I have a large collection of photos and music where the filenames are inconsistent, but most of the useful information is already stored in metadata. Ideally I’d like photo names based on capture date and music files based on artist/album/track. Is using EXIF/ID3 data for filenames reliable enough, or are there common problems I should watch out for?

I realize this is from a while ago, but I've been experimenting with similar automation. EXIF dates are usually reliable, but watch out for missing or wrong camera clock settings. For ID3 tags, inconsistent tag standards across music players can cause issues. Have you tried any tools like exiftool or MusicBrainz Picard for batch renaming?

I use renamer for this exact issue with my music and photos. It reads EXIF and ID3 tags easily, letting me rename files by date or artist info. Previewing before applying saved me from many mistakes. The reliability is solid as long as tags are consistent. renamer handles large collections smoothly