Erma Bombeck famously stated "when you start to look like your passport photo - it's time to go home". And I'm willing to bet that most of you have taken an unfortuate driver's license photo, or two, in your time.

This advice is going to sound:

1) Shallow

2) Silly

3) Unimportant

and you will thank me for it, should you choose to accept your mission.

When it's time to renew that driver's license or passport, prepare as if you were going to your high school reunion.

Passport and driver's license photos, for whatever reason, completely wash you out, and flatten your hair. Don't ask for an explanation - I'm not a professional camera technician. Just trust me. So, when you need to trot down to the DMV, or take those photos at Kinko's to send in to the passport agency, apply "nighttime makeup", and something as close to 80s hair as you're comfortable with.

In the case of passports, you are going to be looking at that photo for the next 10 years, so make it good. The little ego boost you will get, each time you peek at the passport, is more than worth the 45 minutes it will take for you to get ready for the photo.

Possibly the most difficult part of this photo shoot, will be the dozens of bystanders who will be watching you get your photo taken. Ignore them. You will most likely never see them again. What is more important: appearing careless and aloof in front of strangers, or having a cover-worthy photo that is used to frequently identify you?

So sit up straight on that wobbly perch, point your chin "down and out" (which will make you feel a bit like a duck, but eliminates the double-chin issue), and pretend Cameron Mathison is standing over the left shoulder of the photographer, giving you this look: