How to Generate Background Images & Add Products in Midjourney v5.1

This post was initially intended to discuss technical prompting. But before we delve into the technicalities, let's approach things in the correct sequence.

By this point, you should be adept at generating background images using MJ v5. To those who have taken the time and effort to apply the workflow and submit images, thank you! I see your efforts and appreciate you!

Additionally, there's also been substantial interest in incorporating products into the generated scenes. While appreciate the enthusiasm, I must caution that this might not be the most efficient approach.

While MJ has its merits, for product placement, you may want to consider using a different AI tool. We'll expand on this in my next post!

Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have come across my post asking for input on which product you preferred. It's fair to say that the right option has won!

Remember this: MJ should be seen as an artistic brainstorming tool, not a one-stop solution for perfect product imagery. Otherwise, you may find yourself spending countless hours trying to make your product look just right, and yet, you might not be able to reproduce that effect again, especially with branded items.

With that said here’s how to use Midjourney V5.1-Stylised, to create product images in styled backgrounds.

We’ll be replicating the following images:

A few considerations between MJ v5 & v5.1 (raw)

 MJ V5 allows you to be as detailed as you like, and give users a degree of creative control. For more on V5, see my pinned Twitter thread post.

V5.1-raw stylise is not as straightforward. This version is far more opinionated. The benefit of using V5.1-raw stylise is for creative brainstorming. Complex detail is not required - good structure and precise wording are important.

1/👾 First up, SETTINGS- V5.1

Before we begin, ensure your Discord is set up correctly.

Here's a handy guide to get you started - please avoid prompting things out to the public server; add the bot to your own server instead.

2/💡 IDEA

You need to have a clear idea of what you want, don’t worry too much about the details MJ will be doing most of the heavy lifting here.

MJ is like a skilled artist that you need to guide, encourage, and give them great ideas to work with

The aim is to guide MJ not control it. Big difference.

3/ 🖼 BACKGROUND IMAGE

Keep it simple.

Think about these elements:

(Number of items), (Item/Product description), (Style), (Lighting) _{Yes, camera not needed. Controversial, I know, but I’m here to deliver what’s been working for me. By all means, add a camera if you prefer.}

PROMPT: Rock, next to a white flower laying on a rock, minimalism, cream background, volumetric light coming from the right corner

👇Let’s break it down:

ITEMS: 1 or Rock,

DESCRIPTION: next to a white flower laying on a rock,

STYLE: minimalism, cream background,

LIGHTING: volumetric light coming from the right corner,

♾ Re-roll as many times as needed, adding or subtracting elements as you see fit.

The goal here is to have MJ generate different variations - don’t overthink this step, this is just to get you started, by all means, change up the prompt, add, and subtract until you get a good enough background- again, this is just the background and while it’s good to have a solid idea, be open minded as thing will change in the next step.

4/🔧 ADDING PRODUCTS

This is the tricky part and requires patience. Once you've settled on a background idea, it's time to add your product. The example we’ll use here is a bottle of soap dispenser with a silver pump.

Using our usual prompt structure- fill in the details

(Number of items), (Item/Product description), (Style)

• there's no need to add lighting at this stage of the prompt; we already have generated lighting in the background image

PROMPT: a bottle of soap dispenser with white pump and yellow transparent content sitting on +(insert background/initial prompt here)

NUMBER OF ITEMS: 1 or A soap dispenser,

DESCRIPTION: White pump/silver pump, yellow transparent content

STYLE: Yellow transparent content/ liquid in glass

PROMPT: A soap dispenser with a white pump and yellow transparent content sitting on a rock, next to a white flower. volumetric light is coming from the right corner, creating a minimalist, cream background.

Precision is KEY. Ask yourself the following questions: What colour is your pump? Is your bottle transparent? What content does it have? What's the colour?

💎PROTIP: if you’re having trouble generating the correct colour of content - use words like “oil” to generate yellow liquid. MJ responds well to visual reference points.

5/🎨 LAYERING

Now, add your original background prompt + your product to the sequence + INSTRUCT

INSTRUCT: In this instance, we'll add extra instructions here:

'white flower laying on rock and facing toward the camera'. We had a rather rebellious flower here, so we simply instructed MJ to coax the flower into facing the camera - and it obliged! 😆

PROMPT: A soap dispenser with a white pump and yellow transparent content sitting on a rock, next to a white flower laying on rock and facing toward camera. volumetric light is coming from the right corner, creating a minimalist, cream background.

Also, note- the initial prompt the pumps were white but I decided to generate a few variations and saw a silver/gold metal and went for it.

You should get something like this:

6/🔄 RE-ROLLING & VARIATIONS

Rinse and repeat until you achieve a final image that you're happy with.

7/📸 CAMERA CONSIDERATIONS

The reason I've chosen not to add a camera to this example is that MJ v5.1-style raw has its own way of operating, and introducing a camera could disrupt certain variables.

The interaction between a camera in MJ v5.1 differs from that with MJ v5. Cameras are, undoubtedly, important, but for practicality's sake, we're going to leave it out for the moment and return to it in the coming weeks.

Don’t forget to upscale your final image!
Here’s mine, show me yours 😉 

In the meantime, keep experimenting, refining, and most importantly, enjoying the creative process!

So, what's up next? I'll share more about how to use cameras effectively with MJ.

If you've enjoyed reading this, please follow me on Twitter @salmaaboukarr (AKA Midjourney queen 😉 ), subscribe here and feel free to share your work with me via email at [email protected] for feedback

NOTE: I'll aim to post at least once a month (though I'll try to post more frequently if possible). Please bear with me, and thank you for all the support! It means a lot!

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NOTE: Do you run a CPG/DTC/Creative Agency & making over $50K MRR? We'll increase conversion rates by up to 70% with compelling content and give you early access to our virtual photography studio (closed beta) Lets Chat!