Portrait Magic: Retain Faces in MidJourney Rendering

Summary

The video script outlines a step-by-step process for creating portraits using AI within a platform called MidJourney. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining facial recognition while altering elements such as backdrops, outfits, and color schemes. The tutorial guides users through uploading a reference photo, adjusting image weight, and blending images to achieve a desired aesthetic, ultimately demonstrating how to generate a variety of portraits that retain the original's likeness in different settings and styles.

Takeaways

• 🎨 The video focuses on creating portraits within MidJourney, emphasizing the importance of maintaining facial recognition while altering other elements such as background, hair, and outfits.
• 🖼️ The process begins with uploading a reference photo to Discord and using it as a base for the AI to train on and create the portrait.
• 🔄 Image weight plays a crucial role in determining how closely the generated portrait resembles the original image, with a range from 0.1 (least recognizable) to 2 (most recognizable).
• 🌟 Experimenting with different image weights provides various options to find the best balance between staying true to the original image and allowing creative liberties.
• 🖌️ Backgrounds and outfits can be significantly altered or entirely replaced without losing the essence of the person's face in the portrait.
• 🤖 MidJourney's AI can blend multiple images together, combining different elements to create a new portrait while keeping the original facial features.
• 📸 The video demonstrates how to upscale and merge images to achieve a desired look, such as a cyberpunk style, while maintaining the recognizable facial features.
• 🌈 Changing the background and outfits can lead to a more creative and personalized portrait, even if it means straying slightly from the original image's context.
• 🔍 The prompt is a powerful tool in guiding the AI to create a portrait that matches the desired description, and it can be fine-tuned for better results.
• 🛠️ The process involves multiple iterations and adjustments to refine the portrait, including experimenting with different image weights and blending modes.
• 🎇 The final goal is to create a series of portraits that capture the essence of the original image while exploring various styles and environments.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video?

The main focus of the video is to demonstrate the process of creating and refining portraits using an AI tool called MidJourney, with a particular emphasis on maintaining the facial characteristics and adjusting various settings.

How does the video begin the portrait creation process?

The video begins by instructing viewers to upload a photo reference of the person whose portrait they want to create, ensuring that the AI can use it for training and reference.

What is the significance of the 'Image Weight' setting in MidJourney?

The 'Image Weight' setting in MidJourney determines how closely the AI's output should resemble the uploaded image. Higher weights result in a closer resemblance, while lower weights allow for more creative freedom and deviation from the original image.

How does the video demonstrate the effect of different image weights?

The video creator sets up a series of prompts with varying image weights (0.1, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2) to show how the level of resemblance to the original image changes with each weight. This provides a visual comparison for viewers to understand the impact of image weight.

What is the purpose of blending images in MidJourney?

Blending images in MidJourney allows for the combination of different images to create a new output. This can be used to merge elements from multiple sources, such as combining a portrait with a different background.

How does the video address the issue of losing facial resemblance when blending images?

The video suggests that when blending images, it's important to ensure that the AI has a clear reference for the facial features. It also demonstrates the use of image weights to maintain the facial resemblance even when combining different elements.

What is the role of the 'describe' function in MidJourney?

The 'describe' function in MidJourney analyzes an image and provides a textual description of its content. This description can be used to guide the AI in creating or modifying portraits, ensuring that the output aligns with the desired characteristics.

How does the video utilize the 'describe' function to improve portrait accuracy?

After generating a portrait, the video creator uses the 'describe' function to understand how MidJourney perceives the image. This information is then used to refine the prompt and improve the accuracy of subsequent renders.

What is the process for creating full-body portraits in MidJourney?

To create full-body portraits, the video suggests using a full-body image as a reference and adjusting the image weight settings to focus on the desired level of detail. The process involves uploading the image, setting the image weight, and using the blend mode to combine the portrait with a suitable background.

How does the video demonstrate the versatility of MidJourney in creating different styles?

The video creator shows how to modify the prompt and image settings to achieve various styles, such as cyberpunk, by changing the clothing, background, and other elements. This demonstrates the flexibility of MidJourney in adapting to different creative requirements.

What is the final outcome the video aims to achieve with MidJourney?

