How to Write Subtitles with Midjourney

Midjourney is an AI image generation tool that can also help you create visuals with impactful subtitles. Whether you want to design YouTube thumbnails with catchy text, social media visuals with embedded captions, or illustrations with stylized subtitles, Midjourney offers unique creative possibilities. In this tutorial, you will learn how to formulate your prompts to obtain images with readable and aesthetic text, control placement and typographic style, and optimize your results for different content formats. With these techniques, you can produce professional visuals where text and image complement each other harmoniously, without needing additional editing software.

Prerequisites

1.Have an active Midjourney account with a current subscription
2.Have access to Discord or the Midjourney web interface
3.Know the basics of writing Midjourney prompts
4.Have a clear idea of the desired visual content and subtitles

Steps

Define the visual style and subtitle message

Before launching your generation, precisely determine the text of your subtitles, the desired visual tone (professional, playful, cinematic) and the output format (16:9 for YouTube, square for Instagram, etc.). Write your text keeping it short and impactful, as Midjourney handles short sentences better. Also note the font and typographic style you are aiming for: bold letters, neon, handwritten, etc.

Tip: Limit your subtitles to a maximum of 5 words per line to ensure readability in the generated image.

Structure the prompt with embedded text

Use Midjourney syntax to include text in your image. Place the desired text in quotes within your prompt and specify its location in the image (bottom, center, overlay). Also describe the visual background that will accompany your subtitles. Midjourney V6 and later handle typography much better than previous versions.

/imagine a cinematic dark background with white subtitle text "YOUR_TEXT_HERE" at the bottom of the frame, clean typography, movie subtitle style, high contrast --ar 16:9 --v 6

Tip: Always use --v 6 or higher for better text rendering. Earlier versions often distort characters.

Adjust typographic style with precise parameters

Refine the rendering of your subtitles by adding typographic descriptors in your prompt. Specify the text color, visual effect (drop shadow, outline, neon, embossed) and contrast with the background. You can also specify a font style by describing it (sans-serif, serif bold, handwritten). Experiment with the --stylize parameter to control artistic intensity.

/imagine professional video thumbnail with bold white sans-serif text "FULL GUIDE" with black drop shadow, gradient blue background, modern clean design, typography focus --ar 16:9 --s 200 --v 6

Tip: Add 'typography focus' or 'text-centered design' to your prompt to tell Midjourney to prioritize text sharpness.

Use variations and upscale to perfect the result

Once your first image grid is generated, select the version where the text is most readable and best integrated. Use the variation button (V1-V4) to explore close alternatives, then apply upscaling to the best version. If the text has character errors, restart the generation with a slightly rephrased prompt or use the inpainting function to correct only the text area.

Tip: Generate at least 3 to 4 grids before choosing your final image: text rendering varies significantly from one generation to the next.

Export and finalize subtitles for your project

Download your image in high resolution from Midjourney. If the text requires minor adjustments (typo, alignment), you can use a complementary tool like Canva or Photoshop to overlay corrected text following exactly the style generated by Midjourney. For video subtitles, use the image as a style template and reproduce the typography in your editing software.

/imagine subtitle style guide sheet showing "Example" text in 4 different styles: neon glow, classic white, cinematic yellow, modern minimal, dark background, typography specimen --ar 16:9 --v 6

Tip: Create a style board with several subtitle variants to establish a consistent graphic charter across all your content.

Common mistakes to avoid

✗Writing overly long sentences in the prompt: Midjourney distorts or truncates texts longer than 5-6 words
✗Using a version prior to V6 that does not handle typographic rendering correctly and produces illegible characters
✗Not specifying enough contrast between text and background, making subtitles hard to read
✗Forgetting to specify the aspect ratio (--ar) suited to the destination format, which forces cropping and degrades quality
✗Expecting perfect text on the first try: typographic rendering often requires multiple iterations and manual corrections

FAQ

Can Midjourney generate French text with accents correctly?

Midjourney V6 and later versions handle accented characters (é, è, ê, à, ç) acceptably, but errors may occur. It is recommended to check each character and allow for manual retouching if necessary. For critical text, generate the visual without text first and then add subtitles with an editing tool.

What image format should I choose for subtitles intended for video?

Use 16:9 ratio (--ar 16:9) for YouTube videos and presentations, 9:16 (--ar 9:16) for stories and Reels, and 1:1 for Instagram posts. Always export at maximum resolution via upscaling to maintain text sharpness after video compression.

How to get a consistent subtitle style across multiple images?

Use an identical base prompt for all your generations, changing only the subtitle text. Fix the --seed parameter with a constant value to maintain a similar visual style. You can also use a reference image (--iw) from your first successful result to guide subsequent generations.

How to use this prompt

Copy the prompt with the button above.
Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or your favorite AI assistant.
Replace the bracketed variables with your details, then refine the result.

About Prompt Guide

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