picture books kmart

The best photo books in 2024: Mixbook, Shutterfly, Printique, Snapfish and more tested

What service should you use to make the best photo books and photo albums? We reviewed and compared five of the most popular services to find out

The quick list

Best overall, best image quality, other services we tested, how we test photo book services, when is the best time to buy a photo book.

• How to choose

1. Best overall 2. Best image quality 3. Best value 4. Other services we tested 5. How we test 6. Photo book test scores 7. The best time to buy a photo book 8. How to choose

Whatever the occasion, a personalized photo book always makes a great gift. But where do you begin if you want to turn your photos of a summer trip to Spain or a surprise birthday weekend in the mountains into a beautiful present?

We’ve been testing the best photo book services for more than five years by doing what you would do: creating a photo book. In the process, we looked at which service was the easiest to use, which offered the most options for things like clip art and binding, which had the best image quality, and which offered the best value. 

This year, we tested Mixbook, Printique, Shutterfly, Snapfish, and Vistaprint. We've also included shipping information where available, as photo books take time to make — and will cost more the longer you wait to order. 

And be sure to check out our picks for the best photo calendars , and best photo cards , and discover 9 tips to make the best holiday cards .

Great features, excellent image quality, the easiest-to-use software, and even online chat support make this our top pick overall.

Read more below .

If image quality is your number-one criteria when choosing the best photo book service, go with Printique, which also has powerful design software.

Read more below.  

While not the flashiest of services, Vistaprint had good-enough quality and affordable prices to make this a solid value pick among photo books.

Read more below.

The best photo book services

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.

Our expert review:

Specifications

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

Mixbook was the best service overall for making photo books of the five we tested. Its combination of ease of use, top-notch image quality and good value should make it appealing to a broad range of users. Newbies will love Mixbook’s fun and easy-to-use software while more advanced users will appreciate the wide range of customization options to help you get creative. And the image quality of our 20-page, hardcover book came in a close second to Printique.

If you’re intimidated about designing a photo book, Mixbook takes out the stress with clear and fun-to-use software that helps make the process a breeze. At the same time, there are hundreds upon hundreds of ways to customize your book, including 644 design templates alone, if you want to take a deeper dive. Mixbook had among the best-looking and most user-friendly project editing software of the services we reviewed, matched only by Snapfish . The interface offers a myriad of options but isn’t cluttered and optimizes the space by providing a roomy preview of your project.

In terms of image quality, our finished book from Mixbook tied Printique for the best cover while coming in second place for its interior pages. For the photo books we created during testing, we used an image of a waterfall we shot at Yellowstone National Park. The photo was captured at sunset and Mixbook did a great job of reproducing detail in both the brighter light at the top of the waterfall and the shadow areas in the valley below. On the inside pages, Mixbook's default Everyday Semi-Gloss finish produced solid, pleasing contrast. Both light and dark skintones in our portraits were rendered true-to-life.

Other things we liked about Mixbook are its well-designed mobile app that lets you manage your projects on the site or create products from the photos on your phone. And finally, Mixbook’s handy 24/7 chat support is built right into the design interface, so it’s always available if you get stuck while making a book.

If you order a photo book from Mixbook, be sure to check out its shipping information and deadlines .

Read our full Mixbook review . 

2. Printique

If image quality is your main concern for photo books, Printique is the service for you. While some competing companies have caught up in other ways, Printique still makes the best-looking books around. Their overall stature, however, has slipped a bit, dropping them to second place behind Mixbook after being ranked first for books in years past. What’s changed? Printique’s software feels dated now and is a challenge to use, which could turn off less experienced users. Printique’s photo books are also significantly more expensive than the competition.

For serious photographers (including pros), though, the trade-offs may be worth it. The most distinctive thing about Printique’s books are their very thick, rigid pages, which are similar to what you’d find in a professional wedding photo album. Similarly, even the entry-level books come with a layflat binding that prevents a furrow in the seam between pages, making this design perfect for images that span spreads. The pages display really well with excellent color, skin tone, contrast and sharpness/detail. We also liked the results of a few black-and-white photos we included in our book, which looked dramatic without losing detail.

While Printique’s software offers the most control of the services we tested, we feel it’s better suited to the advanced user than newbies. Seasoned designers will appreciate the variety of rulers, gridlines, submenus, and toolbars offered in Printique’s feature-rich interface, but beginners might be intimidated. 

Another barrier for entry is price. Printique doesn’t really have an “entry-level” book that’s comparable to the other services since it only offers the premium layflat binding option with lavish, thick pages, which cost more. This level of quality doesn’t come cheap.

When ordering a photo book, be sure to check out Printique's shipping information and deadlines , so you know how long to expect before it arrives.

Read our full Printique review .

3. Vistaprint

If you think Vistaprint is only adept at making business cards and other marketing materials, think again. The company has expanded in recent years to include a wide range of personal print-on-demand services including photo books. While it’s difficult to find the book-making option on Vistaprint’s vast website, once you do, we think you’ll be pleased with the process and the results, as we were. Plus, the prices can’t be beat, making it the best value of all the services for books.

For testing purposes, we made hardcover books with all the services in approximately the 11 x 8.5-inch, landscape format since we felt that size would appeal to most users. At $30, Vistaprint’s book was the cheapest of the five companies; $5 less than Shutterfly, which was the second cheapest, and a whopping $45 less than Printique, which was the most expensive. As an added bonus, Vistaprint’s entry-level books come standard at 24 pages, while all the competition’s books start at 20 pages.

Given the affordable price, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of our photo books from Vistaprint. Our wraparound matte cover shot of a waterfall had rich detail even in the highlight and shadow areas, showing good dynamic range. The white endpapers for the front and rear inside covers have a classy look and feel as does the well stitched binding. The image quality of the interior pages was inconsistent though, with some of our landscape and cityscape images looking vibrant and crisp, while portraits were flat and overexposed at times.