The final outcome aimed for in the video is to create a series of portraits that closely resemble the original image while incorporating different styles, backgrounds, and environments, showcasing the capabilities of MidJourney for creative portrait generation.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Creating Portraits in Mid-Journey

This paragraph outlines the process of creating portraits using Mid-Journey, a platform for generating images. It begins with uploading a photo reference to Discord and using it as a base for the AI to train on. The goal is to create portraits that closely resemble the original image while experimenting with different settings, backdrops, and outfits. The importance of image weight and its impact on the resemblance of the generated portraits to the original image is discussed, along with the process of adjusting image weight to achieve the desired level of similarity.

05:00

🔄 Experimenting with Image Weight

The paragraph details the experimentation with different image weights in Mid-Journey to see how they affect the output. By varying the image weight from 0.1 to 2, the creator can observe how much the generated images align with the original photo. The process involves uploading the image, setting the image weight, and reviewing the results. The paragraph also touches on the trade-off between image weight and flexibility, where higher weights lead to closer resemblances but less creative freedom.

10:01

💃 Working with Full Body Shots and Blending Images

This section discusses the technique of creating full body shots using Mid-Journey by referencing an image of the subject. It explains how to use the platform to generate a full body portrait and the importance of image weight in achieving the desired result. Additionally, the paragraph covers the blending of images, combining different images to create a new output, and the importance of fine-tuning the process to maintain the desired details and style.

15:02

🌟 Advanced Techniques: Blending and Upscaling

The paragraph delves into advanced techniques for image creation in Mid-Journey, including blending and upscaling. It describes how to blend two images together and adjust the portrait and background separately for better results. The paragraph also explains how to upscale an image and merge it with another to create a more detailed and complex portrait. The process of fine-tuning the image to match the desired style and environment is emphasized.

20:04

📸 Finalizing the Portrait with Multiple Layers

This paragraph focuses on the final steps of creating a portrait in Mid-Journey. It involves selecting the best image from multiple iterations, using the describe function to understand how the AI perceives the image, and combining various elements such as descriptions, image references, and weights. The paragraph highlights the iterative process of refining the portrait by adding layers and making adjustments to achieve the desired look and style.

25:06

🌈 Achieving the Desired Look Through Iteration

The final paragraph summarizes the process of achieving a desired look for the portrait through multiple iterations. It emphasizes the importance of selecting the best result from various image weights and blending different images to create a unique portrait. The paragraph concludes by showcasing the final rendered image that closely resembles the original while incorporating the chosen style and environment, demonstrating the capabilities of Mid-Journey for creative image generation.

Keywords

💡portraits

In the context of the video, 'portraits' refers to the creation of images or representations of a person's face, which is the primary focus of the content. The video discusses using a photo reference to maintain the characteristics of the face while altering other elements such as the backdrop, hair color, and outfits.

💡mid-journey

The term 'mid-journey' seems to refer to a specific stage or process in the creation of digital art or images, possibly an AI-based platform or software where users can generate and modify portraits. It implies an intermediate step in the creative journey where adjustments and experiments are made.

💡characteristics

Characteristics in this context refer to the distinctive features or traits of a face that define its identity. The video emphasizes the importance of preserving these characteristics while altering other aspects of the portrait to achieve a desired aesthetic or style.

💡backdrop replacement

Backdrop replacement involves changing the background of an image, often to enhance the overall aesthetic or to fit a specific theme. In the video, this technique is used to create a variety of settings for the portraits, such as steampunk or cyberpunk themes.

💡image weight

Image weight is a parameter that influences how closely the generated portrait resembles the original image. It is a value that can be adjusted to control the degree of influence the reference image has on the final output, ranging from very low (0.1) to very high (2.0).

💡blending images

Blending images is a technique where two or more images are combined to create a new image. This can involve merging elements from different sources to achieve a unique result, often used to add variety and complexity to the final artwork.

💡AI training

AI training refers to the process of teaching an artificial intelligence system how to perform specific tasks by providing it with data and feedback. In the context of the video, AI training is likely related to the software's ability to learn from the input images and user interactions to generate more accurate and desired outputs.

💡Discord

Discord is a communication platform used by the community in the video for sharing files and collaborating on projects. It is mentioned as a tool for uploading the original photo reference that the AI will use for creating the portraits.

