15 Midjourney prompts for fashion photography

Zack MacTavish
Bootcamp
Published in
7 min readAug 12, 2023

Are you looking for inspiration for photography, art, or design projects? With generative AI, we can take a look at how to create surreal photography that can serve as inspiration for future projects.

Surreal photography is a way to express creativity, and it gives me a lot of inspiration for my art and paintings.

Midjourney has gotten amazing at rendering photographs this past year. In this article, I will bring you a variety of Midjourney prompts specifically tailored for surreal photography! Personally, I may use these prompts for inspiration for my oil paintings, or to publish a magazine in the future similar to Toiletpaper magazine. I hope you find a way to boost your creativity from this article! Be sure to also look up the artists, and movements mentioned in the prompts.

  1. A white shirt sitting on an orange and green chair with a green and yellow rainbow in the background, in the style of surrealistic poses, 1970s, photobash, sky-blue and green, staged photography, fairy tale, candid shots of famous figures — ar 70:87
    I love the gradients in this first image, and the color palette is exquisite. Midjourney will still sometimes output sections of the photo that don’t quite make sense, but if you continue to make iterations you will eventually find one that works well. I hear that Midjourney V6 will also have image in-painting so we will be able to select one section of the image to repaint. This will be a game changer!
a white shirt sitting on an orange and green chair with a green and yellow rainbow in the background, in the style of surrealistic poses, 1970s, photobash, sky-blue and green, staged photography, fairy tale, candid shots of famous figures — ar 70:87

2. A woman dressed in pink and green with bubbles in her hands, in the style of bold and graphic pop art-inspired designs, deconstructed tailoring, whimsical figurines, made of insects, dark pink and sky-blue, photo taken with provia, japonism influenced pieces — ar 2:3
This image reminded me of Apple’s new Vision pro headset, and I also enjoyed the organisms inside of the bubbles. My partner is a textile designer so I also appreciate the floral patches on the dress. You can see the inspiration that Midjouney is taking based on all of the prompting after the first sentence. This piece is inspired by Japanese motifs. Similar to how Van Gogh and many french artists were inspired by Japanese art in
the 19th century.

a woman dressed in pink and green with bubbles in her hands, in the style of bold and graphic pop art-inspired designs, deconstructed tailoring, whimsical figurines, made of insects, dark pink and sky-blue, photo taken with provia, japonism influenced pieces — ar 2:3

3. A black woman in bright colors, in the style of dark yellow and dark cyan, postmodern photography, monumental ensembles, shadow play, cowboy imagery, elegant figures, loose figuration — ar 35:44
I love how bold this photograph is. It reminds me of the artwork of Kerry James Marshall. The subdued green also compliments the yellow background. Cowboy imagery is trendy currently with Beyonce’s Renaissance album and style.

a black woman in bright colors, in the style of dark yellow and dark cyan, postmodern photography, monumental ensembles, shadow play, cowboy imagery, elegant figures, loose figuration — ar 35:44

4. A teenage girl sitting on top of a yellow sheet, in the style of deconstructed tailoring, white and green, oversized objects, organic and fluid, colab, eccentric detail placements — ar 2:3
This image reminds me of a modern take of a renaissance painting. The painterly textures, and organic sheets in the background add motion and an interesting dynamic to the photo.

a teenage girl sitting on top of a yellow sheet, in the style of deconstructed tailoring, white and green, oversized objects, organic and fluid, colab, eccentric detail placements — ar 2:3

5. A blonde lady sitting down against a bright orange background, in the style of demonic photograph, 85 new wave, dark and ominous, serene faces, creased, holography, bunnycore — ar 7:9
This image is intense with the bold red color in the background. I also love how it appears to have double exposure techniques from the holography prompt. This makes the piece feel spiritual. The prompt has used the words demonic photography, which adds a dark twist to the photo like a
horror movie.

a blonde lady sitting down against a bright orange background, in the style of demonic photograph, 85 new wave, dark and ominous, serene faces, creased, holography, bunnycore — ar 7:9

6. A girl wearing all white standing in front of plastic wrap, in the style of gabriel isak, acrobatic self-portraits, dark sky-blue and beige, playful movement, veronika pinke, theatrical gestures, webcam photography — ar 2:3 My favorite part of this photo is the hazy bust of the woman. It reminds me of a blurry painting by Y.Z. Kami. It also reminds me of “glassmorphism” or frosted glass techniques popular in modern UI design, and used by companies like Apple and Microsoft. I also love how dark and subdued the photo is, like a storm is brewing.

a girl wearing all white standing in front of plastic wrap, in the style of gabriel isak, acrobatic self-portraits, dark sky-blue and beige, playful movement, veronika pinke, theatrical gestures, webcam photography — ar 2:3

7. A woman’s body while covering an orange, in the style of neo-pop sensibility, environmental portraiture, gongbi, color blocked, contrasting balance, light green and indigo, naturalistic poses — ar 70:93 Gigantic oranges, and large leaves! Definitely my favorite part of this photo. I can imagine a set designer creating these oversized oranges to be real life props in a photo shoot. I also love how the woman’s dress is neutral in the photo, while the other colors are primary and secondary on the
color wheel.

a woman’s body while covering an orange, in the style of neo-pop sensibility, environmental portraiture, gongbi, color blocked, contrasting balance, light green and indigo, naturalistic poses — ar 70:93

