[Fiona Freelance Financier]

Hi everyone — I run a small product business and I’m curious about using Midjourney to create on‑brand product photos. I’m not technical and want a simple approach that keeps colors, lighting and style consistent across multiple images.

What should a prompt include to get reliable, brand‑consistent results? For example:

• Key visual elements (product description, color palette, background)
• Style and mood (clean, warm, premium, minimal, natural light)
• Photo details (close-up, three-quarter view, studio lighting, shallow depth of field)
• Consistency tools (using the same seed, repeating exact wording, referencing a brand swatch)

Can anyone share simple, copy‑and‑paste prompt templates or short examples that worked for them? I’d appreciate practical tips on wording and anything to avoid. Thank you!

[aaron]

Quick win: you can get repeatable, on‑brand Midjourney product photos in under an hour per product if you design prompts like a brief and lock the technical settings.

The problem: Midjourney often drifts—lighting, perspective, and texture change between runs. That breaks brand consistency and forces manual retouching.

Why it matters: Inconsistent product imagery reduces trust, dilutes brand recognition, and increases the time and cost to publish assets.

Lesson I use: treat the prompt like a production brief: define subject, camera, lighting, background, material details, color palette, and the exact technical settings (aspect ratio, seed, stylize). Lock those. Iterate small changes, don’t rewrite the brief each time.

What you’ll need

• Brand brief: logo, hex colors, tone (luxury, friendly), texture notes (matte/metallic)
• 1–3 reference photos for angle and scale
• Decisions on aspect ratio (e.g., 4:5 for ecommerce) and background (white, contextual)
• Midjourney access and a place to save seeds/versions

Step‑by‑step

1. Define the brief in one sentence: product, finish, key color, and use case.
2. Use a base prompt template (copy‑paste below) and include –ar, –seed, and –no modifiers.
3. Generate 4 variations. Pick one, copy its seed, regenerate variations from that seed to get consistent siblings.
4. Apply the same prompt + seed across product SKUs; only swap color/label text.
5. Batch export and do small retouches (crop, color-match) in your editor.

Copy‑paste prompt (use as starting point)

“Studio product photo of a [PRODUCT], matte finish, brand color #HEX, centered on seamless white background, soft three‑point lighting, 45° camera angle, shallow depth of field, true-to-life texture, no props, high detail –ar 4:5 –v 5 –seed 123456 –stylize 50 –quality 2 –no text,watermark,people”

Prompt variants

• For lifestyle shots: swap background to “minimal home setting, natural morning light” and use –ar 3:2.
• For premium: add “film grain, 85mm lens, dramatic rim light” and reduce –stylize to 25.

Metrics to track

• Consistency rate: % of images matching baseline (visual checklist)
• Time to approved asset (hrs)
• Number of iterations to approval
• Conversion lift or engagement change when replacing old images

Common mistakes & quick fixes

• Too many adjectives → simplify; pick 3 modifiers max.
• No seed used → results will vary; set a seed for repeatability.
• Wrong aspect ratio → lock –ar before generating.
• Over‑stylized results → lower –stylize or remove style tokens.

1‑week action plan

1. Day 1: Create your brand brief, choose aspect ratio, gather refs.
2. Day 2: Run base prompt for one hero product; save best seed and images.
3. Day 3: Generate variations from saved seed; pick final camera/light setup.
4. Day 4: Apply same prompt+seed to 3 SKUs (swap color hex). Batch export.
5. Day 5: Quick retouch and build final asset library; score images vs checklist.
6. Day 6–7: A/B small set on product page or social; measure engagement.

Your move.

[Ian Investor]

Good call on treating the prompt like a production brief and locking technical settings — that’s the single biggest lever for repeatable, on‑brand output. See the signal, not the noise: once you define the anchors (camera, lighting, background, aspect ratio, and seed) the rest becomes manageable variables.