💡rendering

Rendering in the context of the video refers to the process of generating an image or artwork from the input data and settings provided by the user. It is the final step where the AI's output is displayed, showing the result of the portrait creation.

💡fine-tuning

Fine-tuning is the process of making minor adjustments to improve the output or performance of a system. In the video, it relates to adjusting the settings and parameters in the AI platform to achieve a more accurate and desirable result in the generated portraits.

💡prompts

Prompts in this context are the textual descriptions or commands that guide the AI in generating the portraits. They are used to provide additional information or instructions to the AI, helping it understand what the user wants to achieve with the artwork.

Highlights

The video tutorial focuses on creating portraits inside MidJourney, a platform for generating images.

The process involves using a photo reference to maintain the characteristics of the face while creating the portrait.

Different settings are explored to modify the backdrop, hair, color, and outfits while keeping the face recognizable.

An example is provided where a steampunk backdrop is used, showing how various elements can be adjusted.

The importance of using the original photo as a reference for the AI is emphasized for accurate training.

Instructions are given on how to upload the image to Discord for reference in the AI process.

The concept of 'image weight' is introduced, which determines how closely the generated image should resemble the original.

Multiple image weights are tested (0.1 to 2.0) to see their impact on the resemblance of the generated portrait.

The tutorial demonstrates how adjusting image weight can lead to varying levels of detail and accuracy in the final portrait.

A technique for creating full-body shots is discussed, addressing common issues with cutoff images.

The blending of images is explored as a method to combine different elements and create new portraits.

The video shows how to separate the portrait from the background for more accurate blending results.

The use of descriptions and prompts in MidJourney is highlighted to refine the generated images based on the AI's analysis.

The process of upscaling and merging images to achieve a desired look while maintaining the original facial features is demonstrated.

The video concludes with a showcase of the different techniques applied to create a variety of portraits in diverse environments.

Transcripts

in this video we're going to work on a

portraits inside the mid-journey and

specifically take a photo reference keep

it all characteristic of face and

creating the portraits inside the mid

Journey with the different settings

example right here we heard some steam

cyberpunk kind of backdrop replacement

you'll notice they're all same change a

little bit playing on a hair changing

this color also change some little bit

outfits as well

we'll try to also push as far as we can

till face become less recognizable so we

see what ranges we need to stay with

and of course work more on the

backgrounds and change colors and

outfits as well as we're going cologne

and of course our main goal be sure they

are

person face purchase will resemble the

original image as closest as possible

start work on the project we need our

original photo that we're going to

reference that AI will be trained and

use it because me Johnny utilize Discord

so we're going to use as well right in

the bottom in the chat you'll notice you

have it plus symbol click on a plus and

select upload file

navigate to the file or portraits you

want to use it and select after

selection we show you press enter

that will show this image was uploaded

to you on your server best way to verify

this if you go and click on an image and

it will open in a preview and this is

actually what we needed because we need

open one image open in preview right

click on a Windows says copy image

address

on a Mac I think it just copy image

and this is how in Discord will go to

reference so let's go ahead and do next

we'll go

tap imagine and in a prompt we paste the

path to our image this is a Simplicity

things we can do and next we're going to

type you can type for example

um so next what I want to do is actually

preserve our ratio and because I don't

know at yet what is fully correct ratio

of this image I will just says okay

let's do portraits for this and we'll

set two by three this this simplest way

we can create image reference

um portraits reference to our image that

we uploaded

okay and here we have our first render

even we can render it does somewhat

resemble some elements but will last our

glasses we lost some

options and this is okay for the basic

but you notice it is not come closer to

what we wanted

so we have other options we can apply it

we can actually tell me Journey how

closer we want to resemble to the image

so what I'm going to do is copy this

line that we have it right here

and I'm going to paste this below

next what I want to do is tell me

Journey how much of the image I want to

effect how weight of the image

importance of the image so for this

we'll go to type space Dash Dash

IW and this is stands for image weight

and then next usually you type any Image

Weight and it can be from 0.1 up to 2.