8. Spring 2023 campaign , in the style of mary anning, yellow and beige, chiho aoshima, pastoral nostalgia, emile claus, ethereal cloudscapes, high quality photo — ar 2:3 This one reminds me of fashion shoot that was inspired by a John Singer Sargent painting.

spring 2023 campaign , in the style of mary anning, yellow and beige, chiho aoshima, pastoral nostalgia, emile claus, ethereal cloudscapes, high quality photo — ar 2:3

9. A woman in a green coat standing next to a yellow wall, in the style of bold fashion photography, orange and emerald, art of the ivory coast, hasselblad 1600f, bold color usage, dramatic use of color, otherworldly fun — ar 5:7 The orange and green color palette is interesting in this photo, and it would be really fun to style a model, and paint a set to match in
this way.

a woman in a green coat standing next to a yellow wall, in the style of bold fashion photography, orange and emerald, art of the ivory coast, hasselblad 1600f, bold color usage, dramatic use of color, otherworldly fun — ar 5:7

10. twin women wearing fluorescent green hoodies with intricate ornaments, in the style of chromatic sculptural slabs, daniel jaems, sandro botticelli, carving, luxurious textures, close-up, alasdair mclellan — ar 1:1 I think the sculptural elements are interesting on the clothing. It makes me want to create a series of prints on paper that has embossed intricate ornaments.

twin women wearing fluorescent green hoodies with intricate ornaments, in the style of chromatic sculptural slabs, daniel jaems, sandro botticelli, carving, luxurious textures, close-up, alasdair mclellan — ar 1:1

11. twin women buried in black trash both dressed in black clothes shaped like trashbags, surrounded by mirrors with reflections of black trashbags with plastic in each mirror, make it high fashion like Dior, employs a Sony A7IV camera with Kodak Portra 400 film to showcase the vibrancy of the scene and deliver fine grain with impressive color accuracy. Real photo, high detail — ar 1:1 I have created a lot of AI art with twins in the imagery, because I like the symmetry it creates. The reflective qualities also add a lot of dimension. It is like the old film technique where director’s will place a mirror in the still to create a larger sense of space.

twin women buried in black trash both dressed in black clothes shaped like trashbags, surrounded by mirrors with reflections of black trashbags with plastic in each mirror, make it high fashion like Dior, employs a Sony A7IV camera with Kodak Portra 400 film to showcase the vibrancy of the scene and deliver fine grain with impressive color accuracy. Real photo, high detail — ar 1:1

12. twin women both dressed in pink clothes shaped like trashbags, surrounded by mirrors with reflections of pink trashbags in each mirror, make it high fashion like Dior, employs a Sony A7IV camera with Kodak Portra 400 film to showcase the vibrancy of the scene and deliver fine grain with impressive color accuracy. Real photo, high detail — ar 1:1
This one was another take on the last image. I just love how it almost seems like the woman is next to a mirror, but it is a twin.

twin women both dressed in pink clothes shaped like trashbags, surrounded by mirrors with reflections of pink trashbags in each mirror, make it high fashion like Dior, employs a Sony A7IV camera with Kodak Portra 400 film to showcase the vibrancy of the scene and deliver fine grain with impressive color accuracy. Real photo, high detail — ar 1:1

13. man holding a blue parrot, in the style of miles aldridge, light violet and light orange, depiction of everyday life, deconstructed tailoring, grant morrison, melting pots, realist detail — ar 35:47 This image is inspired by a similar photo from Toiletpaper magazine. The orange color contrasts the purple in the photo.

man holding a blue parrot, in the style of miles aldridge, light violet and light orange, depiction of everyday life, deconstructed tailoring, grant morrison, melting pots, realist detail — ar 35:47

14. a woman wearing a blue and green cover, in the style of plastic, atmospheric portraits, scanner photography, social media portraiture, human sculptures, dark sky-blue and amber, detailed costumes — ar 35:47 I love exploring plastic, and similar textures in Midjourney. I think it does a great job replicating the look.

a woman wearing a blue and green cover, in the style of plastic, atmospheric portraits, scanner photography, social media portraiture, human sculptures, dark sky-blue and amber, detailed costumes — ar 35:47

15. a lady in neon wears pink tights while laying on the ground next to squirrels, in the style of bold fashion photography, bold color-blocking, hyperrealistic rendering, yellow and emerald, color-blocking, playful yet sophisticated, pictorial — ar 35:47 This is one of the most bizarre from the set for me, but I love it. I can imagine using taxidermy, and the bold colors for a photo shoot. I would definitely use in-painting to give the fella on the right another arm though!

a lady in neon wears pink tights while laying on the ground next to squirrels, in the style of bold fashion photography, bold color-blocking, hyperrealistic rendering, yellow and emerald, color-blocking, playful yet sophisticated, pictorial — ar 35:47

Thanks for checking out this article! I am planning on focusing more on Midjourney, and will have future articles that dive deeper into the features, prompts, and technology. I hope you enjoyed it, and please give me a follow if you want to see more about art, UX/UI, and design.

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Zack MacTavish
Bootcamp

Current Product Designer @ Microsoft. I love Art, Design, UX/UI, Running, and Gaming. View my current website at https://zackmactavish.github.io/MacTavish/