From the founder

Your tattoo looked perfect in the chair. Then you took the photo.

Written by Renny 

Tattoo artist, studio co-owner since 2019, founder of Unknown Ink

Written by Renny · Tattoo artist, studio co-owner since 2019, founder of Unknown Ink

Fresh tattoo. Shot on a phone. No editing.

In 2019, I opened my own tattoo studio with fellow tattoo artists.

I was new to the city. No friends, no connections, no old clientele. Looking back, it was the best thing I ever did.

First photoshoot of the studio - 2019

Our own hoodies!

The city was small: 100,000 people and 15 tattoo studios. 

(Yes, I know the market is even more saturated, so hear me out.)

We had the best artists in town. But at first it didn't matter. Nobody knew about us, and our photos looked like every other studio's.

Six hours on a piece. Clean lines, smooth shading, solid black. Then the photo: a white blob of shine right across the best part. And that photo is the only version of the tattoo most future clients ever see. They scroll your feed at 11pm and decide who to book. They never see the skin. They see the photo.

So I asked a tattoo artist friend in Russia how he got such clean photos.

He said, "You need a CPL filter." So I bought one.

Nothing changed.

With the filter. Still glare.

I'd already tried everything else: Vaseline and waiting ten minutes, tracing paper over the flash, Lightroom sliders until it looked "okay." Now a filter that did nothing when I turned it.

So I went down the rabbit hole. How do professional photographers shoot things that reflect light?

And I found the answer. The filter is only half the fix. The light has to be polarized too. Photographers call it cross-polarization: polarizing film on the light, a CPL filter on the camera. Turn the filter, and the glare disappears.

I bought polarizing film, taped it to my softbox, and for the first time our photos looked like our tattoos.

First version, not success...

Within a couple of weeks, things changed. Our Instagram started bringing in clients from other cities, some traveling long distances. Our artists' books filled up months ahead.

Good photos weren't the only reason. But they were the first thing every new client saw. We gave people a great experience, they shared clean photos of their tattoos, and that's when the growth came.

But I wasn't satisfied. It was clumsy, it looked awful, and the lighting was uneven.

So we set out to build something better.

In 2019, I opened my own tattoo studio with fellow tattoo artists.

I was new to the city. No friends, no connections, no old clientele. Looking back, it was the best thing I ever did.

First photos of the studio — 2019

The city was small: 100,000 people and 15 tattoo studios. 

(Yes, I know the market is even more saturated, so hear me out.)

We had the best artists in town. But at first it didn't matter. Nobody knew about us, and our photos looked like every other studio's.

Six hours on a piece. Clean lines, smooth shading, solid black. Then the photo: a white blob of shine right across the best part. And that photo is the only version of the tattoo most future clients ever see. They scroll your feed at 11pm and decide who to book. They never see the skin. They see the photo.

So I asked a tattoo artist friend in Russia how he got such clean photos.

He said, "You need a CPL filter." So I bought one.

Nothing changed.

With the filter. Still glare.

I'd already tried everything else: Vaseline and waiting ten minutes, tracing paper over the flash, Lightroom sliders until it looked "okay." Now a filter that did nothing when I turned it.

So I went down the rabbit hole. How do professional photographers shoot things that reflect light?

And I found the answer. The filter is only half the fix. The light has to be polarized too. Photographers call it cross-polarization: polarizing film on the light, a CPL filter on the camera. Turn the filter, and the glare disappears.

I bought polarizing film, taped it to my softbox, and for the first time our photos looked like our tattoos.

The first rig. Clumsy, uneven, but the glare was gone.

Within a couple of weeks, things changed. Our Instagram started bringing in clients from other cities, some traveling long distances. Our artists' books filled up months ahead.

Good photos weren't the only reason. But they were the first thing every new client saw. We gave people a great experience, they shared clean photos of their tattoos, and that's when the growth came.

But I wasn't satisfied. It was clumsy, it looked awful, and the lighting was uneven.

So we set out to build something better.

What it actually is

It took us two years of testing in our own studio. Different lights, different filters, a lot of failed photos and product designs. We wanted something simple enough to use between clients, small enough to travel with, and good enough that the photo finally matches the tattoo.

So many different lights, filters, films, and HOURS...

That became the Unknown Ink Photography Set: a polarized LED light and a 52mm CPL filter that clips onto your phone, matched to work together.

It's not an app. It's not a preset. It's not editing.

It removes the glare before the photo is taken, so there's nothing to fix afterwards.

Polarized light → shiny skin → CPL filter, turned → no glare

Filter alone = half the fix. Polarized light + filter = no glare.

See the Photography Set

30-day money back · 1-year warranty

What it actually looks like

No editing on any of these. Same phone, same tattoo, seconds apart. The only difference is the set.

That clip is the whole product in one shot. You turn the filter, you watch the shine leave. No slider, no app, no waiting for the redness to settle.

It also works for healed shots, so your feed shows the work fresh and healed, both clean.

