Small, medium, large: which photo book format should you choose depending on the type of memories ?
Back in February, we helped you decide between portrait and landscape formats. It’s a question of orientation, visual logic and consistency with your photos. But there’s another, equally crucial question that we often forget to ask ourselves before getting started: size.
Small, medium or large format… this choice influences the final result just as much as the orientation. It changes the way you hold the book, the way you leaf through it, and the way you place it on a shelf or a coffee table. And above all, it changes the way your memories are received by those who see it.
At AgfaPhoto Print, every photo book format is designed to suit a particular type of project, a collection of photos, or a specific purpose. This guide will help you make the right choice, depending on the story you want to tell.
Which photo book format should you choose for your memories?
The format of a photo book isn’t just a matter of centimetres. It’s a decision that relates to how it will be used, the emotions it evokes, and how your memories will be preserved over time. Even before you start thinking about the layout, there are a few simple points to bear in mind.
What size should a photo book be?
It all starts with a fundamental question: what will this book be used for? A travel album to be placed on the living room table, a baby photo book to be handed to the grandparents, a collection of portraits to leaf through alone in an armchair… every project has its own purpose.
In practice, the format of a photo book is determined by two factors. Firstly, the orientation: portrait, landscape or square. Secondly, the size: small or large format, depending on the dimensions chosen. These two parameters work together, and it is their combination that gives the book its character.
A journey featuring vast open spaces will naturally call for a wide format. An album focusing on children’s faces will feel more at home in a vertical, more intimate format. Bear in mind, this isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it’s a good starting point to avoid any unpleasant surprises when it comes to the layout.
What is the standard format for a photo album?
There isn’t really a universal format set in stone. What is referred to as the ‘standard format’ varies according to usage and the era. For a long time, the traditional photo album was horizontal, medium-sized, with plastic sleeves and 10x15 cm prints. That format shaped the collective image of the family album.
Today, with printed photo books, things have changed. The most common size is around 21 x 15 cm, whether in portrait or landscape orientation. In fact, it’s a size that fits comfortably in your hand. It can be stored without taking up too much space on a shelf and offers enough space to show off the photos without making them look cramped.
At AgfaPhoto Print, portrait and landscape photo books are available in 21 x 15 cm or 30 x 21 cm, and the square format in 14 x 14 cm or 21 x 21 cm. This covers a wide variety of projects, from the most compact to the most generous.
Which photo book format is the most popular?
Unsurprisingly, the medium-sized landscape-oriented format remains the clear favourite. It matches the way most people take photos in their daily lives, with their phone held horizontally or a camera in its standard position. Photos fit naturally into this format, without forced cropping or unsightly margins.
The square format has also gained ground in recent years. The rise of social media and mobile photography has played a major part in this. Many photos are now conceived within a square frame, and photo books are naturally following this trend.
The portrait format, on the other hand, is more appealing for projects that are more narrative or personal in nature. A pregnancy book, for example, an album centred on a child, or a collection of portraits. It is less universal but often more appropriate when the content really lends itself to it.
Small, medium or large format: what each size says about your photos
Choosing between a small and a large format also means choosing a way of living with your memories. Some photo books fit in a bag; others take pride of place on a piece of furniture. Some are shared around the dinner table; others are given as gifts to be treasured. Here’s what each size actually brings to your project.
Small-format photo book: discreet but no less precious
The small format is often underestimated. It’s sometimes seen as a cut-price version of the large album, as if size were a guarantee of quality. This is a misconception best discarded as soon as possible.
A 14 x 14 cm photo book has something that larger formats don’t always have: a sense of intimacy. You hold it with both hands, leaf through it close to you, and pass it to the person next to you without any fuss. It’s an intimate object, and that’s precisely what makes it so touching in certain contexts.
Whether it’s a personalised gift, an album focusing on a few months of a child’s life, or a travel souvenir you want to keep close at hand, the small format is the natural choice. It’s every bit as good as the large format; it simply meets different needs.
Medium-sized photo book: the balance between reading comfort and ease of storage
The medium size is probably the one that suits the widest range of projects. Not too bulky, yet not too small for photos, it fits in anywhere effortlessly.
Measuring 14 x 14 cm or 21 x 21 cm for the square photo book, it offers a pleasant viewing experience. The photos have plenty of breathing space, the layouts remain clear, and you can easily combine several images on a single page without everything looking crammed. It’s the format you choose when you don’t want to go wrong, and it’s true that it’s rarely a mistake.
It also has a practical advantage that’s often overlooked: it’s easy to store. On a shelf amongst other books, in a drawer, or in a keepsake box. It doesn’t take up unnecessary space, and that’s a quality you’ll appreciate in the long run, long after you’ve received the book.
