Products on a podium, raised and alone.
A podium lifts a product off the ground and gives it a stage of its own, which is why it is used for bottles, jars, watches, shoes and small bags. Herofab takes a phone photo taken on any surface and places the product on a plinth, briefed to keep its shape, colours, materials and lettering.
What to look at on a podium image.
- 1
Products that suit a plinth
A podium works for products that stand on a small base of their own: a perfume bottle, a cream jar, a watch closed on its bracelet, a single shoe, a small handbag. Wide, flat or soft items such as a scarf or a belt have nothing to stand on and read more clearly from above, on linen or a studio ground.
- 2
Scale of product to podium
The plinth sets the size a buyer imagines. A lipstick drawn as large as the block looks like a vase, and a bag perched on a block narrower than its base looks unstable. On the result, judge whether the product sits within the top of the podium with room on each side, and whether its size is plausible for what it is.
- 3
Where the base meets the top
A raised product is seen at its base, the part a table photo often hides. The bottom of a bottle, the feet of a bag or the outsole of a shoe should rest flat on the podium, neither floating above it nor sinking in. The soft shadow shows that contact; a reflection suits glass and metal and should mirror the base it belongs to.
The source photo for a product on a plinth.
- Stand the product upright on a firm, level surface, the way it should stand on the podium, and keep its whole base visible in the frame.
- Hold the phone at the height of the product's middle, not above it; a view from high up shows the lid of a jar and hides the foot it stands on.
- Photograph one product per photo, out of its carton, and add a detail close-up of the label when the lettering is small.
Podium product photos, answered.
Can several products stand on one podium?
One item, fully visible, is the guidance for the source photo, and the podium carries the product from that photo. Items photographed touching each other hide parts that cannot be added back faithfully. Photograph each product on its own and use the podium scene with one angle and one shadow style for all of them, so the range reads as a series.
Does a podium image replace the packshot on white?
It sits next to it. A product alone on a white studio background shows the product with nothing else in the frame, while a podium is a styled scene that adds a stage. Both are made from the same source photo, so a listing can carry the plain image first and the podium image among the others.
Does the top-down angle work with a podium?
Seen from directly above, a podium is little more than the surface under the product, and the raised effect is lost. Front and three-quarter angles show the product standing on the plinth with the height beneath it, and the side angle does the same for a shoe in profile. Top-down is the angle for flat pieces on linen, wood or a studio ground.
How much does it cost?
4 credits per image, plus one credit for 4K. The cost is shown before you generate, and if a job fails the credits are returned. The 20 free credits at sign-up cover 5 images with this tool.
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