What it actually looks like

No editing on any of these. Same phone, same tattoo, seconds apart. The only difference is the set.

That clip is the whole product in one shot. You turn the filter, you watch the shine leave. No slider, no app, no waiting for the redness to settle.

It also works for healed shots, so your feed shows the work fresh and healed, both clean.

The questions artists ask before buying

"Will it fit my phone?"

The clip and the phone mount fit iPhones and Androids. With a thick case (OtterBox type), take the case off for the clip so the filter sits flat over the lens.

"Is it a pain to set up?"

Attach the mount to the light, put it on the tripod, phone in, filter on. Turn off the big lights in the room, then turn the filter until the shine is gone. A couple of minutes the first time, seconds after that. You also get our Tattoo Photography E-book with the full setup, posing, backgrounds and Lightroom presets.

"Won't it make my tattoos look fake?"

No. It removes the reflection sitting on top of the skin. It adds nothing to the ink. There's no saturation slider and no smoothing. If you want to keep a little shine, you just turn the filter less. What you see in person, minus the reflection.

"I already edit my photos."

Editing "can" hide glare, but it can't bring back the lines and shading under it. The camera never recorded them. And over-edited tattoo photos are exactly what clients and other artists call out now.

"I tried a cheap filter and it did nothing."

That's the half fix. A filter on its own needs polarized light to work against. That's why the set comes with a polarized light, matched to the filter.

"Does it work on darker skin?"

Yes. Shine hides the most detail on darker skin, and that's where artists tell us it makes the biggest difference. (See Regina's review below.)

"Isn't this just another Amazon kit?"

There are a lot of look-alike kits out there, and many don't polarize the light at all. That's the half fix. Ours is tested on real tattoos in a real studio, the light and filter are matched, and you get the e-book and real support from people who tattoo. 250+ reviews from artists who use it.

"What if it doesn't work for me?"

30 days to try it, full money back. Plus a 1-year warranty.

The questions artists ask before buying

"Will it fit my phone?"

The clip and the phone mount fit iPhones and Androids. With a thick case (OtterBox type), take the case off for the clip so the filter sits flat over the lens.

"Is it a pain to set up?"

Attach the mount to the light, put it on the tripod, phone in, filter on. Turn off the big lights in the room, then turn the filter until the shine is gone. A couple of minutes the first time, seconds after that. You also get our Tattoo Photography E-book with the full setup, posing, backgrounds and Lightroom presets.

"Won't it make my tattoos look fake?"

No. It removes the reflection sitting on top of the skin. It adds nothing to the ink. There's no saturation slider and no smoothing. If you want to keep a little shine, you just turn the filter less. What you see in person, minus the reflection.

"I already edit my photos."

Editing "can" hide glare, but it can't bring back the lines and shading under it. The camera never recorded them. And over-edited tattoo photos are exactly what clients and other artists call out now.

"I tried a cheap filter and it did nothing."

That's the half fix. A filter on its own needs polarized light to work against. That's why the set comes with a polarized light, matched to the filter.

"Does it work on darker skin?"

Yes. Shine hides the most detail on darker skin, and that's where artists tell us it makes the biggest difference. (See Regina's review below.)

"Isn't this just another Amazon kit?"

There are a lot of look-alike kits out there, and many don't polarize the light at all. That's the half fix. Ours is tested on real tattoos in a real studio, the light and filter are matched, and you get the e-book and real support from people who tattoo. 250+ reviews from artists who use it.

"What if it doesn't work for me?"

30 days to try it, full money back. Plus a 1-year warranty.

From artists who own it

★★★★★

"I've only used it once so far but it worked great and had a bunch of potential clients reach out after posting a pic. Looks awesome. Cheers"

Ryan L. · Verified buyer

★★★★★

"It made my tattoo pictures go from a 6 to a 10!"

Layla F. · Verified buyer

★★★★★

"Works fantastically! I've tried many knock off Amazon ones and they barely work compared to this. This removes all of the glare!"

Heath S. · Verified buyer

★★★★★

"(VIP) Very important Purchase! I mostly tattoo dark skin and this very much is a game changer for taking pictures of deep dark skin!"

Regina J. · Verified buyer

See the Photography Set

Includes the Tattoo Photography E-book · 30-day money back · 1-year warranty

Why I think it belongs in every studio

This isn't really about gear. It's about the last step of a tattoo that nobody taught you.

You already did the hard part in the chair. The photo is your first consultation with every client you haven't met yet. The set just makes sure that photo tells the truth about your work, in seconds, without editing.

At $89 it costs less than one hour of your rate, and it works on every piece you do from now on.

Most solo artists start here

Photography Set

1 polarized LED light
52mm CPL filter
Phone mount and tripod
Tattoo Photography E-book

Claim the offer

For shops and bigger pieces

Photography Set PRO

Everything in the Set
2nd polarized light
Extra phone mount
Triple bracket

Claim the offer

Your work's already good. Make the photo prove it.

Get my Photography Set

250+ artist reviews · 30-day money back · 1-year warranty