The same test applies to Federico. Use it on him.
This is the whole test. A fresh tattoo photographs beautifully: the skin is wet and swollen, and the contrast looks sharper than it is. A piece photographed six months later in daylight tells you what you will actually own.
If a portfolio is entirely fresh work under a ring light, that is not proof of anything. Ask. An artist who has healed photos will be glad to show them.
Anyone can produce one exceptional piece. Scroll far enough back to see whether the standard holds across years, and whether the pieces look like one person made them.
An artist who accepts every idea at every size is telling you something. Realism has physical limits: a face has a minimum size, a soft reference photo cannot become a sharp tattoo, and some cover ups need laser first. Being told no is a good sign.
Federico's healed work is on this page and years of it are on his Instagram, posted healed and unfiltered. His awards are named with the festival and the year on the about page. Judge it the way this page tells you to judge anyone.
Look at their healed work in daylight, not their fresh work under a ring light, and look at whether the standard is consistent across years rather than in one or two pieces.
For a large piece, usually yes. A permanent thing done well by the right person beats a convenient thing you look at every day and regret.
The opposite. It usually means they know what will not work at that size or on that placement, and would rather lose the booking than hand you something that blurs.
A portfolio with no healed photographs, a quote for a large piece given without seeing a reference, and a promise that a cover up will be completely invisible.
Requests go straight to Federico, not to an agency inbox. He answers from his own address.