Somebody sends a picture and asks how much. The honest answer is that it depends on six things she has not mentioned, and that answer sounds evasive.
She assumes the studio is being cagey or sizing her up. She goes somewhere with a price list, which is probably worse and definitely clearer.
A worked example
One piece, priced the way an artist actually works it out.
Line 1: the minimum charge
What it is and why it exists. Setup, materials, sterilisation and time happen regardless of the size, and publishing the figure prevents every small piece enquiry from being a negotiation.
Line 2: the hourly or day rate
Per artist where they differ, with what a session length means. It is the basis for anything beyond the minimum.
Line 3: what size actually means
That the surface area rather than the image matters, and that a design enlarged is not the same job. Enquirers send a picture and imagine a fixed price.
Line 4: what placement changes
Time, difficulty and how the design must be adapted. The same piece on two parts of the body is two different jobs.
Line 5: detail and colour
Fine line work, shading, colour packing and how each affects the hours. Enquirers assume complexity is free.
Line 6: whether it is a cover up
Which changes everything, requires assessment and cannot be quoted from a description.
Line 7: the design time
Drawn before the appointment, paid for by the deposit, which is work people do not know happens.
Line 8: the deposit
What it is, what it secures, whether it comes off the final price, the notice required to move an appointment and what happens if somebody does not attend, as in deposit, age and consent questions for tattoo studios.
Line 9: multi session pieces
How a large piece is priced, how sessions are spaced and what is paid when. People commit to a figure and find it is per session.
Line 10: the honest total
For a common piece, published as an example with the size and placement stated. It is the reference point every enquirer is missing.
Publish what you need to quote
Reference, placement, approximate size in measurements and whether there is existing work. Five things that turn a photograph into a price.
Explain why a quote needs a person
That the artist prices it rather than a reception desk, and how quickly they respond. Enquirers accept a wait when they know why.
Publish the touch up position
Whether one is included, within what period and what would be charged. It is part of the price and it is rarely stated.
Explain what aftercare costs
Products, whether anything is provided and what the healing period requires, which is the ground in aftercare and healing questions tattoo studios answer.
Capture the brief at any hour
Because enquiries arrive at midnight, and structured capture turns a photograph into something quotable, the same call out clarity as plumbing call out charges and other price questions and hidden costs of AI chatbot pricing.
Getting started
Publish your minimum, your rate, what determines a price and the deposit terms, then capture briefs and measurements at any hour. SpideyChat for studios and salons answers from your published pages, plans are on the pricing page, and the chatbot ROI calculator works through the numbers.