but I will utilize another options

because I want to see how the all image

weights will affect I'm going open curly

brace and type 0.1 this is the lowest

image weight can be comma we'll type 0.5

comma 1. comma 1.5 comma 2. so what is

happening here I'll tell mid Journey

render same things for me but render

first time with image weight 0.1 next

time 0.5 next with image weight one it's

what we have right here by default it's

one next 1.5 and 2. so it just will give

me five different options and I can see

how much image weight is important to be

my portrait closer to what I wanted so

let's go ahead press enter

and you'll notice right here it should

come and ask if I want to

the process five right here says you

imagine you have five prompts on your

template let's go ahead and click yes so

it will start processing five jobs now

this time you'll notice it is a three

started because I am on a standard and

two more and then queue so we'll go

ahead and wait slightly um till it's all

the completed and we're going to review

them

okay render completed let's view our

result the first we're going with is 0.1

it's at the lowest and you can see it is

hardly resembled at all Only We Know It

is the female

with a portraits about hell body up to

waste and also take his rock cover red

dress so but it does not even come

closer to our original portraits if

we're going in step to 0.5 this little

bit better because we have some pauses a

little bit closer resemble but again

the porches face not even close to what

we have in a region when we're going

with weight one you'll notice now we

start having glasses because to

recognize some of the images

a little bit more closer to what we have

in the original but it's still a little

bit

away from what we wanted

and when we cross this one point weight

one now it's definitely image more

influence so right here we can see

definitely number one facial it's very

close and so is the number three

actually they're all somewhat closer

except number two a little bit more far

away but generally there are much closer

I will say almost is working for as a

portrait based on his face and when

we're using the maximum 2 you can see

this is very close to other portions to

the sample very well the problem is when

we're using

number two for example as the weights

weighted two then we start having more

heavy influence

of the

portraits for of the image for example

right here even when we specify red

dress with does have a red outfit but

it's also have a green outfit it does

try to compensate with putting like red

background but it is Image Weight it's

more heavier so you have less

flexibility and this is where you come

with fine tuning how well you will go

how much details you want to keep it and

how much details you want to lose but

again this is just our start point

because we're going to work on this and

add little bit more

so till we jump into other things let me

Point like for example right here we

have a 0.1 image

and in some cases it's hard to see why

do you want to use the image in this

case but

um let me give you one of the very good

example notice we have a health body

shot and female so it does reference

pauses and everything

example right here I have an image full

body shot and for example I want to

create the image with a full body of the

girl dancing or other things in this

case for my AI this will be reference

it's what I wanted I want full body shot

and I know some people was asking me how

you can create a full body shot because

it's a cut off maybe a feet or other

things so this is way to do it so let's

go ahead and I will say copy image

address for this

and we're going to imagine we'll paste

this image next let's go say Rococo

style so we'll just describe what we

wanted here and remember what we wanted

we want ER 2x3 just in this portraits

everyone Image Weight 0.1

okay so right here render we can look

and notice this is 0.1 we have it full

body almost shot also position of the

hands and this is their lowest effect of

the image and we can expand more we can

increase more weights for example right

here a little bit higher and you can see

we start having better example as well a

little bit the lick of the light and of

course the more we're going

the better it is

influence of the image so you don't

necessarily need to have it all have

influence if you don't really worry

about the facial expressions but this is

also will provide you additional options

to create for example let's say I'm

going here and I like some of the style

let's go with this one so I would like

this image and I'm going to upscale this

and now I want to use the actual blend

these images and we come to another step

of our techniques blending images

and blending images we can take two

different images and combine them

together let AI decide for this so this

was kind of relatively new at to my

journey but it does help us to create

portraits but if we want to work with

the porches here we need to pay

attention to kind of tricky situations

so for example let me show you and we're

going to use the blend for this mod

it will ask for several images you can

go up to I think six images

when it's selection we need to go drag

and drop or click and upload our images

and I'm just going to select two of

those images we have it

and let's press enter and now if we look

on our blending result

it does not resemble the original

portraits because it took two images

and combine them together we do have a

girl with wearing glasses like in three

but the facials somewhat resemble but

again the hair and other things is

definitely took from the other image

what I found out it's better on a