Vistaprint’s software isn’t snazzy, but it gets the job done. It may look basic and a bit dated but unlike Printique’s complicated and outmoded interface, Vistaprint’s rudimentary software provides a relatively stress-free experience for making photo books. Just don’t expect anything fancy or a vast assortment of editing tools and you won’t be disappointed.  

Read our full Vistaprint review .

4. Shutterfly

Shutterfly is an easy to use and reliable service that does a lot of things right. In particular, the paper quality was great overall, and it did a decent job with its photo printing. Mixbook remains the best photo book service overall for its higher quality and better software, but if you want a relatively stress-free experience in creating solid if not spectacular books from a seasoned brand, Shutterfly is the one for you. 

We thought Shutterfly’s software offered a good compromise between providing full control over a project and not overloading you with too much information. If you get stuck while making a product, just click the question mark icon in the lower left to bring up the help overlay. The only downside is we found the software somewhat slow to use; in particular, there was a noticeable lag of a few seconds before images displayed in a layout.

Despite its robust and intuitive software, the resulting photo books were a mixed bag. While the page quality was the best of all the photo books we reviewed, the color was just ok, with some pale skin tones in portraits getting washed out while darker skin appeared oversaturated with a loss of detail.

The default glossy hardcover was quite eye-catching though, and the color of our waterfall shot looked natural with ample detail. But the shiny cover surface is prone to glare. Inside, the pages have a good weight and the smooth matte finish produced minimal reflection. Some brighter images, however, appeared slightly washed out in print. We also weren’t so keen on the binding, which felt flimsy, and cut off the edges of the images in the center crease. So, while Shutterfly did a good job overall, there are enough misses to fall short of the top tier of Printique and Mixbook.

Before ordering, be sure to check out Shutterfly's shipping guidelines .

Read our full Shutterfly review .

5. Snapfish

With how easy and user-friendly Snapfish’s software was to use, we really wanted to like this service more than we did. The process of creating photo books, calendars, and cards with Snapfish was so pleasant, we expected the finished products to be equally satisfying. Unfortunately, its photo book came in last among the services we tested.

The bright glossy hardcover of our book didn’t look bad from a distance, but when inspected closer it lacked detail in the flowing waterfall shot. Not awful but not great either. The print quality of the inside pages is where Snapfish really stumbles. The floppy pages in our standard 8 x 11-inch book were the thinnest of all we created from the various companies. On the other hand, while the stitched perfect binding of the book looked cheap, the crease between pages cut off only a small portion of the images. Comparatively, most of the other books in our testing obscured noticeable portions of photos in the binding.     

We wish all of the photo printing brands would emulate Snapfish’s snazzy software. It’s not only simple to use and logically laid out, it turns the process of creating a photo book into a pleasure rather than like pulling teeth. When creating a book, you can scroll through an authentic looking visual representation of the entire book to see all of the pages more easily. Snapfish’s book builder also had the fastest load times of the various companies we tested, with virtually no lag when dragging and dropping images or scrolling through layouts. 

In the end, Snapfish is something of a conundrum. While we would recommend it for anyone who might be intimidated by the process of creating products, those with more discerning image quality taste for books should look elsewhere.

Read our full Snapfish review .

For testing purposes, we created similar custom-designed books from the five services in our evaluation, Mixbook, Printique, Shutterfly, Snapfish and Vistaprint, which we deemed to be the top companies on the market. We made 20 to 24-page hardcover books with all the services in approximately the 11 x 8.5-inch, landscape format since we felt that size would appeal to most users. The only major difference in the five books was the one created with Printique, which only offers a premium layflat binding and professional-quality, thick pages, even as an entry-level option. 

While creating our books, we picked layouts and designs that were similar across the five services as well. For photos, I used my own portraits, landscapes, and cityscapes, which were shot in both studio and natural light. For portraits, the subjects encompassed a variety of skin tones. The three main factors the services were judged on were software, image quality, and value. For the book-making software, we considered both the levels of customization offered and the ease-of-use. 

For image quality, we compared photos across the selection of books, as well as against the original digital images displayed on a MacBook Air retina display. Criteria for judging included cover quality, paper quality, color, skin tones, contrast, and sharpness/detail. For value, we took into account both the price of the photo books and the level of quality of the finished product. So, for instance, a good quality book that cost a low price would get a higher value score than a poor quality book at a similar price. The same value scale was used for more expensive books in our testing.

This year, we evaluated Mixbook, Shutterfly, Printique, Vistaprint, and Snapfish. However, in years past, we've also tested a number of other services, none of whom made it into our top tier. If you'd like to read those older reviews, they're listed below. Just bear in mind that the quality of some of these services may have changed since we last reviewed them.

  Motif review | Artifact Uprising review | Amazon Prints review | Mpix review | Picaboo review | Blurb Bookify review | CVS Photo review | Walmart Photos review | Mimeo review

Procrastination is a natural human instinct, but it will cost you when it comes to photo books. In particular, if the book is a gift for the holidays or if you just want it quickly for yourself, you’re going to be paying more for rush delivery services, which can increase the cost greatly. And in our experience, fast delivery is the one thing that is seldom discounted by book companies. 

So, try to order you books as early as possible. Not only does it save you time, it gives you the chance to look over the book and order a reprint in case there are any errors. Another reason to order as early as possible is that many of the best photo book services offer big discounts throughout the year — up to 50% off in some cases, or with other extras thrown in. 

How to choose the best photo book service for you

Image quality The most important factor for most people is that their book should look good. But what does this mean exactly? In simple terms, it means the quality of the photos should be great — skin tones should be accurate, lighting should be correct, and details should be crisp. In the best photo books, you should have good contrast, deep blacks, and an overall evenness in color gradation. 

