Why it's best: Photo.net is the number one photography website for several reasons. It has a very clean and easy to navigate layout. The editors have really done a great job creating a viable online community. Basic registration is free and that allows you to upload a personal portfolio, receive the monthly newsletter and participate in the forums. For $25/yr Photo.net provides its members with a personal web page and email address, unlimited galley uploads even discounts on equipment insurance. Other features such as classified ads, equipment reviews and discount coupons help make Photo.net the best photography website. Photo.net has an advertising relationship with Adorama.com, a big online retailer of photography equipment, and there are a lot of ads throughout the site. See more reviews, photos, prices, and specs
Why it's a best pick: Lensculture.com is number two simply because it does a great job of showcasing photography from around the world. Lensculture.com is supported through donations and has no advertising and promotes a global photographic culture. The editors do a fantastic job of recognizing quality photography and promoting emerging photographers. Limited edition exclusive prints are available for purchase and the all the work is of collectable quality. All photographers are encouraged to submit work for display via a slideshow.com page. The essays, articles and audio interviews are interesting and informative. A free subscription provides subscribers with an email newsletter. The site is well laid out, but navigation is a little awkward. See more reviews, photos, prices, and specs
Why it's a best pick: No one does photography better than National Geographic and that is why their website is #3. The long and the short of National Geographic's photography website is beautiful, captivating, thought provoking images. The site does offer photography tips but is not really a community and good luck with your submissions. But the photographs. The free wallpapers will keep your computer screen pretty and NG photographer bios are interesting. The site does offer an extensive print gallery at reasonable prices and who wouldn't enjoy a National Geographic photo on the wall. See more reviews, photos, prices, and specs
Why it's a best pick: Photography.com is a very clean easy to navigate website. The site highlights instructional videos right upfront. The videos cover a wide variety of topics from lighting to digital file processing and workflow management. The articles and news items on photography.com are timely and well written. Photography.com like photo.net offers website building and hosting with the $25 annual Image Pro membership fee. A cool, but is it useful, feature is the access to stock photographs. Photography.com provides access to thousands of stock images from several different resources, however not all of the links to the images from the thumbnails work. There is some advertising but is not terribly intrusive. There does currently seem to be a malfunction in the forum section, which really holds this site back. See more reviews, photos, prices, and specs
Why it's a best pick: Apogeephoto.com is far from a pretty website. Its design and layout is boxy and the navigation is clunky. However the site does provide a lot of good information. Apogeephoto.com is focused on education and learning, a great resource for online classes, tech tips and photography workshops. ApogeePhoto heavily promotes their advertising space, which if you are looking for an advertising venue, is a good thing. ApogeePhoto hosts regular contests specifically for the amateur photographer and 70% of all the submission fees is the top cash prize which is a cool deal. ApogeePhoto like many of the other site has an free email newsletter. See more reviews, photos, prices, and specs
My partner Mathieu Gasquet takes amazing photos. I've posted some of his work on our site Photos of Wales. You'll see some spectacular sunsets and wildlife photos! Heather
The list of photography sites here is rather limited, and geared more for the general population rather than for photographers. Here are a couple of good photography websites for photographers: http://www.naturescapes.net/ for nature photos, and http://www.tmelive.com/ (The Mindful Eye) which is really a photography school where there are critiques of photos that subscribers send in, as well as workshops, etc. As a fine art photographer this is more valuable than just cool or pretty pictures. http://allindaphoto.com
This list misses Flickr..an amazing photo site!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snocturnus/