blending Mode work if you have adjust

the portrait and separate different

background so here is example let's do

two different images again we'll use the

blend mode by the way you can have it

way more if you just select and you can

add more images but we'll just use it

too

and we'll have it one as a portrait and

another one separate as the backdrop

notice on our backdrop we don't have it

any person so AI does not have any

reference to the what person it look so

it's definitely will take only from

first one and now we can just go ahead

and press

enter so it start processing and after

process is finished you can see right

here we have it same portraits the

person is same as a portrait and just

apply to this background that we have so

it's actually does a very good job

it my limitations with this

um descriptions because I needed provide

what background I wanted and after

margin which is not bad because you can

actually create background inside the

mid Journey specifically what you wanted

and reference later this in your um

blend mode with a portrait you wanted

again the purchase that you will blend

notice is still wear green code so we or

green sweater so we need to change this

and another nice options inside the mid

Journey that we don't necessarily need

to use it blend mode we can also take

two images and blend and kind of merging

them together

okay so here's the example I have one

portraits and I'm going to copy image

address on this we'll go type imagine

we'll paste the first image we'll go

open another image

copy this image address

space this image address

next we want to put description in a

blending again it's work very good it's

very interesting but here we can also

put a description where do I want it and

I'm just going and copy this description

including a spec ratio

so we can go ahead and paste in

okay I think right now we're ready to go

ahead and render

okay so right here our result and you

notice we do put it together but we have

a problem when it's image does not

resemble

we can overcome this much easy if we

just also apply some weights to this so

for example right here with image weight

2 and you can see we have quite a bit

closer now

we have our background and we have our

image with the model

so this way we actually can work but you

notice the

prompt it's have the big portion playing

in what we're creating

inside the mid Journeys have done one

excellent options to help us see what is

on our image to work on our prompt and

this is Will describe so let's go ahead

say describe and now notice we have it

one image that we need to upload to let

me Journey analyze this and I'm going to

use the image of our model

and we'll go press enter not as a

description it's given us information

the reason is why I'm like to use a

description of one it's provide for us

information it's how the mid Journey

seeing the specific portrait so if you

want to have something closer it will

respond

as well we have our respect ratio here

so let's have just example I'm copying

just only the prompt first prompt and by

the way you have four different prompts

and a notice going from more accurate to

more kind of flexible but you can try

either

and if we just type this prompt and give

it to us and process let's see how

closer it may get to our description of

the image we have it notice we don't put

any image reference inside it's just

pearly the description

and right here we have it from our

description so now we can go and

actually utilize both of them

description and text so let me go ahead

right there we'll click on our image

copy image address go down below let's

go click imagine

will paste our text next I'm going to

copy the prompt we have it

and we'll paste The Prompt as well here

so this time we should have our image in

the very close to the prompt we could

actually just even say Image Weight 1.5

to be sure we have it as close as

possible between image uploading

description prompt and also wait on an

image okay so right here we have our

image and you can see the facializer is

sampled very close I mean the pauses

everything

this is in a way we can now modify so

what I like to do we'll go copy of this

prompt including our the image reference

we'll go to type imagine we can paste

here and inside the string I can modify

for example wearing glass grass and

let's switch

cyberpunk

turtleneck in a style of the festive or

let's go I have again cyberpunk we'll

just

cyberpunk as much as we can okay you'll

notice we have it all this information

don't like hip hop style let's go put a

cyberpunk

I think

it should get message I already three

times put it cyberpunk because hopefully

it is there so now we can modify

and we'll see what has come up again 1.5

that should work fine

and right here we have our image it's

much different style I like it but look

at this it's facial very close on our

portrait

and I remember we did before we done

some images overlay ended with this like

cyberpunk we can to this as well here

for example if I like this I can go

upscale my image that I like it and we

can merge that with another image as

well to apply even extra steps and

so in this case we can go ahead

let's go type imagine okay and we're

going to take

our image that we used before this one

we'll copy this image again we'll take

our source

let's go paste our source here and now

we'll take this image they're creating

we can copy this image address

a little paste here

and we'll take now

this line that we have

copy and we can paste so what we've done

with this we say utilize these two

images but even more importance put it

on an image so we get our portraits even

closer but we still have it keeping all

