Kris Krug is here at Gnomedex to talk to us about taking better pictures. He goes into tips:

1. Light in the Eyes: You want to try and get light in the eyes.
2. Evaluate the Light: Sun? Shade? Incandesent? Halogen? Look around and find highlights, spotlights, and shadows, and then put your subject in good light. Look for reflection and light in the eyes, and if possible, use lamps.
3. To shoot in low light: Turn your ISO UP, Increase your aperture (make number lower), decrease your shutter speed, focus manually if autofocus fails you, tinker with manual settings/metering, brace on things (tripod, wall, gear bag)
4. Reflections are Yummy: Look for puddles, glass, metal, shiny floors that may have reflections in them, and then take an image of that reflection.
5. Focus on a theme: Black and white, portraits, funny faces, laptop stickers, over-exposed. This will give you a goal.
6. Learn Your Camera: Isolate the variables like depth of field, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc. ALso, Tinker, tweek, shoot a bunch of photos, share them, get feedback, and feel free to change up your style. Share your gear by finding someone you can test out lenses, flashes, etc. with. Last, but certainly not least, set the white balance.
7. Take a look at your background: No trees sprouting out of peoples heads, less busy puts more focus on the subject.
8. Fill the frame: Hold your hand out, and if your subject isn’t bigger than your hand, you are too far away.
9. Get High! Swing Low: People look better from above, so stand on things, lay down, get the angle, and change your perspective. This is why people are always taking MySpace photos by holding their phone above themselves.
10. Tips for being a good subject: Laugh, smile, have fun. Make eye contact with the camera. Stand in the light.
11. Camera buying advice: Lenses are more important than the body. You should spend 2/3 of your camera budget on your lens. Don’t fall for megapixels. Look for manual controls. Cameras from Canon, Nikon, and Fuji are great.

You can find Kris at Static Photography. This dude is an amazing photographer.