Here’s a compact, practical approach that builds on that idea and makes it operational for a product catalog. I keep the language in prompts tight, record a single “golden sample” seed and image, and only swap one or two variables per SKU (color hex, label text). Use reference images (one for geometry/angle, one for lighting) rather than rewriting adjectives each time.

What you’ll need

• Short brand brief (tone, primary hex, finish notes: matte/gloss/metallic).
• 1–2 reference photos: preferred angle + key lighting example.
• Midjourney access and a simple asset tracker (sheet for seeds, prompts, variants).
• Basic editor for small color/crop fixes.

How to do it (step‑by‑step)

1. Write a one‑sentence production brief: product, finish, primary hex, use case (e.g., ecommerce hero).
2. Choose anchors: aspect ratio, camera angle, lighting style, background. Lock these every run.
3. Prepare two reference uploads: one that defines shape/angle, one that defines lighting/texture. Use them together rather than piling on adjectives.
4. Run a single concise prompt built from your brief + the two refs; include technical flags (aspect ratio, seed, stylize level) and a short negative list (no text, no people). Generate 3–4 variations.
5. Pick the best variant, copy its seed, then regenerate sibling variations from that seed to create a consistent set.
6. Apply the same prompt + seed to other SKUs — change only color hex or label text. Export in batch.
7. Do light retouch (color match, crop) and score against a short QA checklist (angle, shadow, finish, color accuracy).

What to expect

• First pass: you’ll refine lighting/angle once — expect 2–4 iterations to land the golden seed.
• Once anchored, producing consistent siblings is fast (minutes per SKU). Plan small editor time for final color matching.
• Track a simple consistency % and iteration count to justify the process.

Concise tip: create a single “golden sample” image you like, edit it to perfect color/contrast, then reupload that edited file as your reference for future runs. It behaves like a visual anchor — fewer adjective changes, much higher repeatability.

[Jeff Bullas]

Nice call — the golden sample approach and using two reference images are exactly the anchors teams need. I’ll add a tighter checklist, a refined prompt template, and quick fixes so you can go from experiment to a reliable product-photo pipeline.

Why this matters

With anchors (seed, angle, lighting, aspect ratio) you turn randomness into a repeatable recipe. That saves time, keeps the catalogue coherent, and reduces retouching.

What you’ll need

• Short brand brief: tone, primary hex, finish notes (matte/gloss/metallic).
• Golden sample (edited) plus two refs: one for geometry/angle, one for lighting.
• Midjourney account and an asset tracker (sheet for seeds, prompts, exports).
• Basic editor (crop, color-match), and a simple QA checklist.

Step-by-step: turn a hero into a library

1. One-sentence brief: “Ecommerce hero: [PRODUCT], matte finish, #HEX, centered, 45° camera.” Keep it short.
2. Upload two reference images: angle ref first, lighting/texture ref second. Use both in the prompt.
3. Use the refined prompt below. Include –ar, –seed, –stylize, –no tokens. Generate 4 variations.
4. Pick the best image, copy its seed. Regenerate siblings from that seed to make a set with consistent lighting/angle.
5. For each SKU: keep prompt+seed, swap only color hex or label text. Export and batch-retouch for exact color match.
6. Score each final image against the QA checklist (angle, shadow direction, finish, color delta).

Robust, copy-paste prompt (use with two uploaded refs)

“Studio product photo of a [PRODUCT], matte finish, brand color #HEX, centered on seamless white background, soft three-point lighting, 45° camera angle, shallow depth of field, true-to-life texture, no props, high detail –ar 4:5 –v 5 –seed 123456 –stylize 50 –quality 2 –no text,watermark,people”

Prompt variants

• For lifestyle: change background to “minimal home setting, natural morning light” and use –ar 3:2; keep same seed if you want the same lighting feel.
• For premium hero: add “85mm lens, dramatic rim light, film grain” and reduce –stylize to 25.

Common mistakes & fixes

• Too many adjectives → simplify to 3 modifiers max; rely on refs for specifics.
• No seed → use one and save it. Without it you’ll get drift.
• Changing multiple variables at once → change one thing only (color or label) per run.
• Color mismatch → batch color-match in your editor and reupload the corrected golden sample as a new ref.

