Portrait tattoos are lifelike renderings that are meant to closely resemble a photograph rather than a drawing. They are an extremely difficult style and usually require a large flat area to display all the detail adequately. Thighs, upper arms, chests (for males) and backs are ideal spots for this purpose and proper care and time to heal are absolutely crucial for portrait tattoos to appear real. Only employ highly skilled and experienced artists for portrait tattoos.
Choose a particular passage of advice given you by a family member or loved one you wish to memorialize and have it tattooed. It can be one word or several sentences. You can choose from literally hundreds of font types or design it yourself; however, if the person is still alive, you may wish to have him or her design it. Simple fonts can be small and fit most anywhere, but some can be overly extravagant and detailed, meaning they may need a flat large, flat area to display entirely.
Think of any random object that carries sentimental value between you and the person you are honoring. It can be a tree, toy car, roller skate, absolutely anything, so long as it has a shared significance between the two of you. The size and detail of the object will dictate the ideal placement and color may be necessary to pinpoint its unique sentiment. For instance, if you are memorializing a grandparent who gave you a yellow toy car when you were a child, you should make the tattooed car yellow instead of just black and gray.
Initials and dates are something that can be added to any tattoo or simply represented on their own. You can choose any combination of style and fonts for the letters and numbers or design them personally. One suggested placement can be over your heart, but any placement would be thoughtful. If you don't want just a string of letters and numbers, consider a bar code or license plate with the number replaced by important initials and dates.