Every Midjourney parameter that matters

What it is good at

• Aspect ratio, stylize and chaos parameters give precise, repeatable control that descriptive words alone can't match.
• Parameters combine, so you can dial in an exact recipe, a specific ratio, a low stylize, a moderate chaos, and reuse it across a whole shoot.
• The weird parameter is genuinely useful for breaking out of Midjourney's default aesthetic when you need something less polished.
• Once learned, parameters make iteration faster since you're adjusting one lever rather than rewriting the whole prompt.

Where it falls short

• Too many parameters stacked at once can produce unpredictable interactions; add them one at a time when testing.
• Parameter names and default behaviours have changed across Midjourney versions, so confirm current syntax if a flag doesn't seem to work.
• Parameters shape the image, but a weak descriptive prompt is still the biggest limiter of quality.

How to use it for creative work

1. 01

   Start with aspect ratio and version

   Set --ar to match your final use case (--ar 4:5 for a social post, --ar 16:9 for a banner) and confirm you're using the current model version, since these two settings shape everything else.

2. 02

   Use stylize to control how literal versus artistic the result is

   A lower --stylize value follows your prompt more literally; a higher one lets Midjourney's own aesthetic judgement take over more. Test both ends on the same prompt to see the range.

3. 03

   Use chaos when you want more varied options to choose from

   A higher --chaos value increases variation between the four generated images, useful in early concept exploration when you don't yet know the direction.

4. 04

   Reach for weird when the default look feels too polished

   The --weird parameter pushes results away from Midjourney's typical aesthetic, useful for editorial or experimental work that shouldn't look like standard AI art.

5. 05

   Build a saved parameter recipe per project

   Once you land on a combination that suits a shoot or collection, save the full parameter string as a note so every image in that set stays consistent.

Ready-to-use prompts

[your image description] --ar 4:5 --stylize 250

[your image description] --ar 16:9 --stylize 100

[your image description] --chaos 40 --ar 1:1

[your image description] --weird 300 --stylize 50

[your image description, swap the subject only] --ar 4:5 --stylize 150 --chaos 5

Questions people ask

What does --stylize do in Midjourney?

It controls how much of Midjourney's own artistic interpretation is applied versus following your prompt literally, lower values stay closer to your exact description, higher values lean more into the model's aesthetic judgement.

What is the --chaos parameter for?

It increases how different the four generated variations are from each other, which is useful early in a project when you want a wide spread of directions rather than four similar results.

Do Midjourney parameters change between versions?

Yes, available parameters and their default behaviour have shifted across model versions, so it's worth checking Midjourney's current documentation if a familiar flag behaves differently than expected.