how to get a top notch small tattoo

A few tattoo noob questions. Just trying to figure out how to get a really great small tattoo. Sure, I can find the best artists promoted on the forums by posters, but when I research them, their work is mainly super large custom tattoos that take hours and hours and cost hundreds and hundreds. I just want a small ~an hour's worth of work tattoo but I want great quality, and i even have one I want reworked or added on to that is lower quality than the artists I'm researching. Do great tattooers also do great small tattoos? Also, my trust in tattooers is seriously shaken after a tattoo turned out different than I expected, also with some flaws. It came from a reputable shop by a tattooer I'd been to before and was happy with. How does a person get exactly the tattoo they want and expect if a tattooer never reproduces the reference photo exactly?