A skill that makes Claude write the shot list for a real photo or video shoot the way a seasoned producer does, working backwards from the edit. It starts by listing every file the shoot has to deliver, in every crop and variant, and totals them. It then works out which master frames can serve several crops, numbers every frame with its purpose, channel, crop, lens and angle, set, props, talent and priority, and puts the day in the order that changes the set least. It finishes by checking that nothing the edit needs is missing, and makes the spreadsheet and a one-page set sheet.
Inside are five reference files. One holds the crops, pixel sizes and safe zones for Meta, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Shopify and Google Merchant Center, each with its source and the date it was checked. The others hold the coverage rules (identical main images for every colour, copy space where words go, a backup for every must, clean plates and colour references), lens tables with working distances and depth of field, and the cost of every change on set, which drives the order. A worked example follows a fictional candle brand through a full day. Claude never invents a deliverable, a product fact or a model's size; it asks.
Claude cannot take the photographs, and the times it gives for frames and set changes are planning estimates, so the plan tightens as soon as you give it your photographer's own pace. It needs code execution switched on to make the spreadsheet, the set sheet PDF and the crop overlay; without it you get tables and CSV text. Bring the real list of deliverables, clear product photos and the hours you have. If you already have a shot list, paste it in and ask for the audit. It checks every deliverable against the frames and flags anything that cannot be undone, like a lit candle, scheduled before the clean shots.
Claude skill · version 1.0
Shot list builder
Checking your access.
In the download · 7 files
- SKILL.mdThe method Claude follows: deliverables, coverage, the numbered shot list, the shooting order, and the final check and hand-off.
- README.mdHow to install it in claude.ai or Claude Code, how to start, and the licence.
- references/specs-and-crops.mdCrops, sizes and safe zones for Meta, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Shopify and Google Merchant Center, with sources checked on 17 October 2026, plus the crop maths and a script for a crop overlay.
- references/coverage-rules.mdThe ten coverage rules, must, should and nice, the standard frames for each kind of shoot, video coverage, and the final audit.
- references/lens-and-angle.mdLens choices, crop factors, working distances, depth of field and focus stacking, product angles, shot sizes and camera moves.
- references/shooting-order.mdWhat each change on set costs in minutes, the 70/20/10 day budget, irreversible-last rules, pace estimates, the cut line and the late plan.
Install it and begin
01Install it in Claude CodeTerminal mkdir -p ~/.claude/skillsunzip ~/Downloads/shot-list-builder.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/# Start it with /shot-list-builder. If this is your first skill, type /reload-skills once.On claude.ai there is nothing to unzip: upload the zip as it is. Every step is on Install and use a Claude skill.
02Your first message to ClaudeText Use the shot list builder skill. We are shooting [PRODUCT OR COLLECTION] for [WHERE THE PICTURES WILL RUN]. It is [STILLS, VIDEO OR BOTH] on [CAMERA OR PHONE], in [STUDIO OR LOCATION] for [HOURS, CALL TO WRAP]. Here is the brief: [PASTE THE BRIEF OR YOUR NOTES]. Start with the list of deliverables.Attach clear product photos and any retailer's image rules. If your photographer has a shot list template, attach it too and Claude will fill their columns.
Common mistakes
Shot list mistakes that end in a reshoot
Instead ofWriting the list from the shots you would like to take.
Do thisStart from every file the edit needs, in every crop and variant, and work back to the frames.
Instead ofShooting everything horizontal and planning to crop the 9:16 ads later.
Do thisShoot a vertical master for 4:5, 9:16 and 1:1, and a separate horizontal for 16:9. A 9:16 cut from a 3:2 horizontal keeps 38% of the picture.
Instead ofNumbering frames in the order you will shoot them.
Do thisGive each frame a fixed ID and keep the shooting order in its own column, so the retoucher and the editor mean the same picture after the day is reshuffled.
Instead ofShooting the lit candle, the pour or the worn shoe first because it is the hero.
Do thisClean before dirty, unlit before lit, sealed before opened. Anything you cannot undo goes last in its setup or gets its own unit.
Instead ofOrdering the day by the list of deliverables.
Do thisOrder by what each change costs: set, then hair and make-up, then light, then wardrobe, then camera, then product.
Instead ofMarking every frame a must.
Do thisKeep musts, with their set changes, to about 70% of the shooting time, so a late start costs the nice-to-haves and not a deliverable.
Instead ofCalling cut the moment the action ends.
Do thisRoll two seconds before and after every action, cover each must action wide, medium and close, and record 30 seconds of room tone.
What to do it with
- ClaudeFree tier, paid above it
A language model that writes, edits, reads long documents and runs tools, including agents that work inside a codebase.
Bad at It is agreeable by default, so it will improve a bad idea instead of telling you it is bad. Ask it to argue against you and the quality of the answer changes.
- Claude CodeSubscription
An agent that reads a whole repository, edits files, runs the tests and explains what it changed.
Bad at It is fast enough to make a large mistake quickly. Work on a branch, read the diff, and never let it push. Watch the starting mode: on Pro, Max and Team plans it opens in auto mode, which Anthropic's own list says may read a .env file and send the key in it to the API that key belongs to. Switch it off.
- Capture OneSubscription
Raw processing and tethered capture, with colour handling professionals prefer to the alternative.
Bad at Priced for working photographers and organised the way they think. A designer will find the catalogue alien.
- ColorCheckerSubscription
A printed chart shot at the start of a session so colour can be made objectively correct later.
Bad at Only works if somebody remembers to shoot it. Fades with age and must be replaced.
- Sun SeekerSubscription
Shows where the sun will be at any hour on any date at a location, on the phone, in the place.
Bad at It tells you where the light will come from and nothing about the weather.
Why it matters
Ask a chat for a shot list and you get good ideas in no particular order. On the day that turns into a 9:16 ad cropped out of a horizontal frame, a burnt wick in the packshot, three camera moves where one would do, and a missing file found on Monday. This skill makes Claude count the files first, plan master frames for the crops, mark what is truly a must, and order the day by what each change costs.
- Type
- technique
- Period
- ongoing