changes that we wanted

so let's just in case per woman wearing

glasses

cyberpunk outfit

and style of the

rain so I'm changing slightly we can do

this one and maybe you know what let's

go just put it for fun

red outfit we'll see what it's come up

with

okay and right here we have our

combination notice how it's replaced

background the portraits all right or

that this one for example look very good

very close except we have broke a little

bit on our hands this one also look very

nice so you notice how we start adding

more and more layering to create the

portrait

so now we'll look on these different

techniques let's take them together and

put it and create the portraits of the

model in different environments we

wanted so right here first remember

we'll start with uploading our image and

I uploaded two different I also uploaded

background what we're going to use so

right here is our original image Next

Step what I want as preparation step

actually I want to go describe

and as described we're going to select

same image so we receive the

descriptions of the image that we

currently have

after this we're going to start

combining first we'll go type imagine

and we'll take a portrait of the

movement that we want copy so copy

address we go paste this address inside

next we're going to take their

descriptions copy and paste and

sometimes description change for example

right here somehow they figure out it's

a solve it kind of very fun for me but I

want to change some of the stuff for

example a young woman wearing glasses in

elegant sweaters so we'll leave this but

maybe in elegant sweater we switch to

elegant red

raincoat so we'll just switch a little

bit here

in a style of emerald bronze this is

actually our background we can switch

this to the coloring they wanted but I

think let's leave it right here maybe

you know in of cyberpunk because I'm

going to

that's what I'm going to use cross

processing meditation it's neon lighting

we leave this fist of armster

and it's that Christmas punk I don't

know what Christmas Punk we have it

cyberpunk okay and instead Soviet let's

go to Retro

so when we're done with this also

we'll set our Image Weight and again for

the image weight I'm not sure which one

I'm going so I'm going 1.2 1.5 and 2 so

we're going to see on three different

ways and usually I do this just to be

sure I have it right a selection because

sometimes it's very hard to say and it's

easy doing one pass to see what you have

okay let's go ahead press enter on this

and yes I do want to have three

different versions okay so right here is

render let's preview this is our number

two and you can see we have the green

let's go down and find right ones this

is a bit better rain or I like the rain

code this is actually looking very close

and most important our portraits is

getting quite a bit closer in this case

next it's kind of important you need to

select one that you like and resemble so

I'm going with this red one number two

we go upscale that

and we're going to actually merge a

couple more times so I'm going to take

copy of this cyberpunk kind of a

background so I'm going to put that one

here and next I'm just take from this

and copy all the way up to here space

and paste it so this should help us to

kind of create more interesting type of

the backdrop

actually what I did right here but

accidentally I grabbed the original

image it's not what I wanted so let's go

ahead again copy this image right here

we copy that one

okay so we go to paste

okay with the background I want to

actually copy this so I need to go copy

this image address

okay we'll go paste here and then I want

to actually copy this string because

otherwise I just copy original image

that I don't need it

okay right here and let's render well

just in case as the this one process we

also will see what's happening if we

just have the original image and okay so

right here our image it's completed this

is one that did it with the first it's

actually kind of interesting except the

face does not necessarily look very good

and this is another the problem when we

start merging with another background we

start losing a little bit more of the

originality uh well original faces and

what's happening we can always emphasize

a little bit more for example if I like

this background an image and everything

we can kind of blend more in more with

original photo

so again example we go take again this

first one we copy image that we already

have

and now we'll have it like another

process so it's almost you developing

any overlay over and over with the

different images as you need it

so again we'll copy this one now I'm

going to take and copy this image

remember it's have it background but

it's also have a little bit closer with

what I wanted

and we're going to copy

this part and paste

in here so let's go ahead

this will be our another pass so we have

it let's look what we have so far we

have our original pass with portrait

after we select portraits we have it

pass with the portraits and background

and now because it's already render we

have a pass of the merge

background with render portrait with our

original

and here we have a render and if you

look this is very nice this is one

resemble very good our original photos

some little bit different and it's

possibly a lighting but if you go

position of the head nose and eyes it

does work actually very very good so let

me upscale those two ones

and here's our render I'll say this is

actually resembled this is the resemble

very good and notice we change

everything we just keep it on your face

and put it in different environment

different lighting thank you for

watching this video