ask where they get there ink, if they Autoclave,how long they have been tattooing alot of artist will bullshit saying thee been doin it for years when theve only been a couple months ask the locals what they have heard or personall likes or dislikes, where they got certified or what not i think Montana has the strictest rules for tattooing,feel comfortable with the artist if u are looking around there studio/portfolios exc. and they dont come up to u ask if they can help exc. then they dont give a fuck about there customers, dont just stick with the first shop u go to really look around,dont try to drop prices yes tattoos can be very pricy but trying to negotiate cheaper prices shows disrespect towards ur artist,look at there work the lines should be full bold and straight,i personally would rather have a female tattoo me becuase she would rather be workin on a man vice versa for a male artist working on a female,if u dont like how they are tattooing u or u think its a shitty job UR in controll just walkout dont dig urself deeper shitty tattoos can always be fixed, do alot of research bro Google has good links look at alot of health related topics and such Good Luck hope everything works out