dpi requirements for photographing paintings

[zobobama]

Hi.

I am somewhat confused how to use the correct dpi format for taking pictures of paintings.  For example, one competition requires 72 dpi minimum) for all digital images, yet when I click on "properties" for my edited digital images, which are resized at a minimum, of 1600 pixels for the longest size of the painting, it says "8 dpi."  I want to make sure I follow the correct specifications for my digital images.  Could you please clarify this issue for me?  Thank you very much.

[cicopo]

Your photos are captured in pixels but printers turn the pixels into DPI (dots per inch) which confuses a lot of people thanks to their software. Generally speaking photos to be viewed up close require about 300 DPI but that number can be a bit lower but NOT 72 DPI. A billboard might get by at 72 DPI because it's viewed from a distance but a standard photo would look terrible. How do you submit your photos? 1600 pixel wide images can't be printed very large but display very nicely on computer monitors.

[ebiggs1]

If you open your file in Photoshop and click on ImageSize.You will bring up the Image Size dialogue for the selected file. At the bottom unclick "Resample Image". With this setting you can change the size and resolution. Note that changing one setting makes the others change as well in proportion. Setting the resolution on 300 you can see the largest size that file can be reproduced.

[zobobama]

Thanks so much.  I save my picture files to a CD or enter via an Internet site and upload them directly to that site.  There is always a pixel limitation (1600 pixels being the longest side of the painting), but one contest also had a dpi limitation (minimum of 72 dpi, which I thought was the Canon default for picture taking).  I will try to change the dpi in Photoshop (as one respondent mentioned) but I am worried that this will skew the pixel requirement.

[ebiggs1]

You are confusing two different terms.  The 72 dpi in this case does not refer to the canvas size.