Shoulder tattoo ideas

2,751 photos and flash · 32% Botanical, 27% Realism

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Colour tattoo of a red rose with green leaves on a woman's shoulder and upper arm, shown in soft natural light.

Red rose tattoo on a shoulder and upper arm

Black tribal tattoo covering the chest, shoulder and arm of a shirtless man, with a sun-like face at the centre of the chest piece.

Tribal sun chest and arm sleeve

Small black fine line arrow tattoo with a dotted shaft on the upper shoulder, near the collarbone.

Fine line arrow on the shoulder

Dog head tattoo on a shoulder

Realistic colour half sleeve on an upper arm and shoulder, showing a swirling nebula and starry sky above a tree on a path with a silhouetted figure.

Galaxy and tree half sleeve on upper arm

Black cursive script tattoo reading Philippians 4:13 across the upper back near the shoulder blade.

Scripture verse in cursive on the shoulder

Black and grey realism tattoo of armour plates, a winged Celtic cross and chainmail across a man's upper arm and shoulder, with a torn skin effect at the edges.

Armour and Celtic cross on upper arm and shoulder

Black lettering reading 'We are what we pretend to be' with a small asterisk below, tattooed on a person's upper back near the shoulder.

Handwritten quote tattoo on the shoulder

Black script tattoo reading Stay Strong with a feather above the letters, placed on a person's upper chest near the shoulder.

Stay Strong script with feather on shoulder

Dark mandala-style sun design with a central spiral on the upper back, close to the shoulder blade, in a geometric style.

Mandala sun on the upper back near the shoulder

Black and grey geometric tattoo of hexagons across a shoulder and upper arm, with some cells left as bare skin.

Hexagon honeycomb pattern on a shoulder

Black and grey floral sleeve tattoo covering the upper arm and shoulder of a shirtless man seen from behind in a gym.

Floral sleeve on a shirtless man seen from behind

Back of a woman with a realistic pink butterfly tattoo, black outlined with white dots and a dark grey shadow beneath it, on her left shoulder blade.

Pink butterfly with cast shadow on a shoulder blade

Black and grey dotwork tattoo of a hazy landscape with a dark island inside a thin circle with a dotted orbit, on a person's shoulder blade.

Stippled landscape in a circle on shoulder

Realism black and grey sleeve tattoo on an upper arm and shoulder, with teal swallows, a pocket watch, a Roman numeral clock face, and a skull and rose on the back.

Realism clock, bird and skull sleeve

Black tribal patterned tattoo covering a man's chest, shoulder, upper arm and ribs, with bold swirls and geometric shapes.

Tribal patterned chest, shoulder and arm tattoo

Black and grey botanical tattoo of daisy-style flowers, buds and long leaves running down an upper arm and onto the shoulder.

Daisy flowers and leaves on upper arm

Black tribal spiral and wave design tattoo wrapping around the upper arm and shoulder, in a blackwork style.

Tribal armband tattoo on upper arm

Woman in a white lace dress with black and grey botanical tattoos of roses and leaves on her upper arm, shoulder and forearm.

Roses and foliage tattoos on arm and shoulder

Fine line peony tattoo with pink wash and grey leaves running from the side of the neck across the shoulder blade.

Peony and leaves across neck and shoulder

Colour botanical tattoo of ripe peaches, green leaves and small blossoms across a shoulder and upper arm, shown in two photographs.

Peach branch across a shoulder

Black ink botanical tattoo of a flower vine running from the neck down the upper back and shoulder blade of a woman seen from behind.

Flower vine running down the upper back

Black and grey dotwork mandala tattoo with a central flower on a woman's shoulder, with a patterned fabric in the background.

Mandala tattoo on a shoulder

Gold metallic ornamental tattoos with swirls and dark jewel accents across a hand, wrist, upper arm and shoulder.

Gold ornamental temporary tattoos on arm and hand

Black and grey winged bird tattoo on a woman's shoulder and upper arm, photographed from behind with her face out of frame.

Winged bird tattoo on a shoulder

Woman in feathered headdress with roses on upper arm

Realistic colour tattoo of a red cardinal perched on a dark branch, with grey flowers, across a person's upper back and shoulder blade.

Cardinal on a branch across a back and shoulder

Black and grey photograph of a large tribal tattoo with a sun motif covering the shoulder, upper arm and upper chest.

Polynesian-style tribal sleeve on shoulder and chest

Black and grey realism tattoo of a star under peeling skin, filled with words such as friendship, freedom and love, on a shoulder and upper arm.

Torn skin star with virtue words on upper arm

Realism tattoo of a silver zipper opening the skin over the shoulder to reveal red muscle fibres beneath.

Zip opening skin to red muscle on shoulder

Fine line tattoos of three small black birds in flight on the inner wrist, with a matching trio on another person's shoulder and a partly visible finger tattoo at the top left.

Three small flying birds on wrist and shoulder

Colourful watercolour-style tattoo of a glowing orange and yellow orb with pink, purple and blue streaks across a woman's shoulder and upper chest, with a few small dots to the side.

Watercolour splash with glowing orb on shoulder

Close-up of a colourful mandala tattoo with black outlines on a shoulder and upper chest, in orange, teal and yellow.

Colourful mandala tattoo on a shoulder

Black and grey shaded roses with leaves and buds tattooed across an upper arm and shoulder, worn by a person in a red and blue striped top.

Shaded roses on an upper arm

Black and grey ornate floral mandala tattoo covering the upper arm and shoulder, with fine linework and dotted shading.

Ornate floral mandala on upper arm and shoulder

Two side-by-side photos of a thin black script tattoo reading "and ever" on skin near the shoulder, above a black top.

"and ever" script tattoo near the shoulder

Black and grey photo of a shaded realistic tattoo of a flock of bats spreading across a person's upper back near the shoulder blade.

Flock of bats across upper back

Black and grey mandala tattoo of layered petals, leaves and dot details on a shoulder, with a botanical and geometric style.

Mandala floral design on a shoulder

Black and grey Polynesian-style tribal tattoo with plumeria flowers across a shoulder and upper arm.

Polynesian tribal shoulder and upper arm

Side-by-side photos of a Japanese-style swirling cloud tattoo on an upper arm and shoulder, the left before treatment and the right after, with the colour noticeably faded.

Japanese swirl sleeve before and after laser fading

Black linework tattoo of an origami crane with floral patterning and a bird with ornate wings on a shoulder, shown in two stacked photos.

Origami crane and bird on a shoulder

Two women seen from behind, each with a fine line black script tattoo on the upper shoulder, reading 'One in the same' and 'two of a kind'.

Matching script quotes on two shoulders

Black and white photo of a woman's bare back showing large symmetrical black tribal tattoos with spirals and fern-like motifs across the upper back and shoulders.

Tribal back tattoo in black and grey

Black and grey tattoo of a Totoro-style character framed by peony-like flowers and grape clusters on the upper arm and shoulder, with dotwork shading.

Totoro-style character with flowers on upper arm

Back view of a woman with a faceted geometric bear tattoo in navy, purple and pink on her upper back near the shoulder blade.

Geometric bear on the upper back

Blue and purple lotus flower tattoo with black outlines on a person's shoulder, in a botanical style.

Blue lotus flower on a shoulder

Neo-traditional tattoo of a snarling grey wolf with a third eye and a gold-hilted dagger on an upper arm, with blue water swirls.

Wolf head and dagger on an upper arm

Black linework rose with leaves and berries on a woman's shoulder, in a botanical style.

Rose and leaves on a shoulder