After rummaging through your photo albums, you come across one devastating revelation: you look bad in pictures. Either you’ve got eye bags, the lighting is not right or other people just outshine you. The pictures look so bad, you start wishing you’d just fade and disappear in the background.

Not all people are born photogenic and sadly, you’re one of those unfortunate ones. That doesn’t mean you have to shy away from the camera. Here are some tricks on how you can look confident and beautiful in photos.

1. Say Goodbye To Bad Photos.

You know you look unpleasant and unattractive in some photos, but why do you keep them with you? Hide the evidence and get rid of them immediately. There’s no point in displaying less-than-stellar shots.

It’s not just your photo albums at home that you should raid, but also your social networking profiles. Got Friendster, MySpace or Facebook accounts? Go through the pictures you’ve uploaded and see which ones you can do without. As long as other people see the “good ones”, you don’t have anything to worry about.

2. Bribe the Photographer.

He who controls the camera, controls the photo, right? This works well if you’re having a fixed photo session. Before the camera starts clicking, find out who the photographer is. Pull him aside and tell him that you MUST look good in the picture. Tell him to adjust the camera settings perfectly so that you’ll look your best. Ask him to fiddle with the lighting, change the angles or even crop some people off the people. Offer him money in exchange for his “help”.

3. Find A Photo Manipulator To Manipulate.

Find a photo editor and ask him to do some professional photo manipulating. Also called “photoshopping”, digital photo manipulation has become a common practice today. A good photo manipulator can remove unwanted blemishes, change backgrounds, and add highlights to your picture. You can even make your nose pointier, your breasts bigger, or you can even lose a few pounds. Now THAT’S what you call the power of technology.

4. If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try Again.

And Again. And Again. And Again. Make it a habit to look at the image after it has been taken. Most digital cameras have this screen feature that lets you view the photo and see whether it came out all right. If the first picture didn’t come out good, it’s no big deal. Just ask the photographer to take another one. Keep doing it again and again until everything looks peachy-keen and perfect.

5. Who’s Beside You, By The Way?

Picture this: you’re having your picture taken and you’ve readied yourself perfectly. You’re wearing your best dress, your hair’s all smooth and shiny and you’ve got nice makeup on. Then, you look beside you and see Kate Moss standing on your right and Angelina Jolie on your left. With beauties like them, there’s no hope of ever looking good in that photo.

If you’re about to have your picture taken, check out who’s standing beside you first. Make sure it’s someone who’s plain or not-so-attractive so he or she won’t outshine you in the photo. It sounds mean, but hey, it works. Chances are, the people who’ll see the picture will notice you immediately.

6. The Close-Open Trick: Blink.

You strike your best grin, wait for the camera for several seconds, and as it clicks, you accidentally lose control and close your eyes for a split-second. When the picture comes out, there you are: great clothes, great hair and all but with your eyes closed. It’s like you’re sleeping, while everyone around you looks great with their big smiles. Ugh, how embarrassing.

Squinting and smiling at the camera can be difficult during picture-taking, and as the wait becomes longer, the urge to blink becomes harder to resist especially if your eyes are starting to water. Here’s one old trick you can try: just before the camera clicks, blink.

Blinking encourages your eyes to become communicative and alert when the camera snaps the picture. You’ll avoid getting caught in a blink or with your eyelids sagging and you’ll end up with a perfectly good shot.

7. Find A Creative Background.

It’s easy to look plain or ugly if the place where you took the picture is uninteresting. Think about it — you won’t look glamorous and appealing if you’ve taken your photo with a blank gray wall behind you, right? How about if you took it with a field of colorful flowers behind you?

Consider the background everytime you’re taking a picture. Find a place that looks great and eye-pleasing like a tourist spot, a view of the horizon or even as simple as a lovely painting. When people look at the photo, they will not only appreciate you, but also the picture as a whole.

8. Use Oil Control Film.

Don’t you just hate it when your face appears like a greased pan in photos? Overactive oil glands can make you look all shiny and sweaty — as if you’ve spread lard all over your face. Maybe this is the reason why you look unpleasant in many pictures. Powdering your nose is practical, but it’s not always applicable. What if you don’t have any mirror with you?

Solve this problem by using oil film or oil blotting paper. It’s the quickest, most effective way to make sure your face is shine-free. Just wipe the oil blotting sheet across your cheeks, nose, chin and forehead to achieve best results.

9. Strike A New Pose.

Do you know why old pictures don’t look as interesting as those you see today? It’s because they lack color, literally and figuratively. If you look at traditional old photos from way back, the people in them appear to be stiff, unsmiling and grim. Don’t be like them. Strike a pose when you’re having your picture taken, but don’t stick to what you often do. Try something new this time.

For example, if you’re always wearing big smiles and rabbit ears in pictures, try an alluring and mysterious look, as if you’re trying to seduce the person looking at the photo. If you’re always slightly serious with a close-lipped smile, try to smile as widely as you can and wear a goofy, almost-insane expression on your face. It’s a sure way to make you stand out and look good in photos.

10. Smile!

It’s the oldest trick in the book and it never fails. A smile can lighten up your face a hundred times better than any jewelry or fancy clothing can. If you’re ever in front of a camera, be cheerful and show your pearly whites. Everyone likes seeing happy people in photographs. Never fake a smile because it can be obvious. Be as natural as you can.

Pictures are made to preserve memories. Whatever happens, don’t let them give you any insecurities. So what if you don’t look great in them? The next time someone comes over to take a snapshot of you, don’t be embarrassed. Pose, smile and say “cheese!”.