I was wondering ... does the administration (or who/whatever) care if we look different from the picture on our I.D card? Say for instance I had an afro and ten-foot whiskers in the photo but decided to get a shave and get a skinhead just before joining uni. Would I run into problems :p?

not really, unless you are completely unrecognizable. They check IDs during exams, so this is really
the only place where you would run into problems (and maybe with super observant bus drivers).

If its really really different, try going to the Registrar Office, they might take your picture and give you a new ID for free