Book construction A photo book should also be built well. You shouldn't see pages coming free from the binding, the paper itself should have a substantial weight and feel, and images and text should be aligned properly.

Book-creation software If a company has poor software, you’re likely to either not be able to create the photo book you want or grow frustrated with the process and give up. While ease-of-use is a key factor, customization is also important too and our favorite brands offered a good combination of both with their software. You should be able to fully edit the book templates, easily find background art and more, and make fine adjustments to your photos, too.

Cost Price is also an important factor. With the exception of the most and least expensive options, you won't find too much variation between photo book printing services. However, some services offer options like better paper, different-size books, and things like lay-flat binding, which means you can open the book flat on a table, and not worry about breaking the spine.

More from Tom's Guide

• Best photo storage and sharing sites
• Best digital photo frames
• Best photo editing apps

Sign up to get the BEST of Tom’s Guide direct to your inbox.

Upgrade your life with a daily dose of the biggest tech news, lifestyle hacks and our curated analysis. Be the first to know about cutting-edge gadgets and the hottest deals.

Dan Havlik has worked in the photo industry for over decades and is currently editor-in chief of Wild Eye ( www.wildeyemagazine.com ), a new magazine devoted to the celebration of nature, wildlife, and underwater photography. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Outdoor Photographer and Shutterbug magazines. He has been an editor and writer for a variety of other publications and websites including Photo District News (PDN), Rangefinder, Wired, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Consumer Reports, Maxim, Men’s Journal, Imaging Resource, and LAPTOP. Dan is also an avid runner with three marathons under his belt and has written fitness reviews, including guides to the best running shoes and GPS watches, for Business Insider.

After TikTok, DJI drone ban could be next for US lawmakers

Insta360 X4 review — the ultimate 360 camera

Netflix's new true crime dark comedy just crashed the top 10

Most Popular

• 2 Ghost of Tsushima's PC port is being delisted and preorders refunded in countries without PSN access
• 3 Hot sleeper? Sleep expert shares 7 tips for keeping your bedroom cool ahead of summer
• 4 Apple Vision Pro 2 could see its price slashed by $2,000, claims leaker
• 5 Can't sleep? This is why your mind races when you go to bed, according to a doctor of sleep medicine

• _Sensory Play
• __Materials for Sensory Play
• __Sensory Bottles
• __Sensory Bins
• _Small World Play
• _Bookish Play
• _Science Experiments
• _Fine Motor Fun
• _Educational Toys
• _Monthly Play Calendars
• _Recycled Craft
• _Alphabet crafts
• _Mother's Day Craft
• _Halloween Craft
• _Christmas Craft
• _How to repurpose craft
• _Book Lists
• _Book Reviews
• _Book Week Ideas
• _Book Storage Ideas
• _Autumn/Fall
• _New Years Eve
• _Australia Day
• _Valentines Day
• _St Patricks Day
• _Mothers Day
• _4th of July
• _Fathers Day
• _Elf on the Shelf
• 4th of July
• animal figurines
• back to school
• cutlery tray play
• elf on the shelf
• fathers day
• free playdough mat
• free printable
• gross motor play
• imaginary play
• kmart play tray
• letter of the week
• magnetic tiles
• nature play
• open ended play
• outdoor play
• science experiment
• sight words
• teacher gifts
• toilet paper rolls
• wooden toys
• world book day

16 Picture Books About Starting School

FIRST DAY | Andrew Daddo

MADDIE'S FIRST DAY | Penny Matthews

MY FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL | Rosie Smith

Let's Get Ready for School | Jane Porter

STARTING SCHOOL | Jane Godwin

THE DAY YOU BEGIN | Jacqueline Woodson

The Wild Guide to Starting School | Philip & Laura Bunting

PICTURE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN STARTING AT A NEW SCHOOL OR STARTING A NEW SCHOOL YEAR

THE NIGHT BEFORE FIRST GRADE  | Penny Matthews

OLD FRIENDS NEW FRIENDS | Andrew Daddo

PICTURE BOOKS TO HELP KIDS WHO DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL

THE PIGEON HAS TO GO TO SCHOOL  | Mo Willems

I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL | Stephanie Blake

DEAR TEACHER | Amy Husband

Other picture books that help with starting school.

HOW TO GET YOUR TEACHER READY | Jean Reagan

SCHOOL'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL | Adam Rex

Our Class is a Family | Shannon Olsen

A Letter From Your Teacher on the first day of school | Shannon Olsen

Would you like to comment?

Rainbow Play Ideas

FIND CRAFT & ACTIVITIES FOR

Sign - Up For My Newsletter

Popular Posts

• Free Printable Mother's Day Colouring Card
• Sensory Play Ideas for Babies 0-6 Months
• 75 Easy World Book Day & Book Week Costume Ideas for 2024
• 16 Mother's Day Cards Kids Can Make at Home or in the Classroom
• Sensory Play Ideas for Babies & Infants 6 Months+
• 10 Ikea Playroom Essentials: Clever Ikea Playroom Storage Solutions and Hacks

Contact Form

Finding Myself Young

• Mediavine Publisher Support

JOIN ME ON FACEBOOK

• DISCLOSURE POLICY
• PRIVACY POLICY

• Anniversaries
• Baby Showers
• Cards and Stationery
• Father's Day

Photo Books

Wedding invitations, how to make the perfect photo book.

Written by  Shutterfly Community Last Updated: Nov 20, 2023

You’ve captured the birthday parties, the family reunions, the vacations, and the weddings, and now it’s time to do something with all those photos. Sure, you could share your pics on Facebook and Instagram, or even stick them in an old-fashioned photo album, but those options are limited. With Shutterfly’s easy-to-use service and tools, the most convenient and elegant way to share your photos is to create photo books . Why? Photo books provide beautiful, true reproductions of your digital photos, make perfect gifts for any occasion, offer neat and tidy storage of your photos , and they preserve your memories exactly as you wish.

