Recommendations on photo book size

[acmom]

I am starting to do family photo books on shutterfly - my goal is to do one each year (in addition to a few family vacation ones I have done) . I am torn about what size to do for the yearly books, the 12x12 or the 8.5x11. I really like the square shape, but am worried the 12x12 might be too big or hard to fit on shelves. If you have done a lot of photo books is there a size you like best?

[Globetrotter]

I would look at the following:

- do you like the 12 x 12 layouts vs. the 8.5 x 11? (assuming you are using pre-existing layouts) Does one size have more options than the other?

- how big are your shelves? :)

- how many pics do you take? If you take a lot, like me, perhaps it's worthwhile to get the larger size.

- 12 x 12 albums will cost more but you can fit a few more pics per page (and shutterfly has a slightly bigger discount for the larger albums, so perhaps this is a wash). However, Shutterfly often gives out the smaller books for free - you pay for add'l pages. I have never seen them give out a 12 x 12 for free. This, on top of other discounts, makes for some great deals on the smaller albums!

I use 12 x 12s for big vacations and 8.5 x 11 or smaller for everything else.