Smart Photo Selection guide
How to Choose an Album Template
Pick the right layout for a book: browse system templates, search your own PSDs, filter by photos per sheet and size, and start it with AI or the manual editor.
By Smart Photo Selection TeamUpdated Published 4 min read
Short answer
Open Album Templates (/album-studio/templates) and search with Search templates…, sort by Recently added, Name or Most used, and filter by category. Each system template offers AI Editor or Manual; your own PSDs offer Open with AI or Open in Editor. Inside a flow, the design step filters by photos per sheet and style and shows the resulting plan — N photos → M sheet(s) — before you commit.
What You Need
- A studio account with Album Studio available.
- A rough photo count for the album — templates are built around photos per sheet.
- Your album size (12 × 36 or 14 × 40 spread, or a custom canvas).
Where templates live
Everything starts at Album Templates: Choose a template for your album or upload your own custom PSD template. Two groups sit under it. System PSD Templates are Smart Photo Selection's own compositions — Original Smart Photo Selection album compositions, available to every studio. Each adapts its layout to 12 × 36, 14 × 40 or a custom size. My Templates holds your uploads, private to your studio or shared when public. A card that has not finished analysing carries a Needs review badge until you verify it.
Step by step: choose one
- 1
Search or filter
Type into
Search templates…(name, collection and category), sort with theSort templatesselect —Recently added,Name,Most used— and narrow with the category chips,All categoriesplus each style. - 2
Filter by density and size
System templates add two chip rows:
Photos:All orN Photos(the count each sheet is composed for) andSize:for the spread you print. Cards then show N Photos and Category · 12 × 36 · 14 × 40 · custom. - 3
Preview it large
Click a preview to open it lightbox-style; the caption reads Category · N photos · distribution per page · size and says whether the layout is fixed layout (exact design) or layout adapts to size and photo count. Step through with
Previous template/Next template. - 4
Start it
Each system card offers
AI EditorandManual. The start dialog names it — N photos per sheet · Category. The layout adapts to the album size you choose. — and asks for anAlbum namebeforeContinue with AIorOpen Manual Editor. Your own PSD cards on the templates page offerOpen with AIorOpen in Editorinstead. - 5
Or choose inside a flow
In the AI flow's
Designstep, pickUse a template(search with Search templates — e.g. Royal Gold, Luxe, Haldi, Bride Focus, thenUse/Selectedon a row ofYour PSD templates (N), orVerify/Review slotsif it isn't ready) orAutomatic design. The plan line tells you the consequence: 140 photos → 20 sheet(s) of “Royal Gold”. - 6
Check the math before you continue
In the automatic flow's
2. Album template, the chosen design shows N photos, N per sheet, N sheets next to its size picker, with the note: The last sheet holds the remaining photos (the layout is re-composed for that count). Nothing is cropped across the fold; you can swap photos in the editor.
What actually decides the choice
| Decide by | Look for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Photos per sheet | Photos per sheet: chips 4–10, or N Photos on the card | Sets how many frames the album needs for a given sheet count |
| Fixed or adaptive | the lightbox's fixed layout (exact design) vs layout adapts | Fixed designs keep a designer's exact composition; adaptive ones reflow |
| Size | Size: chips, 12 × 36 · 14 × 40 · custom | Your lab's spread size must match before anything is composed |
| Style | Category chips — Wedding, Luxury, Minimal, Traditional, Haldi, … | House look for the studio, or the couple's theme |
| Your own PSD | My Templates with Open with AI / Open in Editor | Reuses your studio's established design across every wedding |
Tips
- Filter
Photos per sheetto the density you like printing, then pick the style — density is what keeps a book paginated sensibly. - Use
Most usedonce you have generated a few albums; it surfaces the layouts you already know. - Open unfamiliar designs with
AI Editorfirst — the AI flow shows the sheet plan before you commit photos. - Keep one template per recurring job (e.g. a royal set for palace weddings) so albums stay consistent across the season.
Common Mistakes
Choosing by the preview's photos
Judge the frame sizes and white space, not the sample couple. Your photos will read very differently in the same slots.
Ignoring the fixed/adaptive difference
A fixed layout composed for 12 × 36 will not reflow for another size — check the lightbox caption before committing.
Starting with a `Needs review` template
Its slots aren't confirmed yet. Verify it first — see analyze PSD template slots.
Changing templates after mapping
A new template changes every slot. Rebuild the mapping afterwards, and expect to re-check the previews.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do system templates cost extra?
No — they ship with Album Studio and adapt to 12 × 36, 14 × 40 or a custom size.
Can I edit a system template?
Open it in the editor and adjust the generated sheets; the source design stays reusable for the next album.
What is the difference between a slot count and photos per sheet?
A slot count is how many photo frames a verified PSD contains; photos per sheet on a system template is how many the composition arranges. Both drive the sheet math.
How do I reuse last year's design?
Upload it as a PSD — see upload a PSD album template — verify the slots, and it appears under My Templates forever.
Related Guides
- How to Upload and Use Your Own PSD Album TemplateUpload a PSD album design to Smart Photo Selection, verify the detected photo slots, set the fill order and reuse the template for every wedding, with automatic photo mapping.
- How PSD Template Slots Are AnalyzedUnderstand how Smart Photo Selection reads a layered PSD and detects its photo slots: analysis stages, confidence levels, and how to confirm or correct each slot.
- How Album Automation WorksUnderstand Album Automation: booking photos are read in sequence and mapped into the verified slots of your PSD design, sheet by sheet, for export.
- How to Create an Album ProjectStart an album in Smart Photo Selection's Album Studio: name it, choose the AI, automatic or manual route, set the size, and manage projects from Recent albums.
Related Features
Further Reading
- 12 × 36 vs 14 × 40 Wedding Album: Which Size Should You Offer?12x36 vs 14x40 wedding albums compared: page size, ratio, pixels at 300 DPI, photo resolution needed and which layouts and clients each size suits best.
- What Is Wedding Album Automation?Wedding album automation explained: upload a PSD template once, confirm the photo slots, and map every wedding's photos into finished sheets automatically.
- From Selected Photos to a Finished AlbumTurn a couple's submitted selection into printable album sheets: create the project, choose the photos, generate, review, edit and export at full size.
Try It in Smart Photo Selection
Open Album Studio with a photographer account, pick a booking and follow the steps above on your own photos.