Shop Trending Categories

Canvas Prints

Graduation Announcements

Need another reason? Our exclusive pro tips and tricks guide you through the steps to making the best photo books . And with Shutterfly’s brand new Photo Book Experience, it’s easy and fun to do. Our unparalleled collection of styles — from modern to rustic — plus design ideas for kids’ and baby books , travel photo books , and of course wedding photo books results in personalized, professional photo books you’ll love to own or give. We’ve rounded up some photo book tips and tricks and offer an easy guide to learn more about the process.

• Photo Book Tips
• Create a Photo Book on Your Computer

Let Our Designers Create a Photo Book for You

Create a photo book on the shutterfly app, how to make the perfect photo book: tips and tricks.

Whether you choose a hardcover or softcover style — or go all out on a premium leather cover — our photo books have the look and feel of books you’d get at the bookstore. But they are actually very easy to create on your own for a personalized final product that’s truly impressive. Browse all of the photo book styles to get ideas for the overall design you want to go with.

Once you decide on a photo book style , there are additional choices to make about your photo book. You can choose from six different sizes and three page styles, including standard pages, standard layflat pages, or deluxe layflat.

After you have familiarized yourself with the different options and styles, it’s time to start uploading your photos. You can upload your photos from anywhere, including your desktop computer, mobile device, Shutterfly mobile app , Google photos, Instagram, Facebook, and the Shutterfly Art Library — or all of the above!

If you’re using the Shutterfly app to create your photo book, it automatically pulls in all the photos stored on your phone. You can switch back and forth between the app and the website while you’re creating your photo book, and easily upload photos from the app to the site.

While our photo book editor offers helpful tips throughout the design process, it’s a good idea to know a few things before you get started so you can truly unleash your creativity while you’re designing. First, you need to organize your photos. Next, you want to choose the right photos to display in your book. Once you’ve gone through those steps, you can pick a theme to use throughout your photo book. You can pick a theme such as “ Year in Review ,” “ Family ,” or go simple with an “ Everyday ” theme. Finally, writing some helpful text for your book will help you tell the story you want to tell with your photo book. This helps you develop a narrative that makes your book unique. Here are Shutterfly’s 7 steps to creating perfect photo books:

• Organize your photos
• Choose the right photos
• Highlight your favorites
• Create variety in spreads
• Pick a theme
• Include helpful text
• Tell a story

1. Organize Your Photos

The key to enjoying the photo book design process is to organize your photos beforehand. These days, many of us have digital photos scattered all over the place: Facebook, Instagram, our camera apps, email — the list goes on. Spending a few minutes collecting and organizing your photos will save a lot of time later on — plus you may find photos you forgot you had. Create a folder on your device and label it something easy to find like “photo book photos.” If you’ve already chosen the photo book style you’re going to use, go ahead and use that for inspiration on naming your photo collection folder to make it easy to find and remember.

Copy the photos you want to include in your book in one folder that you can upload all at once. You can categorize them by date, subject, people or whatever system will make it easy for you to keep them arranged in an orderly fashion.

2. Choose The Right Photos

Once you’ve gathered your photos, it’s time to sift through the ones you want to display. Start by including all the photos you like, then narrow them down based on quality. Keep in mind that if a photo is out of focus, it will show up even more blurry when it’s enlarged and printed in a photo book. You may have lots of photos of the same subject matter, but each photo may have slightly better lighting and angles. Review them carefully and highlight your favorites.

Choosing the right photos for your photo book is a bit easier with Shutterfly’s photo editing features. To improve your pics, you can crop, resize, add backgrounds, and other embellishments in the Edit view. So, even if your photos aren’t perfect, you may be able to make them look better. When you’re selecting photos, do keep in mind how people will react to seeing their photos printed in a book — and make sure the pics are flattering.

3. Highlight Your Favorites

It may be challenging to curate your photo collection. You may need to make some tough calls. If you’re having a challenge curating your photos for your book, you can always crowd-source the task. Post them on your social media and poll your friends as to which ones are best. On the other hand, if you want to keep your photo book a secret — for example if you’re making premium wedding photo books to give as gifts — just ask a close friend or family member for their opinion on the best photos to include. Getting a second opinion cuts down on stress — and will probably give you great new ideas!

4. Create Variety In Spreads

Variety is the spice of life, and our photo books deliver on this front. There are endless options when it comes to photo book styles and templates. Most styles offer a wide variety of page layouts to vary the presentation and add visual interest. With Shutterfly’s photo book maker, you can choose different layouts for every single page of your book, choosing from one-photo layouts all the way up to 5 or more photos on a page.

Creating variety in your photo book page layouts helps you tell your story because different page layouts can put emphasis on photos differently. You can place one photo on a full page, center a small photo in the middle of a page, or feature multiple photos on one page. Since photo books allow you to create two-page spreads, you’ll want to pick photos for these pages that relate to each other, or even a panoramic photo that can span the spread.

5. Pick A Theme

A photo book theme gives the book a storyline. Fortunately, with our wide range of themes, styles, and customization options, you’re guaranteed to find a theme that perfectly matches your narrative. For example, a photo book from our Kids & Baby collection can be transformed from a regular baby book into an ABC book or a story about your baby’s first year. A travel photo book dedicated to your recent vacation is redefined when photos from a cross-country road trip are accompanied by an old western typeface. It’s completely free (and a fun creative outlet) to experiment with different ideas and themes to determine which style fits best for the story you wish to tell through photos.

6. Include Helpful Text

One way to capture time is through photos. Another way to secure a memory is through words. Our photo books offer plenty of space for your text and captions to describe the photos or to tell a story. You can write in dates, place names, anecdotes, quotes from an event, or colorful descriptions to help recreate your memories in the years to come. In a year in review photo book for example, you could write messages such as, “what a year!,” “family memories,” or simply “our family.”

