SKILL/TREE

End the studio file chaos. One Sunday afternoon.

Tell it your shoot types, annual volume, camera system, and editor. Get a full naming convention, 6-stage session folder tree, 3-2-1 backup protocol scaled to your volume, and culling workflow with target ratios.

$3.99
Works in Claude (Pro/Max/Team) or ChatGPT (Plus/Team) · paid AI plan required
Both Claude + ChatGPT packages included — you can't pick the wrong one.
Updated
Included
01Naming convention pattern: YYYY-MM-DD_ClientName-WED_0001.ARW — sorts right, survives email attachments, works across LR Classic and Capture One.
02Full 6-stage session folder tree (00_RAW → 01_CULLED → 02_EDIT → 03_DELIVERED → 04_COMMS → 05_ARCHIVED) with shoot-type variants.
033-2-1 backup protocol tiered to your volume: Tier 1 (under 5k/year) through Tier 4 (50k+ with dual NAS + LTO tape).
04Cull ratio targets by shoot type: 20-30% for weddings, 15-25% for portraits, 10-15% for sports.
05Lightroom Classic vs Capture One specifics — catalog-per-session strategy, tether folder setup, multi-photographer A/B suffixing for second shooters.
06Printable HTML artifact with cheat-sheet quick reference: naming pattern, shoot type codes, backup checklist.

What it does

A photographer file naming and folder structure builder for wedding, portrait, and event photographers shooting 5k-50k files per year who have evolved a bad system and want a real one. Tell it your shoot types, annual volume, camera system (ARW, CR3, NEF, RAF), shooting format (RAW / RAW+JPEG), delivery method, editing software, and team size. Get back a complete system: naming convention, folder taxonomy, backup protocol, and culling workflow — all calibrated to your actual numbers. The naming convention follows YYYY-MM-DD_ClientName-ShootType_NNNN.ext (ISO 8601 dates, CamelCase clients, 4-digit zero-padded sequence) so files sort right and survive being detached from their folder. The 6-stage session folder tree (00_RAW through 05_ARCHIVED) numbers folders so they alphabetize into production order. The 3-2-1 backup protocol scales by volume — Tier 1 starter for under 5k/year is one external HDD plus Backblaze Personal; Tier 4 for a studio with multiple photographers is dual NAS with offsite replication plus B2 plus optional annual LTO tape. It knows the actual quirks: Lightroom Classic catalog-per-session vs master catalog tradeoffs, Capture One Sessions vs Catalogs, Hedge for checksum-verified dual offload, exiftool batch rename syntax for cross-platform renaming, second-shooter A/B suffix protocol so you can tell the cards apart after merging. Cull ratios cite real industry benchmarks (wedding full day: 400-600 from 1,500-2,500) so you stop delivering 1,200 portrait images and offloading editorial judgment onto the client.

Frequently asked

What's the best file naming convention for a wedding photographer?
YYYY-MM-DD_ClientLastName-WED_0001.ARW. ISO 8601 dates sort right across operating systems; the client+shoot-type pair survives the file being copied out of its folder; the 4-digit sequence handles up to 9,999 captures (use 5 digits if you're regularly shooting 10k+ per session). This skill produces a Lightroom Classic and Capture One filename template you can save as a preset.
How should I back up my photo files using the 3-2-1 rule?
3 copies, 2 media types, 1 offsite. Concretely: workflow SSD + external HDD (or NAS) + cloud (Backblaze Personal at low volume; B2 or Wasabi at studio volume). Never rely on a single external drive — they fail at 3-5% per year. Never cull before you have 2 confirmed copies — the card is your second copy until you don't.
How many photos should I deliver from a wedding?
Industry benchmark is 400-600 from 1,500-2,500 captures (20-30% cull ratio). For an elopement: 150-250 from 400-700. The skill produces shoot-type-specific cull ratios and a two-pass culling method (Reject pass at 1:1 for focus, then Select pass for expression and composition).
Should I use one Lightroom catalog or one per session?
Under 15k images/year, a master catalog is fine with collections per session. 15k-40k/year, switch to one catalog per year. Over 40k or any studio, catalog-per-session prevents one corruption event from costing you everything. The skill produces the right answer based on your stated volume.
Does it handle multi-photographer studios?
Yes. It applies a photographer-initial prefix to year folders (2024_KL vs 2024_MR), uses A/B suffixes in filenames for lead and second shooter, recommends Tier 4 backup with dual NAS + cloud, and uses Capture One Sessions if you're on C1 (which most multi-photographer event studios are).

Install — no Terminal required

After checkout you land on a page with a one-click download and a pre-built install prompt. Pick the AI you already pay for — both packages are included, so you can't pick wrong.

What you'll see the second your payment clears
Your license key
ST-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX · permanent
Pre-built install prompt⧉ Copy
ChatGPT package (ZIP)⬇ Download

No setup work before you buy — copy, paste, done.

Have Claude Pro, Max, or Team?
Copy the prompt, paste into Claude

Copy the pre-built install prompt from the success page, paste it into any Claude Code chat, and Claude installs the skill itself — about 10 seconds. Using the app instead? Drop the downloaded folder into a Claude Project's knowledge and ask Claude to use it.

Have ChatGPT Plus or Team?
Build a Custom GPT — ~2 minutes
  1. Click Download ChatGPT package (included with every purchase).
  2. Unzip it — inside is a SETUP.md and a knowledge/ folder.
  3. Go to chatgpt.com → your profile → My GPTs → Create a GPT → Configure.
  4. Paste the Name, Description, and Instructions from SETUP.md into the matching fields.
  5. Under Knowledge, upload every file in the knowledge/ folder.
  6. Click Create/Save, open your GPT, and describe your task in plain English.

A paid plan on either platform is required — Claude (Pro, Max, or Team) or ChatGPT (Plus or Team). Comfortable with Terminal? A one-line npx skilltree-network install path is available too.

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