The large-format photo book: when your memories deserve space
Some photos simply won’t do with being scaled down. A sunset over the ocean, an aerial view of a city, a group photo taken at a wedding… These images need space to come into their own. For photos like these, it’s undeniably better to choose a large format.
At 30 x 21 cm, a photo book almost becomes a display piece. You place it on a coffee table and open it in front of guests. You also take the time to look at each double-page spread as a whole. It’s no longer just an album; it’s an object to be admired.
A landscape-format photo book in a large size is particularly striking for this type of content. Horizontal photos stretch from one edge to the other, panoramic shots gain in impact, and each image takes on the scale it deserved from the outset. The inside pages are printed on 135 g/m² glossy or matt paper, with a 200 g/m² cover that ensures the book remains durable over time.
What is the difference between a portrait-format photo book and a square photo book?
In reality, these two formats do not share the same visual logic, nor the same natural use.
The portrait-format photo book is vertical. It resembles a novel, a magazine, or an object that we’re used to holding and leafing through page by page. It’s well suited to narrative projects, those where vertical photos predominate, or albums where text plays a significant role. A pregnancy book, an album centred on close-up portraits, or a project structured around a story to be read in sequence.
The square format, on the other hand, plays on symmetry. It favours neither vertical nor horizontal orientation, making it a surprisingly versatile format. Photos fit easily into it regardless of their orientation, and the layout is often more flexible. It is also a format that has a striking visual presence when placed on a surface. It catches the eye in a different way.
At AgfaPhoto Print, the square format is available in 14 x 14 cm and 21 x 21 cm, with the same paper finishes as the other formats.
Which format should you choose, 4:3 or 16:9?
This question is often asked by photographers or people used to working with cameras and video. The 4:3 and 16:9 ratios correspond to very specific image proportions. Bear in mind that choosing the wrong book format can lead to unwanted cropping.
The 4:3 ratio is used by many compact digital cameras and some mirrorless cameras. It produces images that are relatively close to a square format, slightly wider than they are tall. These photos fit well into a book format with a similar aspect ratio, such as 21 x 15 cm or 21 x 21 cm, without any significant loss of detail at the edges.
The 16:9 aspect ratio is used by smartphones in video mode, by some cameras in wide-angle photo mode, and by sensors designed for cinema. It is a very horizontal, almost cinematic format. For these images, a large-format landscape book measuring 30 x 21 cm remains the most appropriate choice. The proportions remain similar and the photos lose very little detail during printing.
In any case, AgfaPhoto Print’s online editor allows you to preview the result before confirming. If automatic cropping is applied, you can correct it manually to ensure that nothing important is lost to the margins.
How can you easily create your own photo book on AgfaPhoto Print?
Once you’ve chosen the format, there’s still the part that many people dread a little: the creation process itself. Laying out a photo book can seem tedious, especially if you’ve never done it before. At AgfaPhoto Print, the aim is precisely to make this step accessible to everyone, whether you’re comfortable with digital tools or not.
AgfaPhoto Print’s intuitive editor lets you personalise every page to suit your style
AgfaPhoto Print’s online editor works in a step-by-step manner. You start by choosing your book’s specifications: the format, size, number of pages and paper finish. Only then do you move on to the layout, with a clear preview of what the book will look like once printed.
The preview tool lets you see each page almost exactly as it will appear. You place your photos, adjust the cropping, and choose the templates that match the look you’re going for. And if you fancy adding text – a date, a meaningful phrase or a location – you can do so directly within the editor. It’s often these little details that turn a photo book into something truly personal.
It’s worth noting that the same care goes into the cover. You choose your main photo, position the title and refine the layout until the result lives up to the content inside. It’s a moment worth taking the time over, because it’s the first thing you see.
Let the software guide you automatically when you’re short on time
Not everyone has the time to fine-tune every page. That’s a reality, and AgfaPhoto Print recognises this. That’s why the editor also offers an automatic layout option for those who want to get straight to the point.
You import your photos, let the tool arrange them intelligently throughout the book, and you get a coherent layout in a matter of minutes. You can always tweak a page here and there if something isn’t quite right, but the bulk of the work is already done.
It’s a way of ensuring your photos don’t just sit on your phone because you’re short of time. Because a photo book created quickly, but with beautiful images and a well-chosen format, is always better than a project you keep putting off indefinitely.
The right photo book format is the one that reflects your memories
Orientation, size, paper… all these choices may seem technical at first glance. But ultimately, they all answer the same question. How do you want your memories to come to life once they’re printed?
A small square format for a heartfelt gift. A large landscape format for a trip that deserves to be savoured, a medium portrait format for a family album to leaf through in good company. Every project naturally finds its perfect home, provided you take the time to think it through before you start.
At AgfaPhoto Print, portrait, landscape and square formats are available with the same finishing and paper options. All you have to do is choose the one that best suits the story you want to tell, and get started.