7. Tell A Story

At the end of the day, your photo book is just one tiny slice of a story in your life. So, when you’re collecting and arranging your photos, organize them in your photo book in a way that tells a story. The easiest way to achieve this is to create the book in chronological order. The album story will be easiest to follow if you recreate the sequence of how the event occurred.

For example, wedding photo books  might start with a photo of your engagement rings and end with a photo of the happy couple driving off to their honeymoon. A photo book of your baby’s first year might start with your pregnancy and then progress to a photo of the baby at the hospital. Some photo books can tell a story that recreates significant phases of your life. A “love” book, for instance, could be modeled on a children’s story using our Everyday Fairytale by Jenny Romanski Photo Book style, full of unicorns, mermaids, and rainbows.

Making a Photo Book With Shutterfly

Shutterfly offers three ways to create photo books: using our website photo book service on your computer, allowing our designers to create it for free with our Make My Book ® service in just 24 hours, or using the Shutterfly app on your mobile device. Here’s how each photo book process works: 

Creating Your Book on a Computer

If you prefer to think big, using your computer to design photo books may be best for you. Once you decide on the basics using the tips above, you will be directed to the editing page that will display the outline of your book. Upload your photos and begin adding them to the empty pages. Play around with background colors and embellishments until the pages reflect what you envisioned. You are able to crop the photos to your liking and include captions to help tell the story. Design your own photo book cover page and add your desired title to add the finishing touches to your album.

No time? Not a DIYer? No problem! Use our free photo book designer service and our designers will create it for you. To get started, first choose the size and style you want. Next, you will be prompted to upload your photos from your desktop or select ones you’ve uploaded through the Shutterfly app .

You will then be prompted to answer questions that will help the designer, like your preference of order (chronological, self-sort or themes), layout density (number of photos you would like per page) and book design elements (how many stickers and embellishments you would prefer). Finally, you will choose a title and include any special instructions for the designer.

The designer will place your book in your account within 24 hours.  You can then edit the book, add finishing touches (such as captions) and place your order. You pay a small design fee only if you order the book. There is no charge if you don’t order the book.

For those who are on the go and want to use an iPhone or other smartphone, Shutterfly’s iOS and Android App is there to help. Easily upload your photos to the app, using its unlimited free storage to transfer your photos off your phone and clear up space on your device. Once your photos are uploaded, choose your desired book size and theme and start creating.

The app allows you to simply tap and drag your photos to where you want them positioned on the page layout for easy photo books. Once on the page, you can edit and adjust them to your liking. This allows you to create a personalized photo book in a matter of minutes from anywhere.

Wrapping Up

Photo books provide a fun way to organize all the photos you’ve taken. They are also an impressive way to relive memories with your friends and family. However you choose to make your photo books , make sure to add unique touches to make it extra personal.

More Resources:

• Shop All of Our Photo Books
• Browse the Best Photo Books
• Free Photo Book Designer Service
• 6×6 Photo Books
• Wedding Photo Albums

Explore Categories

Graduation Invitations

Custom Photo Blankets

Save the Dates

Coffee Table Books

Written by Shutterfly Community | View all posts

★ Lifestyle Expert

Shutterfly Community is here to help capture and share life's most important moments. Discover thoughtful gifts, creative ideas and endless inspiration to create meaningful memories with family and friends.

Visit their Website . You can follow on Instagram and Pinterest .

9 Best Photo Book Websites

Don't let your favorite photos go to waste — use these top-tested online services and turn them into keepsake albums.

We've been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.

Best Overall

Shutterfly photo books.

Walmart Photo Custom Photo Books

Most Aesthetic

Artifact uprising photo books.

Best for Themes

Mixbook photo books.

Best for Beginners

Printique photo books.

Best for Amazon Prime Members

Amazon prints.

Best for Young Kids

Pinhole press photo books.

Best for Google Photo Users

Google photo books.

Best for Families

Chatbooks custom photo books & albums.

Photo albums create a tangible and lasting archive of memories — ultimately proving to be more durable and accessible than the mess of digital files on your phone and computer. Plus, a custom photo book can be a thoughtful and unique gift for birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, or other special events.

Online photo book services make it easy and quick to choose a theme or layout, upload photos and ship the book straight to the recipient. Best of all, some photo book makers even have apps so you can upload photos directly from your smartphone.

Shutterfly offers basic photo books at an affordable price. You can choose from a wide selection of themes, like birthday, travel or wedding, or neutral styles , such as modern or rustic. You can also create your own book and choose the book size, cover style and page style, then embellish it with Shutterfly's extensive library of stickers and ribbons to make your book extra special. We appreciate how easily users can edit within their chosen template and the brand's high-quality photo book paper, making Shutterfly a top pick.

You can also opt for one of its 6" x 6" Instant Books , which let you add photos from your phone, tablet or computer in minutes. These mini photo books have only 20 pages, but they're a great place to store goofy candids or Instagram posts you never want to forget. The possibilities are essentially limitless, though the vast array of options could be overwhelming for those getting started.

If you don't want the pressure of deciding on a layout, the brand offers a convenient Make My Book option, in which Shutterfly's professional designers curate your photos and design the book for free. Plus, you'll still have the opportunity to put finishing touches on it before it gets printed. Whether you opt for 50 or 800 photos (the maximum), you'll receive an email notification within 24 hours that your book is complete.

Crunched for time? Design your photo book online and pick up select styles at a Walmart store near you in as little as one hour. Photo books picked up in one hour can have 15 single-sided pages and a linen cover, while same-day pickups (ready in a few hours) can have up to 20 double-sided pages and the option of a hardcover.

