Here’s what I learned hands-on:
- Be more literal and descriptive in your prompts. Think like you’re describing the picture to someone who can’t see it.
- Cut out the fluff words. V6 doesn’t need ‘imagine’, ‘breathtaking’, ‘masterpiece’ as much.
- Use quotes “like this” for text you want in the image.
- Play with –style raw if you want less of the default Midjourney look.
- Don’t expect perfect text every time, but it’s much better.
- It understands language better, but being clear is key. Don’t make it guess too much.
It’s still in alpha, so things might change. But yeah, that’s been my journey getting started with Midjourney V6. Just gotta keep practicing, tweaking prompts, and seeing what comes out. It’s pretty powerful once you get a feel for it.