There’s a strange kind of magic in stumbling across an image so good it makes you pause mid-scroll. Maybe it’s a moody cyberpunk alley shimmering with neon haze. Maybe it’s a soft, cinematic portrait that feels like it belongs in an A24 film. Whenever I see one of those “how on earth did they make this?” images, there’s always a little itch in the back of my mind: I want to recreate that style. I want to understand the formula.

If you’ve ever felt that same curiosity, welcome—I wrote this guide for you.

Reverse-engineering prompts is not just a technical exercise; it’s a creative investigation. You’re peeling back layers, trying to understand decisions about lighting, composition, lens choices, mood, and little stylistic quirks. And with the right workflow, it becomes surprisingly doable.

Let me walk you through the process I use in 2025, the one that consistently gets me close—sometimes uncannily close—to the original vibe of an image.

Why Reverse Engineering Prompts Matters (More Than You Think)

I used to believe great prompts came from great ideas. That’s only half true. Great prompts also come from great references.

When you deconstruct an existing masterpiece, you’re really studying vocabulary—visual vocabulary. Every detail (like “rim light,” “soft bloom,” “85mm portrait,” “fujifilm tones”) is a clue pointing to a visual decision someone made, consciously or not.

And once you understand the recipe, you can remix it, modernize it, personalize it. Think of this as learning from your favorite photographers or illustrators the same way painters used to copy classical works to improve their craft.

Reverse engineering isn’t cheating. It’s training your creative instincts.

Start With a Clean Extraction of the Hidden Details

The first step is simply gathering ingredients.

Drop the image into: 👉 https://image2prompts.com/image-to-prompt

This gives you a foundational prompt extracted from the image—composition clues, lighting terms, camera jargon, color palette hints, and even subtle atmospheric cues.

What I love about doing this step first is that it reveals things your eyes might skip over. Sometimes the tool will output something like:

“diffused backlight through mist”

“shot at 35mm with shallow depth of field”

“warm-to-cool gradient color harmony”

And suddenly you realize, “Ohhh, that’s why the image feels cinematic.”

Think of this output as your base prompt—not something to copy blindly, but something to build on.

Identify the "Anchor Elements" That Define the Style

Before editing anything, take a moment to look at both the original image and the extracted prompt. Ask yourself:

What are the irreplaceable elements here?

Not everything in the image matters equally. Usually, only a few details define the vibe. I call these anchor elements, and they often fall into one of four categories:

Lighting — Is it moody, glossy, harsh, dreamy?
Color language — Neon? Pastel? High contrast? Muted film look?
Camera feeling — Close-up? Wide shot? Shallow DOF?
Artistic framing — Symmetry? Rule of thirds? Minimalist? Busy?

When you know these anchors, you know what to protect and what to modify later.

Rewrite the Prompt in Your Own Words (This Is the Secret Sauce)

This step is where beginners often fail. They copy the extracted prompt verbatim… and then wonder why it doesn’t hit the mark.

The truth is: Midjourney responds better when the prompt reads like a human’s artistic intention. Not a database dump of keywords.

Here’s my workflow for rewriting:

Step A — Keep only the anchors

Remove anything that doesn’t meaningfully influence the style.

Step B — Rephrase in natural language

Example:

Instead of:

“cinematic lighting, volumetric haze, warm rim light, 85mm, depth of field, photorealistic face”

Try something like:

“A cinematic portrait with soft rim light and gentle haze, captured through the intimate feel of an 85mm lens.”

It reads more like a human description. MJ loves that.

Step C — Add your own artistic intention

This part is fun. Maybe you want it slightly softer, slightly darker, slightly more stylized.

Add a line like:

“with a slightly moodier tone”

“with softer highlights to enhance the dreamy atmosphere”

Now the prompt becomes yours—not a clone.

Dial in the Technical Enhancers (2025 Midjourney Edition)

Midjourney in 2025 responds much more strongly to the “feel” of technical terms than the literal specification. I treat technical words like seasoning: a little goes a long way.

Here are the most effective enhancers:

Camera Terms

85mm portrait → intimate & cinematic
35mm environmental → storytelling & context
f/1.8 shallow DOF → dreamy & glowy

Lighting Terms

soft key light from left
subtle rim light
ambient bounce light
golden hour haze

Material & Texture Terms

soft bloom highlights
film-like grain
subtle chromatic imperfections

Throwing all of these at MJ blindly won’t help. But picking 2–3 that match your anchor elements? That’s where the magic happens.

Test, Adjust, and Re-Align With the Original Vibe

Your first result will rarely be perfect. That’s normal.

When I’m trying to match an image, I usually run 3–5 variations, each with a tiny adjustment:

Variation A → slightly stronger lighting
Variation B → slightly wider lens
Variation C → slightly softer atmosphere

What I’m looking for is not a pixel-perfect copy but a directional alignment. Something that feels like it’s walking in the same universe as the original.

Once you see which direction is closest, refine the prompt again.

This iterative dance is where you really learn.

When to Break Away and Make It Your Own

Here’s a little confession: I almost never stop at “making something similar.”

Once I get close enough to the original vibe, I usually feel a little pang of inspiration.

“What if I push the shadows deeper?”
“What if I add a subtle blue fog?”
“What if the character isn’t standing still but caught mid-motion?”

This is where the reference stops being a template and becomes a launchpad.

Reverse engineering is not the destination. It’s the ignition.

Final Thoughts — And a Tool That Helps You Start Fast

Reverse engineering great images is one of the fastest ways to level up your visual taste. It helps you understand why certain visuals work and gives you the vocabulary to recreate—or reinvent—them.

If you want a quick starting point, the image prompt extraction tool at: 👉 https://image2prompts.com/image-to-prompt

…is still my go-to for getting the “first draft” of a prompt out of any image. What you do after that—rewriting, refining, re-imagining—is where your creative fingerprint shows.

So the next time you see a stunning Midjourney masterpiece, don’t just admire it. Take it apart. See how it works. And then build something even better.