A system and method are described for creating, managing and sharing photo stories. For example, one embodiment of a computer implemented method for selecting among a plurality of different photo story templates comprises: receiving a plurality of new photos from a user the photos having metadata associated; analyzing the photos and the metadata associated with the photos; responsively grouping the photos into a plurality of different photo stories based on the analysis of the photos and the metadata associated with the photos; and selecting a set of photo story design templates for each of the different photo stories based on the analysis of the photos and the metadata associated with the photos grouped into the different photo stories.