Patent ID: 8166391

Claim:
A template generating apparatus comprising: image area setting means for setting image areas in which images are laid out in a layout area of a predetermined size; template file saving means for saving information of the image areas laid out in the layout area in a template file; attribute information adding means for adding attribute information representing attributes of images to be laid out in the respective image areas to the information of the corresponding image areas in the template file, the attribute information including at least one of information regarding people who are photographed within images, information related to the compositions of images, information related to scenery photographed within images, and information related to photography conditions, wherein said attributes correspond to characteristics of said images such that an image having the characteristics that match or closely match the attribute information is automatically laid out within the corresponding image area; and an image layout apparatus comparing characteristics extracted from images to be laid out with attribute information of image areas when laying out images into image areas of a template, and laying out the image in the case that the characteristics of the image and the attribute information match or approximate each other.