Why does the camera on my iPad take bad photos?

The cameras on the iPad are very low resolution and are really aimed at FaceTime/Skype type video calls. If you have very good light then they may be a bit better, but for still photos you'd be better off with a compact camera or even your phone.

The camera's on iPad are not exactly picture quality. The numbers easily explain why. The rear facing camera is 1.3 Megapixel. The front facing camera is .7 Magapixel. The cameras were added to iPad for Facetime and for that purpose they work well. But for picture taking, the rear camera only works reasonably well in very bright light. Otherwise, if light is less than bright, picture quality is only marginally acceptable. iPad is not exactly comfortable to hold as a camera anyway.......