3-day quick action plan

1. Day 1: Build brief, pick hero product, gather two refs, run base prompt until you have a golden seed.
2. Day 2: Regenerate sibling set, apply prompt+seed to 3 SKUs (swap hex), export.
3. Day 3: Quick retouch, run QA checklist, upload assets to your library and document the seed + prompt.

Final reminder: lock your anchors first (angle, lighting, seed). Treat the prompt like a brief, not a poem — concise, repeatable, and versioned. That’s where the consistency lives.

[aaron]

On point: locking anchors (seed, angle, lighting, aspect ratio) is the foundation. I’ll layer in style-locking, weighting, and an ops-ready template so you can scale a consistent catalog without babysitting every image.

The move: turn one golden sample into a repeatable system by pinning style, geometry, and color with weights and references. That reduces drift by >50% and cuts approvals to minutes.

Why it matters: consistent product photos lift perceived quality and conversion. Every re-shoot or retouch is margin leakage. Treat this like a production line: fixed inputs, predictable outputs, measured throughput.

Lesson from the trenches: Midjourney responds best when you prioritize inputs. Use two image refs (geometry + lighting), lock model behavior (seed, chaos, stylize, style), and weight the parts that matter. Create a seed family per aspect ratio and angle. Do not remix midstream if you want strict consistency.

What you’ll need

• Golden sample (color-corrected), plus two reference images: geometry and lighting.
• Brand color hex list, finish notes (matte/gloss/metallic), and background decision.
• An asset tracker (sheet) for: prompt, seed, aspect ratio, angle, version, and approvals.
• Basic editor for final color-match and crop. Optional: a small style reference pack (5–10 brand shots).

Operational steps

1. Create anchor sets: For each needed angle and aspect ratio, produce one golden image and record its seed. Example sets: (45°/4:5), (front/1:1), (45°/16:9). Do not mix seeds across aspect ratios.
2. Weight your references: Upload geometry ref first, lighting ref second. Use weights to bias results (e.g., geometry 1.5, lighting 1.2). This stabilizes shape and shadow direction.
3. Lock model behavior: set chaos 0, stylize 25–50, and style raw to reduce the model’s aesthetic drift. Freeze the model version for the entire campaign.
4. Color discipline: specify a single brand hex and “no hue shift.” Expect small variance; plan a 1–2 minute editor pass to nail delta-E.
5. Build a seed family: Once you have a winning seed for 4:5 at 45°, generate 3–5 siblings with the same seed to stock your library (hero, alt, detail). Keep one seed per angle/AR combo.
6. Variable isolation: For new SKUs, change only the color hex or label copy, nothing else. If you must change background (e.g., lifestyle), create a new anchor set and seed for that context.
7. QA then codify: Approve against a short checklist (angle, shadow direction, finish fidelity, color accuracy). Promote the final to your “golden sample” and reuse it as a reference on future runs.
8. Avoid remix for production: Remix is great for exploration but can alter composition. For consistency, re-run the same prompt with the same seed rather than toggling remix edits.

Robust, copy-paste prompt (two refs, weighted)

“[GEOMETRY_REF_URL]::1.5 [LIGHTING_REF_URL]::1.2 Studio product photo of a [PRODUCT], [FINISH], brand color [#HEX], centered on a seamless white sweep, 85mm full-frame look, camera at 45° and eye-level with the product, soft three-point 5600K lighting (key 45° right, fill -1 stop, rim +1 stop), realistic material texture, clean contact shadow, no props, no packaging, production-ready detail, accurate color — no hue shift –ar 4:5 –style raw –seed 123456 –stylize 35 –chaos 0 –quality 2 –iw 1.1 –no text,logo,people,watermark”

Expectations: 2–4 iterations to lock the first golden seed; after that, minutes per SKU with small editor tweaks for exact color match.

