How do you read volume profile?

Draw the profile on the left. Bars grow left to right. They sit on the same price scale as today's candles on the right. That geometry is the whole point. A diamond or a footprint is a different tool.

High volume nodes are fat. Price tends to stall there because that is where people already agreed. Low volume nodes are thin. Price tends to travel through them because almost nobody defended those prices.

The value area is the band of prices that held most of the session's volume. The high and low of that band are the first zones on the next session. Use them as condition first, then as levels.

Sources: Volume profile beginner guide · Best volume profile strategy