How to use Midjourney's Zoom Out feature

If you’re somewhat experienced with Midjourney, you’ve probably seen the Zoom Out feature when churning out batches of AI images. But what is it for, exactly, and what’s the best way to use it when generating your content?

How to use Midjourney’s Zoom Out feature

Zoom Out extends the canvas of an image without affecting the original content. Midjourney uses the example of a girl in a field surrounded by poppies — whereas the original image might be a close-up, using Zoom Out might introduce more of the poppy field and sky to the composition. Note though that the feature doesn’t increase Midjourney’s maximum 1024 x 1024 resolution. For that, you’ll need to use an outside upscaling tool.

Here’s how to use Zoom Out:

• Join the Midjourney Discord server, then head to any #General or #Newbie channel. The Midjourney Bot won’t generate images anywhere else, except on third-party Discord servers that have the bot invited.
• Create an /imagine prompt as usual. If you like, you can use reference images, and add parameters such as aspect ratio or Niji Mode.
• Once your initial batch of images is generated, click on one of the U buttons if it needs to be upscaled.
• There are two standard options you can can click, Zoom Out 1.5X and Zoom Out 2X. These should be fine for most purposes, but remember that the higher the multiplier, the more distant your subject will probably seem.
• If you started with a non-square aspect ratio, clicking Make Square will expand vertically or horizontally.
• If 1.5X or 2X zoom doesn’t work for you, try Custom Zoom. This lets you enter a –zoom parameter between 1 and 2, using decimals. You can also change your text prompt at the same time, for instance by adding “a framed picture on the wall” to make it look like your original image is hanging in a living room.