FAQs
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
Be guided by your gut Word of mouth is one of the best ways to find a tattooist. Chances are if one of your friends had a good experience with a particular shop or artist, so may you. However, since each person and tattoo is different than the last, you need to find someone your comfortable with. Go toa few different shops, look at their web sites, and start a dialogue. If you dont click with a particular tattooist on a gut level, dont let them tattoo you. Any reputable tattooist will have a portfolio. LOOK AT IT! Do the black lines in the tattoo look smooth and clear or are they jagged and uneven? Are the color fields solid or spotty? Are the transitions from shading to solid pigment smooth or awkward? The photos should be diverse and well done. Look with an aesthetic eye. While you may not personally connect with all the work displayed, you should take note of the professional touches. Also, if a particular tattoo was done from flash in the shop, ask to see the original design on the wall. How does the design compare to the actual tattoo in the photo? NOTHING IS BETTER THAN A LIVING PORTFOLIO. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a walking canvas demonstrating a tattooists skills is worth even more. A professional tattooist should be able to tattoo anything well, save the limitations we have already discussed. But some tattooists do focus their work to certain design types and styles such as realism, portraits, old school, etc. This type of specialization might be based on a tattooists personal preference. If you have a particular vision in mind, find someone who you feel is genuinely interested in doing your tattoo. This can often be determined simply by looking at the tattoo photos in the portfolio. When you are considering a studio, use the bathroom. No, were not kidding! Is it clean? Is it presentable? The outward environmental appearance can oftentimes be a reflection of dedication to cleanliness and sterilization practices in general at a studio. The shop should feel clean and hospitable. Your tattooist, too, should look clean and kept, regardless of personal style. Further, your shop of choice should provide you with top-rate customer service. You should feel free to ask any and all question, and you should expect to have them addressed respectfully and intelligently.