Nik Vanderkamp

AI PRODUCT CAMPAIGN LAB · LESSON 01 OF 10 · FREE TO READ

Start here: your product, your tool, one honest test

Set up your tool, shoot a product reference set, write the identity card, and prove the model can hold your product before you build a scene.

A product campaign is the same craft as the photo course with one extra rule: the product cannot change. A face that drifts is a different person; a cap that drifts is a different product, and a brand will not pay for it. So this course starts where the money is: locking the product, then building scenes around it.

You do not need to have done the photo course. Everything you need is here. If you have, skip the tool setup and go straight to the reference set.

Pick your tool

Two paths, both work for products. ChatGPT is the cheaper one: attach your product photos, paste the prompt, edit the result by replying. Higgsfield gives you Nano Banana Pro and GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst, the two strongest models for holding a reference product, plus a Marketing Studio with product templates and video for later. If you sell products for a living, Higgsfield pays for itself in the first week.

Set up in five minutes

IN CHATGPT · THE CHEAPER PATH

  1. Open chatgpt.com, sign in (free works to test; Plus removes the daily cap). Start a new chat and drag your product photos in before typing anything.
  2. Type Generate this image in portrait 3:4, then paste the prompt. Say what each attached photo is: “these four photos are my product; keep it exactly”.
  3. Download the result full size. Keep the chat open; every fix later is a reply to that image.

IN HIGGSFIELD · MORE MODELS, PLUS VIDEO

  1. Go to higgsfield.ai, open Image, choose Nano Banana Pro (best product fidelity with references) or GPT Image 2.5. Upload your product photos as references.
  2. Set the aspect ratio in the interface, paste the prompt, check the credit cost, generate.
  3. Later lessons use Edit (inpaint) for repairs, Marketing Studio for template shots, and Video for motion.

The five tells of a fake product shot

  1. TELL 1

    The product changed

    A rounder cap, a shorter bottle, a label with three words swapped. The most expensive tell, because the brand sees it instantly and the customer buys the wrong thing.

  2. TELL 2

    It floats

    No contact shadow, no weight. Real objects sit on surfaces and cast a shadow that meets their base.

  3. TELL 3

    Glass and metal that ignore the light

    A highlight on the left with the window on the right, a bottle that refracts nothing, liquid that glows. Materials must obey the one light you named.

  4. TELL 4

    Stock-photo staging

    Splashes, floating petals, orbiting ingredients, smoke for no reason. Nobody has ever seen a perfume bottle surrounded by levitating oranges.

  5. TELL 5

    The render look

    Too clean, plastic-smooth, HDR glow, invented text on the packaging. A photograph has grain, restraint and a label you can read.

Shoot the reference set

  • At least four photos, six is better: straight-on front, side, three-quarter, a sharp close-up of the label, the cap or closure, and the base or bottom if it matters.
  • Soft window light, a plain background, the same object in every photo. Stand back and crop instead of leaning in; a wide-angle close-up distorts the shape the model must preserve.
  • No dramatic shadows across the label. A pretty reference that hides the shape is a bad reference.
  • Export the approved label artwork flat as its own file. You will need it in lesson five.

Write the identity card

Before generating, write what cannot change. Facts, not adjectives. For the training product used in this course: VESPER Amber 01. Cylindrical amber glass bottle, heavy clear base, brushed champagne-metal cap, ivory paper label with black print reading VESPER / AMBER 01 / EAU DE PARFUM / 50 ml. Liquid a shade darker than the glass. Add real dimensions and the approved artwork when it is a real brand. Background, props, time of day and camera are creative choices; the card is not.

The first honest test

Attach the references and run this neutral catalog prompt. A plain background makes errors impossible to hide. If the cap changes here, it will change everywhere; fix the reference set before you build a scene.

Catalog test (attach your product photos first)

Use the attached product photographs as identity references. Make a simple catalog-style image of the same single product standing upright on a matte light-grey surface against a light-grey background. Show its front clearly at product height with the entire item inside the frame. Soft side light, readable label area, realistic contact shadow, natural material reflections. Preserve silhouette, dimensions, cap or closure, color, label placement and visible product details. Do not redesign, add accessories, add a second item or invent extra text. Keep the scene minimal so product accuracy can be inspected.
A beautiful image of a different product is a failed image.N.V.