Help me choose layout software with good templates

Well it has been a few months and I've started to look at these programs. It looks like they are very powerful, but without much in the way of built-in layouts to use. I've looked around for layouts online, and am overwhelmed with the information. I feel like I'm looking for something simpler than most of what I'm finding - a dozen or so different layouts to drag and drop pictures into, of various sizes, with captions. I don't need much in the way of creative design. Is there a good site anyone can recommend for some simple layouts that work well for photo books?

Thanks as always.

Dave

Of course if you think you might like to expand abilities in the future than Photoshop Elements might be a good one for you. It can usually be had for around $60. You can find a great forum of Elements enthusasts at Photoshop Creative Elements Community

Take a look around there and see if what they are producing is something you might like to get into in the future.

thanks very much, Jane

Dave

Hi Dave,

You might want to check out the software reviews in the Digiscrapping section: http://www.viovio.com/wiki/Scrapbook+Software+Reviews

From your description I'm thinking that Lumapix Photofusion might be the best option for you. It is very intuitive to learn and they do have some nice templates too.

Hi there! I made some books a couple of years back using fully custom layouts in MS Publisher. The results were great, but it was insanely time-consuming. This time around, I am interested in simple layouts, with simple captions, and would love to try out some software that approximates the drag-and-drop software provided by other photo book providers, perhaps with good templates for some variation in layouts. The "let Bookmaker do it for you" option looks to be just a little *too* simplistic, but I'm not talking about pro stuff here.

Can anyone recommend a good software package for this? Ideally, it wouldn't be too expensive; I won't be buying Photoshop for this.

Thanks very much for the assistance.

Dave