Resources
Media Guide
A straightforward media guide for photographing beef cuts, packed product, and supply setups properly.
How the Media Guide supports product rollout
The Media Guide page explains how to photograph beef cuts, packed product and working supply areas in a way that is useful to buyers and operations teams. It helps staff capture trim, pack format, labels and presentation without turning the image into advertising fluff. That matters when photos need to support listings, internal briefs or trade updates.
Start with the shot list for each cut, tray, vacuum pack, or carton that needs recording. Light in a Cape Town prep room is not the same as a back-door receiving bay in Johannesburg, and that changes how fat cover, colour, and labels read on camera. Include whether the images are for a butcher counter, hotel buying file, or export kitchen handover so the frame matches the job.
Take the first set of images when product is clean, cold, and unopened where required. The Media Guide works best when staff capture the front label, seal, weight mark, and the actual cut before trimming starts. Keep a printed copy near the scale table or save it with the PO pack for teams who shoot on their phones.
Shots buyers can actually use
Media Guide covers hero-free product images, packed stock references, and working-area photos that show layout without clutter. One complete image set for a rump, mince line, or boxed programme is more useful than twenty loose pictures with no context.
Use the Media Guide before a new listing, pack update, or export pack review so each image has a purpose. Check condensation, date coding, liner tears, and background mess before shooting, then name the files by cut and pack format for the records. Tell us the cuts, the weekly volumes and the receiving hours at your kitchen or butchery.
- Cut photos with visible trim detail
- Packed product shot before handling marks
- Image notes for labels and cartons
Conditions that change the shot
South African working conditions matter when photographing protein. Load-shedding can force teams onto battery light, coastal moisture can fog packs, and older fluorescent fittings can shift beef colour badly in the frame. The guide helps staff choose angles and timing that show the product honestly under those site conditions.
Receiving bays, cold rooms, and prep benches all create different problems for image quality. Stainless glare can hide label print, wet cartons can look damaged when they are only cold, and busy service periods leave no space for repeat shots. Plan the sequence around dispatch, portioning, and cleaning so the camera records the product at its best working moment.
Operated by Astros Marketing (Pty) Ltd from 2 Makro Place, Sunnyrock 1401.
Photo checks for beef programmes
Use the Media Guide to brief product shots, cut photos, and brand use, with timing and notes on what has already not worked for previous campaigns.
Keep the Media Guide with the product spec, order summary, and any pack-change notes when images are requested for a rollout. That makes it easier to match the photo to the exact cut name, pack size, and label version in use. For trade updates, add the date and site name so older pictures do not get reused against the wrong stock.