On top of the speedy turnaround, Walmart has a great selection of styles : You can choose everything from the photo size and layout to the type of cover, including hardcover glossy or matte, linen, leather and lay-flat glossy or matte. If you need help narrowing down the choices, there's also the option to shop by occasion, whether you're looking for a one-year anniversary or 15th-year anniversary gift .

Despite the fast shipping and variety, our tester noted that the quality was not as high as the options offered by other photo book makers on this list — but that may be expected considering the bargain price tag. Regardless, these photo books still make a superb present that can cost under $10 without compromising on sentimentality.

No matter the occasion, you can't go wrong with one of Artifact Uprising's high-quality photo books. There are numerous design options, including preset books to celebrate the birth of a new baby or commemorating a marriage.

You can choose from lay-flat albums, books with photo strips and even softcover Instagram Friendly Books for the influencer in your life. The company even has an iPhone app that lets you create a photo book right from your smartphone. However, Rothman found the app to be glitchy at times and noted there's room for improvement with the software. Still, the books come out on top for elegance and simplicity .

One online reviewer wrote, "The fabric cover is beautiful. The photos are amazing quality and look amazing even though the photos were taken on film and therefore are a bit grainy." The overall 4.6-star rating (out of 5) backs up that review. Quality and elevated designs come with a higher price tag, but there are options for $20 or less if you're shopping on a budget.

If you have a special project and a little more money to spend, Artifact Uprising offers Design Services , which allow you to work one-on-one with an expert to bring your special moments to life. Just note that the design fee is rather steep at $119 and requires an additional $100 album deposit.

When Mixbook says it has "custom photo books for every occasion," it really means it. There are 374 different themed templates to choose from, including everything f rom travel and sports to weddings and recipes.

But that doesn't mean you have to give up creative control. You can still customize the look to your liking, from fun backgrounds to stickers to text using the Editor tool. Plus, there are plenty of paper varieties, from semigloss to ultra-thick matte.

Our testers appreciated the nice balance between good photo editing and price, but one did experience issues with the lay-flat option, in which the photos bled into the crease. You can also use the iPhone app to organize your photos with a tool that the brand calls "Automagic": Simply choose the images you want and select a theme. The goal of Automagic is to help arrange your camera roll so your photos are in order when it comes time to add them to your photo book.

If you're not sure where to start, our pros love Printique because it's super easy to use. You can select one of the many predesigned layouts or create an entire photo book from scratch.

Choose among portrait, landscape and square orientations, as well as hardcover and softcover options. You can even store your memories in a genuine leather or vegan leather book or pick from five different fabric colors. Although you can't choose the color for a hard- or softcover photo book, you can still customize the shape, size and paper type.

Looking for something more advanced? There'sa tool for professional photographers to design and create their own photo books. But if you want to keep things simple, consider starting with one of Printique's 4" x 4" Mini Softcover photo books , which have a maximum of 40 pages and come in three sizes.

Is Amazon Photos already your preferred destination for uploading photos? Then creating a photo book through its interface is an easy solution.

Similar to other photo book makers, you can create by occasion and size, or choose its 8" x 8" Premium Photo Book for a versatile option that has a laminated cover and lay-flat binding. There's also an option with standard binding at a lower cost, and all Amazon Prime members get free shipping . (Everyone else is eligible for free shipping with a minimum order of $15.)

In addition to photo books, you can shop large prints, calendars, cards and metal tabletops. There are fewer size and style options than most services when it comes to photo books, but the other photo product choices make up for the lack of available styles. After all, sometimes it's easier and quicker to have fewer options to choose from if you need to pull something together last-minute.

RELATED: 37 Best Personalized Gifts You Can Find on Amazon

With Pinhole Press, you can choose from various photo book styles ranging from board pages to softcovers to accordion-style setups. Upload your photos and let the system do the work, or manually place the photos into the layout yourself.

One of our testers says her kids love the Custom Board Books , which have themes such as " Count With Me ," " Healthy Habits " and " I Can Be Anything ." These photo books aren't just visually stimulating, but they can also educate and entertain kids for years to come .

"I got my daughter the ' My First Photo Book ' as a toddler and made it all about her — like pictures with family, doing things she likes, her favorite toys, at the playground and beach, etc. — and she still is obsessed with it," says GH Institute Executive Director Lexie Sachs .

We think he custom Photo Puzzle is a fun option for kids, and the Itty Bitty Books are easy to tote around in a work bag for on-hand entertainment. There's less variety in some categories, including Itty Bitty and hardcover books, but with so many additional photo categories other companies lack, there are still plenty of great options for kids.

RELATED: 12 Best Personalized Books for Kids

If you store your snaps in Google Photos, then Google's very own photo book maker might be the most convenient option for you. Even though there are no fancy designs, the process is seamless.

Choose from two options: a 7" x 7" softcover photo book or a 9" x 9" hardcover photo book. You can include between 20 and 140 pages, and you have the option to add a spine title if you hit more than 48 pages for a softcover or any number of pages for a hardcover.

Another hallmark of Google Photos is that you can make one photo book and order multiple copies to give to family members and friends who are also pictured in the photos. Since they come at an affordable price point, you could give everyone on your gift list a copy, whether you decide to create a collection of candid photos for your closest friends or a tangible memento of a fun family trip. Though there may not be as many designs and styles to choose from, that can make the customization process less daunting.

Chatbooks Custom Photo Books & Albums

"Set and forget it," one of our testers said about the ease of using Chatbooks, which markets itself as "ridiculously easy." You can upload images from Instagram, Flickr, Dropbox, Facebook or your computer and edit them on your desktop or via the app .

The service's Custom Photo Books & Albums option is great for families looking to personalize a family vacation , as you can choose colors, layouts, cover styles, collages, captions and more. Peruse its vast collection of more than 300 unique book covers, or shop the premium lay-flat and special occasion photo books.

