EP 018 · 66 MIN TO HIM, MIDJOURNEY DOESN'T FEEL LIKE AI
Actionable ChatGPT Tips to Make Midjourney Even Better
The short version
Episode 18 is a working session on pairing ChatGPT and Claude with Midjourney. Rory Flynn and Drew Brucker use LLMs to expand their photography vocabulary, brainstorm story arcs, reverse-engineer style descriptions from reference images, and build custom GPTs that auto-generate on-brand prompts. Rory also revisits the prompt-structure system behind his earlier Tulum hotel image series, and both hosts argue ChatGPT's real value is closing knowledge gaps rather than writing finished prompts.
Key takeaways
- 01
Use ChatGPT or Claude to learn photography vocabulary you don't have yet: ask for lighting techniques or composition types, then test the actual term inside Midjourney.
- 02
Naming a color by mood or analogy ("Pthalo green," "ladybug red") beats generic color words; one prompt returned an actual Sherwin-Williams paint name unprompted.
- 03
Build a fixed prompt-structure template (photo type, subject, environment, color, lighting, composition) and only swap the subject to get a consistent, branded image series.
- 04
For hyper-specific themes like food or architecture photography, ask ChatGPT to suggest extra prompt categories (plating, garnish, fabrics, finishes) beyond the standard structure.
- 05
Have an LLM grade a finished Midjourney image on a 1-100 scale against your stated goal — a more objective second opinion than your own taste.
- 06
Build a custom GPT holding your brand's fixed prompt template plus dynamic variables (age, ethnicity, setting) so teammates can generate on-brand prompts without learning Midjourney.
- 07
Run the same query in both ChatGPT and Claude: Drew and Rory find Claude's camera and film-stock suggestions noticeably more creative than ChatGPT's.
Receipts · said on the record
“This is where we get into this whole meta conversation where Mid Journey doesn't feel like AI to me, but ChatGPT does … where it talks back to you and has thoughts and mid-journey just executes. There's no response, no backtalk.”
“I did have something interesting happening the other day. I used that suggested prompt when I was doing like a external edit or a retexture or whatever I was doing. And it gave me a Sherwin Williams color.”
“Instead of trying to dig through this and rewrite a prompt, because I didn't like the lighting, it's just like find, execute, iterate. Find, execute, iterate. Pretty simple.”
“Not everybody has to be a mid-journey expert at that point. You can literally toss it over.”
“I need you to be a thought partner, right? … Unique person, unique place, unique circumstance as a framework.”
Chapters
Questions this episode answers
How do Rory Flynn and Drew Brucker use ChatGPT with Midjourney?
Mainly to close knowledge gaps rather than to write finished prompts: asking it to explain photography techniques, suggest extra prompt categories for a theme, reverse-engineer a style from a reference image, or grade a finished image against a stated goal.
What is Fast Hours' Midjourney 'prompt structure' technique?
Rory Flynn breaks an image into fixed categories — photo type, subject and action, environment, color scheme, lighting, composition — and keeps everything but the subject constant, which is how he produced a consistent Tulum hotel image series before Midjourney had style reference.
Does Midjourney respond to specific paint or color names?
Not exactly one-to-one with hex codes or Pantone numbers, according to Drew Brucker, but during one retexture prompt it unprompted returned an actual Sherwin-Williams paint color name.
Should you write ChatGPT-generated Midjourney prompts as long paragraphs or short keyword lists?
Rory Flynn prefers starting with a short list of key tokens and expanding only if needed, because long paragraph prompts make it hard to tell which phrase caused an unwanted result.
Do Rory and Drew prefer ChatGPT or Claude for creative brainstorming?
Rory says he runs the same queries, like film stock or camera suggestions, through both, and finds Claude's answers noticeably more creative than ChatGPT's.
Show notes
Episode 18—Our Favorite (Actionable) ChatGPT Tips to Make Midjourney Even Better (with Drew Brucker & Rory Flynn)
In this episode, Drew and Rory reveal their favorite tips for combining ChatGPT and Midjourney to elevate AI art creation.
Going beyond basic prompts, they share advanced techniques for using ChatGPT as a creative partner, breaking down specific methods for developing better prompts, analyzing images, and building consistent brand aesthetics.
The duo explores practical workflows that every Midjourney creator should know - from using ChatGPT for color selection and composition analysis to leveraging it for technical calculations and creative brainstorming.
Through real examples and personal experiences, Drew and Rory demonstrate how this powerful AI combination can transform your creative process, enhance your technical skills, and help you achieve more engaging and consistent results in your Midjourney artwork.
