I have been told I look better in real life than in pictures by girls, although I don't really look bad in pictures as soon as I learned how to pose for a picture without looking like a dork. Some people look better in their pictures than in person, while for others it seems to be the opposite.
I judge my appearance on the results I get with girls and the mirror. Sometimes I take a picture of myself with my digital camera just to see how someone might view me beofre going out (just to see another perspective)...