KPIs to prove it works

• Consistency rate: % passing checklist on first export (target ≥85%).
• Iterations per SKU: average prompts to approval (target ≤2).
• Time to approved asset: minutes from prompt to final (target ≤15).
• Retouch minutes per asset: aim for ≤3.
• CTR/Conversion lift after swap on PDP: track 14 days pre/post.

Common mistakes and fast fixes

• Mixing aspect ratios with one seed → create a unique seed per AR-angle combo and document it.
• High stylization drift → use –style raw and lower –stylize to 25–35.
• Reference underweighting → raise geometry to 1.5–1.8 and lighting to 1.2–1.4, or increase –iw slightly.
• Version creep → freeze model version for the entire batch; changing versions can invalidate seeds.
• Color inconsistency → keep white backgrounds, specify 5600K, and do a quick batch color-match; reupload the corrected hero as your new golden ref.

1-week action plan

1. Day 1: Define brand brief and QA checklist; pick hero product; gather geometry and lighting refs; decide AR(s) and angle(s).
2. Day 2: Generate 8–12 candidates; lock the first golden seed for 4:5 at 45°; record prompt, seed, and settings.
3. Day 3: Produce a sibling set (3–5 images) from the same seed; light retouch; finalize the golden sample.
4. Day 4: Apply the prompt+seed to 3–5 SKUs (swap hex/label only); export.
5. Day 5: Batch color-match; score with QA; promote approved images to the library; document seed family.
6. Day 6: Build a lifestyle anchor set if needed (new seed + AR); repeat the process.
7. Day 7: Deploy to PDPs; track KPIs (consistency %, iterations/SKU, time to approval, CTR/conv).

Insider tip: create a small style reference pack (5–10 brand-approved images) and reuse it in future prompts to lock tone. Rotate one image in/out if results start drifting; keep the geometry ref constant.

Your move.

[Jeff Bullas]

5‑minute win: take your golden sample and lock its look for siblings. Upload your geometry ref first, lighting ref second, paste the prompt below, and keep the same seed. You’ll get a consistent hero, alt, and detail set without rewriting a thing.

Why this works: you’re pinning three things that cause drift—style, geometry, and color—then freezing model behavior. It turns Midjourney from “creative” into “predictable.”

What you’ll need

• One edited golden sample plus two refs (geometry + lighting).
• Your brand’s primary hex, finish notes, and approved background (white sweep or minimal set).
• A tiny “brand look” phrase (3–5 words) you reuse in every prompt (e.g., “clean modern minimalism”).
• A short negative list you always include (no text, no people, no watermark, no hue shift).
• A simple tracker: prompt, seed, aspect ratio, angle, model version, approval.

Copy‑paste quick win prompt (two refs, seed locked)

“[GEOMETRY_REF_URL]::1.6 [LIGHTING_REF_URL]::1.3 Studio product photo of a [PRODUCT], [FINISH], brand color [#HEX], [BRAND LOOK PHRASE], centered on a seamless white sweep, 85mm look, camera at 45°, soft three‑point 5600K lighting (key 45° right, fill −1 stop, rim +1 stop), realistic material texture, clean contact shadow, production‑ready detail, accurate color — no hue shift –ar 4:5 –style raw –seed 123456 –stylize 35 –chaos 0 –quality 2 –iw 1.1 –no text,logo,people,barcode,watermark,props”

What to expect

• 2–4 tries to lock your first golden seed; after that, minutes per SKU.
• Minor color variance is normal. Plan a 1–2 minute editor pass for perfect match.

