Why are my photos taken with iPad Pro only 72dpi?

Refer to the pixel dimensions of your image, not the dpi.

DPI is just one mathematical way of expressing resolution. When you say "I need 300 dpi" that's only half the formula.

300 dpi at what number of inches?

An image that is 3000 pixels on the long side (wide) could be expressed as being...

10" wide @300dpi (=3000 pixels)

5" wide @ 600dpi (=3000 pixels)

41.67" wide @72dpi.(= 3000 pixels)

The image's actual dimensions remain the same. Photoshop defaults to expressing everything at 72dpi.

What size is the images at 72 dpi?

Since, the smaller iPad Pro has the iPhone 6's 12 Mp camera, I think you'll find the images are very large and very pixellated at 72 dpi.

That is why the images look bad.

This is how any digital camera works.

Working with digital imagery is complicated affair if you do not know what you are doing and have never worked with and manipulated digital imagery in an image editor, like Photoshop

You need to transfer these images from your iPad to a computer to edit them in Photoshop, and edit the image size and simply change the dpi resolution from 72 to 300 dpi.

When you do this, the image will shrink down to its true, print quality image size which will be much sharper as you are, in effect, compacting down the pixels in these image/s, which increases the clarity and sharpness of a digital image. The final higher, print quality image size may or may not be A3 in size.

If the 300 dpi image is not A3 in size, to increase the size of the image and maintain a level and sharpness and clarity, you need to use something called digital resampling (also, known as digital interpolation) to increase both the size and quantity of pixels in the image by small pixel increments while slowly increasing the physical image size.

In Photoshop's image size window, this is where you use the resample options at the bottom of the window in tandem with slowly increasing the image/s' physical size and use the resampling option that is best for enlarging images and enlarge the image in small increments.

Some professionals resample images up in 10 dpi increments to minimise reductions in clarity, as the image is scaled up to the apprpropriate size (called digital pixellation aka digital "blockiness").

I prefer to use 20 to 25 dpi increments to get the job done faster.

I find there is no real, noticeable/visible clarity and sharpness loss and the enlarging/resampling process goes along a little quicker.

This is about the best that I can explain to how to work with reducing and enlarging digital images in any image editor.

If this is still confusing to you, I would suggest doing a web search on how to enlarge digital camera images using an image editor or Adobe Photoshop.

Good Luck to you!

P.S.,

I am an over 20 year veteran Photoshop user and have manipulated and worked with a WHOLE LOTTA images over those span of years!

Most of the time, it is enlarging smaller images to real large images while still maintaining a print quality, final image.

For enlarging an image, leave the physical image size alone,

In the image resolution box where it states 72 dpi, you want to raise it to 100 dpi, 125 dpi, 150 dpi and so forth is 25 dpi increments until you reach 300 dpi.

Before starting this process, check the image resample feature and set it for the Bicubic smoother option.

Then proceed to resample the image in 20-25 dpi steps until you reach the 300 dpi target.

You will notice the image isn't changing in physical dimension size, yet, but the overall file size of the image shown in MBs will keep getting larger and larger as you add more pixels to the image.

Once you get to the 300 dpi pixel target with the image, then try changing, keeping the image size proportionate, the actual physical dimensions of the image to A3 size dimension, or close, to see what image clarity you end up with for the image.

If the clarity and sharpness of the image is good at the new approx. A3 dimensions at 300 dpi,,you'revdone withe process.

If the image clarity is not good or successful at this new physical target size, this means the you must revert or undo the new image size back to its original size and continue with increasing the amount of pixels past the 300 dpi range adding even more pixels to the image, say at every 100 dpi past 300.

Do a test for clarity each 100 dpi past 300 dpi range by changing the physical dimensions to the A3 dimension size until you are satified with the clarity, then you can just leave the image at A3 dimension, leave resample on, but change to the Bicubic option for adding pixels to an image when reducing the dpi size of an image and set the resolution box back down to 300 dpi and see what you get.

You should get an image that is pretty sharp and clear (it will never be perfect, like an image that was,originallly,created at the size of A3 dimensions), now has plenty of pixels in the image to be able to now work with it to do further image editing, if you need to.

Good Luck!

I am curious.

If you just take these 72 DPI images and just change the resolutioj box, in PS, from 72 to 300 dpi, what is the size, in inches, of the image.

What is the size of an A3 print size (I am not sure off the top of my head) is it a 11-1/2 by 16-1/2 (11x17) inches would be close enough.

What is the size in inches when you reduce one of these 72 dpi images and just change the resolution box to 300 dpi?

It maybe close to the dimensions you need and, like I said, when you do this, it shrinks the image down to a final physical size and compresses all of the pixels down to create a crisp, sharp image without having to do anything else, at this point.

Tell me what you get for a physical image size, in inches, when you just take the 72 dpi image, bring it into Photoshop, and just change the resolution, alone, nothing else, in PS to 300 dpi.

This is important.