Photo Album Sizes: How To Choose And Design a Photo Album

Whether you’re looking to put together a photo album to capture your wedding day or your recent family summer vacation, a photo album is a perfect keepsake to save and share your most treasured memories. There are tons of sizes to choose from but the right one will depend on the nature of your photos and how many you’d like to include in the album.

To help you select the ideal size and design a beautiful, cohesive photo album, we put together the ultimate guide that lists every possible option and item to consider. From the size to the type of paper, you’ll be able to select a photo album that fits your needs and budget.

Popular Photo Album Sizes

Photo albums typically come in a few standard sizes and orientations to better fit standard photo prints. Choose the best option for you based on the orientation and number of photos you’d like to include in your album. Take a look at the charts below to get an idea of what these standard photo albums look like. We included an 8.5″ x 11″ standard letter for reference.

Standard Square Sizes

Square albums are great for when you want your album or photo book to have a sleek and modern feel. They’re also our go-to recommendation for those who have an equal number of portrait and landscape photos as it can easily accommodate a mixture of layouts and orientations. Most standard square photo album sizes include 8×8, 10×10 and 12×12.

Standard Landscape Sizes

Landscape photo albums are great for travel and general family photos as most of these photos tend to be taken in this orientation. They also tend to have a more classic feel than a square or portrait oriented album. Some popular sizes include 6×8, 8×11, 11×14 and 12×16.

They’re great for showcasing locations, panoramas and larger photos as you will hardly have to shrink the image to fit the page. Once you select your photos, if you notice that most of your photos are in landscape, go for one of these sizes to make your designing process a breeze.

Standard Portrait Sizes

Portrait orientations tend to have a professional look and feel which makes them ideal for graduation photo albums, yearbooks or when you have a lot of photos in unique or up close angles. Popular sizes include 11×8, 16×12 and 14×11. Portrait photographs definitely take a different set of skills and have a different feel in general. When your priority is to showcase your portraits, these sizes are your best options.

Parent Album Sizes

For weddings, it’s customary to print smaller copies of the album for parents and grandparents. Typical parent album sizes are 6×6 for squared albums, as well as 5×7 and 6×8 for landscape albums and inversely for portrait albums.

Photo Album Sizes Chart

Album Size (in)	Orientation	Album Size (cm)	Parent Wedding Album Size (in)
8×8	Square	20×20	6×6
10×10	Square	25×25	6×6
12×12	Square	30×30	6×6
6×8	Landscape	15×20	5×7
8×11	Landscape	20×28	5×7
11×14	Landscape	28×35	5×7
12×16	Landscape	30×40	6×8
11×8	Portrait	28×20	7×5
14×11	Portrait	35×28	7×5
16×12	Portrait	40×30	8×6

How To Choose The Right Size

Select Your Photos

Before you choose the size of your album, it’s good to have the final selection of photos. Keep a folder with some of your favorite backups. These will come in handy should you have extra space or find that some photos don’t go well with a particular layout.

Consider The Orientation Of Your Photos

Before choosing a size, it’s good to know the ratio of landscape to portrait photos you’ve selected. This will help you decide which album orientation will better fit your needs. It’s always easier to layout and size your photos when the album matches their orientation.

Consider The Number Of Photos You Want To Include

To preserve the quality of your photos, we recommend no more than five photos per page. Of course, you have the option of designing a collage page in your album, but keep in mind that the photos will look quite small. Collages are great to recap a particular moment like a wedding dance or travel snapshots of one location.

Once you have your total number, it’s useful to divide by category and estimate how many you want per page. This will give you a better idea of your page count. For 50 to 100 photos, an album with 20 pages will be more than enough.

Tips To Put Together A Wedding Photo Album

A photo album is meant to be shared, looked at and enjoyed. When you have hundreds of photos, album designs, sizes and layouts to choose from, putting together the perfect photo album isn’t always easy. Use our tips below to guide you through every detail.

Pick Your Absolute Favorite Photos

Don’t choose the photos that simply look the best. Choose the photos that evoke emotion and put a smile on your face. Whether it’s someone’s weird expression or a candid, your album should represent the emotions felt at the time you snapped your photos. Our tip is to go with the photos you wouldn’t mind seeing over and over again.

Let The Photos Take Center Stage

With plenty of beautiful photo album and photo book designs, it’s tempting to let the design take over. The point of an album is to showcase the photos so we recommend keeping the design as clean as possible. If you’re adding intricate and fun accents or illustrations, one or two photos per page will give you a great balance. For pages with five or more photos, one or two simple decorative accents will allow your photos to shine.

Match Your Wedding’s Theme And Color Scheme

To keep the colors in your photos from clashing with your photo album’s design, stick to a similar color scheme and theme. If you chose bright colors for your wedding, add some pops of color on the cover and throughout the pages. If your wedding was more subtle, go for neutral colors and whites to make your photos stand out.

Match The Flow Of Your Wedding

When selecting how your photos will be laid out, think chronologically. If you’re putting together a wedding album, start with the very first photos taken. Whether it’s you and your spouse getting ready or at the ceremony, your album will be much more enjoyable if it follows a natural order.

Go For A Sturdy Cover and Paper

A wedding album is meant to last a lifetime so be sure to invest in the material. Go for a sturdy hardcover, die-cut leather, linen or acrylic material. For pages, you’ll want to stick with a thick cardstock or paper in a glossy or matte finish depending on the look you’d like your photos to have.

Include More Than Just Photos

This is your album so don’t be afraid to get creative and customize to your liking. Leave a couple of blank spaces to include an invitation, save the date or menu from your big day. Use a piece of fabric from your dress or a pressed flower from your wedding as a bookmark.

Choosing the right photo album size for your photos will not only help you put together an album with ease but optimally display each of your photos for you and your loved ones to enjoy. Once it’s ready, be sure to find a good place to store your album in your home.