You can also have fun with the Instagram and Facebook series — a 6" x 6" or 8" x 8" book with 60 pages — that lets you store your favorite social media posts in a tangible place to look back on for years to come.

Unique to Chatbooks is its subscription service, which allows you to receive a softcover, hardcover or mini photo book each month. If you and your family love taking photographs of walks in the park, weekend road trips or vacations, this service is ideal for getting your photos in your hands ASAP. One thing to note about the subscription option is that there are only two sizes available (5" x 7" and the monthly mini).

How we chose the best photo book makers

At the Good Housekeeping Institute , our pros in the Media & Tech Lab have been testing photo book makers for more than a decade . For this article, we referenced a robust test of photo book makers we completed in 2009 and ordered a round of new products to test in 2023. We also researched the latest updates and offerings to a variety of apps and services.

When choosing the best photo book makers, our Lab experts consider ease of use, performance and appearance . That means our pros take an in-depth look at a wide range of features, such as how easy it is to navigate the interface and add photos and text to the book; upload and delivery time; the number of styles, covers and templates offered; and the photo, paper and binding quality.

What to look for when shopping for the best custom photo book maker

Keep the following features in mind when choosing the right photo book maker website for your needs:

✔️ Size: Whether you're looking for a small photo book for kids or a much larger album to house snapshots from a long family vacation, there are regular, large and miniature photo book sizes available. It's best to think about how many photos you want to include and where you plan to store the album (i.e., will the book be too tall for your bookshelf or just right on top of your coffee table?).

✔️ Shape: Most photo books are rectangular or square in shape, but some companies also offer photo puzzles, calendars and tabletops to choose from too. The shape is really about aesthetic preference and the orientation you prefer for your photos.

✔️ Page count: Are you compiling 20 photos from your daughter's first-birthday party? Or are you putting together an anniversary album of pictures of you and your partner throughout the years? The number of pages determines the number of photos you can include in an album, so you have enough space to include everything.

✔️ Paper quality: This is probably a no-brainer, as the quality of material your photos are printed on is as important as the quality of the photos themselves. Although companies with higher-quality paper, like Artifact Uprising , may have a higher price tag, the extra money goes toward paper that won't lead to photos bleeding into the crease. But there are still services that are affordable and offer good-quality products, like our best value pick, Walmart Photo .

✔️ Binding quality: Some companies, like Google Photo , will add a binding to your photo album. This feature is especially important when considering the durability and longevity of your photo album. Whether it's a softcover, hardcover or lay-flat book, make sure the binding can withstand accidental drops and the wear and tear of passing the family album around at holiday parties.

✔️ Templates: If your photo album will have a certain theme or be centered around a specific occasion — or it's your first time using a photo book maker — choosing a service that has a variety of templates to choose from will let your creativity flow and also help you warm up to the design process.

✔️ Editing capabilities: When looking at beginner-level or more advanced designer tools, consider how robust or simple they are to use. Having lots of control over the interface is fun, but if you're looking for a more straightforward experience, opt for a service that does the majority of the decision-making for you or offers designer help, like Shutterfly .

What is the easiest way to make a custom photo book?

It really depends upon the service and your preference .

Although some online custom photo book makers also have an app, it can have limited functionality, be buggy or not as easy to use as the desktop equivalent. Often, an app makes it super simple to upload pictures from your phone (a major plus!) but doesn't allow as much flexibility for product assortment or editing once you've selected. That said, designing a photo book on your smartphone or tablet versus a desktop may come down to how many edits you intend to make .

If you plan to do a lot of editing, the non-app version on a larger screen would likely be your best choice. If you want to quickly make a book with limited changes, an app on your mobile device may be the way to go.

Why trust Good Housekeeping?

Elizabeth Berry is an updates editor at the Good Housekeeping Institute , where she ensures product reviews reflect accurate information. To update this guide, Elizabeth gathered notes from previous tests and researched the latest updates to our favorite services.

A previous version of this guide was written by Amina Lake Abdelrahman , a product review writer and editor who worked as an editorial assistant at the Good Housekeeping Institute from 2018 to 2020.

Elizabeth Berry is the editorial assistant for WomansDay.com, where she writes and edits lifestyle content. When she isn’t assisting with day-to-day editorial needs, Elizabeth is baking dairy-free cakes, reading books, or strolling through nature.

@media(max-width: 64rem){.css-o9j0dn:before{margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-right:0.625rem;color:#ffffff;width:1.25rem;bottom:-0.2rem;height:1.25rem;content:'_';display:inline-block;position:relative;line-height:1;background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}} Product Reviews

The Best Bath Towels on Amazon

The Best Toys and Gifts for 11-Year-Olds

The Best Steam Mops

The Best Mother's Day Flower Delivery Services

The Best No-Pull Dog Harnesses

The Best Online Flower Delivery Services

Clothes Steamer vs. Iron: Which is Better?

The Best Odor Eliminators

The Best Cooling Sheets

The Best Recovery Shoes and Sandals

The Best Pillow Cloud Slides on Amazon

• Scholastic Home
• Privacy Policy
• 1800 021 233

• Adventure Stories
• General Fiction
• School Stories
• Animal stories
• Historical Fiction
• Science Fiction
• Classic Fiction
• Horror & Ghost Stories
• Short Stories
• Comics/Graphic Novels
• Humorous Stories
• Sporting Stories
• Crime & Mystery
• Non Fiction / Reference
• Family & Home Stories
• Traditional Stories
• Fantasy & Magical Realism
• Father’s Day
• Picture Books
• Anthologies
• General Knowledge & Trivia
• Puzzle Books
• Reference works
• Atlases & Maps
• Handicrafts
• Science & Technology
• Sports & Outdoor Recreation
• Colouring & Painting
• Hobbies, Quizzes & Games
• Sticker & Stamp books
• Computer Game Guides
• Humour & Jokes
• Television & Film
• Cooking & Food
• Interactive & Activity Books
• True Stories
• Literature & Writers
• Valentine’s Day
• Dinosaurs & Prehistoric
• Warfare & Defence
• Drama & Performing
• Mother’s Day
• Early Learning
• Work & Industry
• Mysteries & Mythology
• Natural history
• Encyclopaedias
• People & Places
• Farm Animals
• Captain Underpants
• Disney Twisted Tales
• Cranky Bear
• Harry Potter
• Wings of Fire
• Diary of a Minecraft Zombie
• Pig the Pug
• Disney Learning
• The Baby-Sitters Club
• Disney Princess
• The Bad Guys
• New Releases
• Humanity and Social Sciences
• Student Workbooks
• Arts and Craft

Write your message below to post a review:

Ordering Prints

How do I order prints?

