I'm not sure of the exact details of the arrangement(s) you need. For example, are the photos always in the same place on the page, or do they vary from layout to layout? Are they all the same size? Always the same number per page? Same sort of questions about the background. etc.
That being said, if you need to lay down groups of photos on pages as quickly and effortlessly as possible, I would seriously look into the capabilities of both stand-alone programs and Adobe add-ons that automatically (or semi-automatically) produce:
1) contact print sheets and related layout tools, e.g., in PS and LR:
- - - http://help.adobe.com/en_US/photoshop/cs/using/WS42C3020A-DAD1-4f92-8014-012263F3A51D.html
- - - http://help.adobe.com/en_US/lightroom/using/WSEA90BC04-CD2C-47d2-9C88-EAE40FE64279.html
- - - http://lumens.se/tychpanel/
2) collages, e.g., using programs such as Picasa and Faststone Image Viewer:
- - - https://support.google.com/picasa/answer/19539?hl=en
- - - http://www.guidingtech.com/7151/how-to-create-a-photo-collage-using-google-picasa-3/
- - - http://jlog.jgen.ws/photos/photo-collage/
3) Page layout programs such as Adobe InDesign
- - - Just Google {InDesign templates}
If you need to manipulate the background beyond what one of these programs allows, just set the background to some little used solid color and then remove and replace it in PS once the pix are in the right places with appropriate frames and/or captions.
HTH,
Tom M