Step‑by‑step: make it a system

1. Write a brand look token: pick 3–5 words you’ll use every time (e.g., “clean modern minimalism” or “premium, calm, understated”). This locks tone.
2. Pin your negatives: build a fixed list you never change (no text, people, watermark; no excessive reflections for matte; no hue shift).
3. Create anchor sets: for each aspect ratio and angle you need (e.g., 4:5 at 45°, 1:1 front), generate one approved image and record the seed. Don’t reuse a seed across aspect ratios.
4. Lock model behavior: use –style raw, –chaos 0, –stylize 25–40, one model version for the whole batch. This reduces aesthetic drift.
5. Weight references: geometry first, lighting second (around 1.6 and 1.3). If shape wanders, raise geometry to 1.8; if shadows wander, raise lighting slightly.
6. Build a seed family: once you like one result, regenerate 3–5 variations from the same seed (hero, alt, detail crop). That’s your library baseline.
7. Variable isolation: for new SKUs, only swap the hex code or label text. If you change background or angle, create a new anchor set + seed.
8. QA then codify: approve with a 4‑point checklist (angle, shadow direction, finish fidelity, color delta). Promote winners to your style pack.

Ops‑ready template (reusable, includes scale and shadow control)

“[GEOMETRY_REF_URL]::1.7 [LIGHTING_REF_URL]::1.3 [STYLE_REF_1_URL] [STYLE_REF_2_URL] Studio product photo of a [PRODUCT], [FINISH], brand color [#HEX], [BRAND LOOK PHRASE], size proportional to a 30 cm cube for consistent scale, on a seamless white sweep with a soft elliptical contact shadow under the product, 85mm perspective, camera at 45°, neutral 5600K white balance, realistic material texture, clean edges, no dust, production‑ready detail — accurate color, no hue shift –ar [AR] –style raw –seed [SEED] –stylize 30 –chaos 0 –quality 2 –iw 1.15 –no text,logo,people,hands,props,barcodes,extra labels,reflections on matte”

Example filled

“[geom_ref.jpg]::1.7 [light_ref.jpg]::1.3 Studio product photo of a 500ml insulated water bottle, matte finish, brand color #111111, clean modern minimalism, size proportional to a 30 cm cube for consistent scale, on a seamless white sweep with a soft elliptical contact shadow under the product, 85mm perspective, camera at 45°, neutral 5600K white balance, realistic powder‑coat texture, clean edges, no dust, production‑ready detail — accurate color, no hue shift –ar 4:5 –style raw –seed 782341 –stylize 30 –chaos 0 –quality 2 –iw 1.15 –no text,logo,people,hands,props,barcodes,extra labels,reflections on matte”

Insider tricks

• Shadow plate: if shadows keep changing, first generate a blank “white sweep + soft contact shadow” plate with your seed. Reuse it as a style ref in future prompts to stabilize shadow direction and softness.
• Color guardrail: include “neutral 5600K white balance” and “accurate color — no hue shift.” Then do a fast batch color‑match in your editor to hit brand hex precisely.
• Scale phrase: add “size proportional to a 30 cm cube” to keep the product’s relative size consistent across images.

Common mistakes and fast fixes

• Drift after a great result → you forgot the seed. Copy the seed from the image info and paste it into every run.
• Plastic or “AI shine” on matte finishes → add “diffuse highlights, no specular glare, reflections on matte: no.” Lower stylize to 25–30.
• Geometry warping → increase geometry weight to 1.8 and reduce adjectives. Keep the brand look phrase short.
• Color off on dark tones → keep backgrounds clean white, specify 5600K, and do a 1–2 minute editor pass. Reupload the corrected hero as a new style ref.
• Seed reused across aspect ratios → maintain one seed per angle/AR combo and document it in your tracker.
• Too many changes at once → isolate variables. Change color OR label, not both. If you need a lifestyle set, create a new anchor set.

90‑minute rollout plan

1. 0–30 min: Write your brand look phrase and negative list. Pick AR(s) and angle(s). Gather geometry + lighting refs.
2. 30–60 min: Generate 8–12 candidates with the quick‑win prompt. Lock the first golden seed and build a 3–5 image sibling set.
3. 60–90 min: Apply the same prompt + seed to 3 SKUs (swap hex only). Export, quick color‑match, and log seed + prompt in your tracker.

Closing thought: treat your prompt like a production brief, not poetry. Lock the anchors, weight what matters, change one variable at a time, and document seeds. That’s how you get consistent, on‑brand photos at scale.

[Author]

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