First time setup - Create an Account

• Touch Sign Up
• Touch Sign Up with EMAIL, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE or APPLE
• Touch check box to agree with the Terms & Conditions
• Follow the instructions to complete Account Sign Up

NOTE: This Print option uses data . We recommend using a Wi-Fi network connection.

•   Shop products will be shipped to address provided.
• Touch  Prints.
• Select a print size.
• Select an image source – Camera Roll, Albums, social media sites.
• Touch photos to select them. NOTE: Select photos from multiple sources, as needed.
• Touch  Next .

Edit photos 

• Touch the photo.

• Touch  Done

Change print quantity

• Touch the displayed quantity.
• Swipe to scroll values.
• Touch the desired quantity.

Add print size(s)

• Touch  Add sizes .
• Select each desired print size.
• Touch  Save .
• Touch  Add to Cart .

Follow the instructions for your delivery:

  Cart

• Select  Checkout  for payment
• Enter  Promo Code  if available
• Verify the Shipping Address.

      Choose Delivery Method

      Home Delivery: Charges apply

•   Standard Delivery 5-9 Business days
•   Express Delivery  4-6 Business days

      Store Delivery: Free Shipping to Store

• Products will be delivered in 5-9 business days

Note: 

“Business days” are considered to be Monday through Friday, not including

 holidays or scheduled service interruptions. Please check with your local

 postal service for all observed holidays that may delay receipt of your shipment.

Picture Books About

An ever-evolving list of picture books

Picture Books About Art

Children are natural artists and these books about creating and interacting with art will hit home with young readers. These books are all great conversation starters about what art is, how does art make you feel, and what to do when the art isn’t coming out the way you imagined.

Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung, 2018.

Why we love it: This beautiful story is about mixing primary colors and mixing neighborhoods. Reds, Yellows and Blues are used to living in a city of harmony, but when two colors decide to mix, there world begins to change in the most colorful and delightful ways.

Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment by Parker and Jessica Curry; Illustrated by Brittany Jackson, 2019.

Why we love it: Endearing and beautifully written, this story shows the magic of what happens when a young girl sees a giant portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama and is convinced she’s seeing a queen.

For teachers-this book also serves as a reminder of how powerful it is when children see themselves mirrored in art whether it’s in books or in a museum.

Square by Mac Barnett; Illustrated by Jon Klassen, 2019.

Why we love it: When Square’s friend Circle sees him working on blocks that look exactly like him, she decides he’s a sculptor and asks him to make a sculpture of her. This book really asks children to think about what art is and what makes something “perfect”. This would be great for a classroom discussion.

Perfect by Max Amato, 2019.

Why we love it: When a pencil and an eraser can’t seem to get along, they are forced to come together and collaborate. This book would be great for a unit on collaboration, partner work, and impermanent art.

I Cannot Draw a Horse by Charise Mericle Harper, 2022.

Why we love it: Starting with one singular shape, each page shows how it can be transformed into other animals, a dog, a bear, etc. This is a great jumping off point to discuss how all images starts with lines and shapes and what to do when a child is frustrated that they cannot draw the one picture they really want to make.

One by Kathryn Otoshi, 2008.

Why we love it: This classic explores how colors evoke emotions and has great social emotional themes like standing up for yourself against a bully. It also is an introduction to numerals. Great for young ones, this is definitely a book you will read again and again.

BIG Frenzy on now!  Click it or miss it! Ends Sunday.

Free Same Day Pick up Order by 12pm, pick up after 4pm.

Picture Books

Take your little one on an adventure through picture books! Shop BIG W's selection of read-along book and CDs, classics from Dr Seuss, and so much more.

Click & Collect: Next Day

• Prints & Enlargements
• Square Prints
• Collage Prints
• Panoramic Prints
• Posters - *NEW*
• Mini Prints
• Photo Strips

Deliver to Home or Store: 8-14 Business Days

• Collage Posters
• Single-sided Photo Book
• Double-sided Photo Books
• Premium Hardcover Photo Books
• Wall Calendar
• One-sided Calendar
• Desktop Calendar - *NEW*
• Calendar Prints
• Calendar Posters

Click & Collect: Next Day Greeting Prints

• Invitations
• Two-Tone Mugs
• Heat Activated Mug - *NEW*
• Photo Gift Wrap
• Stubby Holder
• Acrylic Magnet
• Wooden Puzzle
• Rectangular Keychain
• Round Keychain
• Playing Cards
• Wall Tiles - *NEW*
• Air Tiles - *NEW*
• Photo Blocks - *NEW*
• Hanging Canvas
• Hanging Photo Strips
• Height Chart
• Repositionable Height Chart
• Repositionable Wall Chart
• Repositionable Door Signs
• Premium Black Edge Photo Blocks
• Premium White Edge Photo Blocks

Display your memories in a custom photo book. Select your photos to create a masterpiece photo book for your home or someone special.

• 20 single-sided photos bound in a Photo book with clear plastic cover
• Click and Collect: Next Day