Iterating: variations, edits, upscaling
The first generation is scouting, not the result. The loop: 4 options → pick a direction → variations of the best → surgical dialogue edits → upscaling. And changing exactly one word to learn its effect.
Professionals run dozens of generations at a single job. Not because their prompt is weak — because iterating is the method.
The loop
- Scout: first prompt → 4 options (Midjourney hands you a 2×2 grid; in the chat-based ones, ask for "four different versions").
- Pick a direction: which one is closest? Not the perfect one — the promising one.
- Vary the best: in Midjourney that's the V button under the image; in a chat generator, "give me 4 variations of the third one, keep the composition".
- Surgical edits: "same thing, warmer light", "lose the object on the left", "wider shot". Chat generators edit the picture you picked instead of starting over.
- Finish: upscale (U in Midjourney) for full resolution you can actually use.
The one-word method
Want to know what a word is doing in your prompt? Change only that word: "watercolour" → "gouache", "evening light" → "midday". One evening of this and you'll have your own vocabulary of effects — worth more than anyone's list of "magic words".
When the prompt won't listen
- The model keeps skipping a detail → move it to the front of the prompt and push harder: "a red umbrella at the centre of the frame".
- The image is cluttered → throw out half the description. Fewer objects, cleaner composition.
- It's nowhere near what you wanted → don't tweak it a twentieth time. Rewrite the prompt from scratch, differently (a rule you already know).
Practice
Take yesterday's "place you love" prompt and iterate it into something you'd happily put on your desktop. Count the steps it took — that's your baseline pace.
Short questions on the lesson — with an explanation for every answer.