Team Picks: Favorite Quest Presets
Just like your local bookstore’s “Staff Picks” or “Employee Favorites” section of books, the Archipelago team has narrowed down their favorite or most-used Quest sets!
We asked the team “Which Quest Preset do you reach for the most lately?” Check out what our team’s fave presets from Quest are below!
Lis Warren
"One of my all-time favourite Quest presets has to be Nexus. It just results in that film still look every single time — super cinematic, moody, and full of character. I love how quickly it gives an image a totally different vibe just by the way it renders, immediately enhancing light, tone, and ambiance... Every new Quest set is my new Fav, but I currently come back to Nexus in my work the most!"
Lis is one of Archipelago’s support team and our Community Manager, wrangling the algorithm over on our Instagram page! If you’ve ever DMed us on IG, she’s the one you’re talking to!
Immerse yourself in the world of modern cinematic tonality with Nexus. Inspired by the masters of contemporary filmmaking, Nexus delivers stylized presets aimed at giving you a “filmic still” look and aesthetic. This set features 2 distinct color presets along with 2 variations of each. Also included are 2 creative profiles and 4 color-grading masks which emulate specific times of day. Simply apply your preset as a base, then apply a color grade for a further customized look.
(Be sure to use the profile and preset amount sliders when editing!)
Shawn Moreton
“Atelier is my go-to for studio session and client work, where I want a clean, true-colour preset that has just the right amount of punch & drama. Along with the including set-specific lighting tools, I use Atelier on a lot of my headshot, commercial, and portrait work. It works effortlessly wherever I use it, and suits my editing style perfectly!”
If you’ve ever contacted Archipelago support, you’ve probably gotten a response from Shawn! Shawn is one of our support team, and he is also active in our Archipelago Collective community, asking weekly questions and welcoming our new group members!
Find more of Shawn’s work on his Instagram @shawnmoretonphotography and his website: https://www.shawnmoreton.com/
Image by Shawn Moreton
Edited with Quest 45 Atelier and Quest Tools 11 Diffusion Filters
Atelier is a refined Lightroom preset collection designed for photographers who blend the worlds of studio portraiture and editorial storytelling. Crafted with accuracy in mind, these presets enhance skin tones while maintaining a bold yet natural look, ensuring your work stands out with a polished yet effortless finish. Beyond color refinement, Atelier includes specialized lighting tools that shape and sculpt light, emulating the nuanced effects of professional modifiers. Whether you’re working with soft, diffused tones or crisp, directional highlights, this set provides the control needed to craft dynamic, high-impact imagery straight from your edits.
Perfect for photographers who demand precision and artistry in their studio work, Atelier delivers the finishing touch that transforms portraits into timeless editorial pieces.
Liam Rimmington
“The Quest set I find myself coming back to the most is Quest 36 Botanica. I love the vibrant pastel tones and the versatility the creative profile offers. I find it works across all the genres I shoot including portraiture, still life, and nature scenes.”
Liam is one of our preset developers, some of the presets he’s created include Light & Truth, Redwood, ExFilm, and tons of Quest sets (recently Quest 47 Frontier and Quest 46 Camellia). He is also often the “face” of Archipelago, leading our YouTube live editing sessions!
Find Liam’s work on his Instagram @liamrimmingtonphoto and his website https://liamrimmington.com/
As the days lengthen and the cycle of rebirth unfolds, the world is transformed into a canvas of color and vitality. Quest 36 Botanica celebrates this period of transformation and awakening, featuring two vibrant color presets and a soft black and white preset. Also included are two creative profiles and additional tools to help achieve the perfect edit.
Chris Dunn
“A set I fear may be underrated, but Collodion is one of my favorites to use for the occasional portrait where I need something transformative and dramatic. It's such a great tool because I can fit the edit into any set of images, yet it stands on its own. Not to mention I think its the absolute best tintype emulation on the market, but hey, I'm biased ;)”
Chris is one of our preset developers, some of the presets he’s developed include Light & Ember, Limited Release Veritas, LXCR, Amara, and tons of Quest sets (recently Quest 45 Atelier and Quest 48 LXCV). He is also the master of voiceovers and you’ve probably heard his voice on all of our preset overview videos!
You can see Chris’ work on his Instagram @trouvailleco.us and website https://www.trouvailleco.us/
Image by Trouvaille
Edited with Quest 32 Collodion
Take a step back in time with Quest 34 Collodion, a black and white preset collection that emulates wet plate collodion tintype photography. Popular during the mid-19th century, tintypes involve coating a metal plate with collodion, sensitizing it with silver nitrate, exposing it in a camera, and developing the image using various chemicals. The result is the celebrated and distinctive look featuring matte highlights, high contrast, heavy vignetting, and variations in black and white tone ranging from neutral to yellowed and sepia.
Quest 34 Collodion includes 4 unique presets with built in masks, 2 distinct profiles, as well as tools and 4 borders that help amplify the tintype aesthetic.
Richard McDowell
“Fable is my favorite Archipelago Quest preset set because it feels just like storytelling. Every photo I run through these presets takes on a warmth and texture that reminds me of flipping through pages of a well-loved book. Fable isn’t just a set of presets—it’s a mood, a feeling, a memory.”
Richard is one of the owners and founders of Archipelago Presets and Archipelago Quest. He is also a preset developer, creating presets such as Nomad, Light & Legacy, Light & Ochre, FOURXFIVE, and tons of Quest sets (recently Quest 49 Lomora and Quest 44 Aureus).
Pages of old books: well-loved, full of texture and warmth, and a little wear and tear here and there. Familiar as childhood tales told at bedtime, each chapter is like a worn-in pair of corduroys. Fable Presets elicit memories of your favorite tales, brought to life in 3 distinct Chapters, each telling a different story, but part of the same anthology.
Fable Presets also include 15 preset tools, an appendix of supplemental material that adds to the drama, texture, and tone of folktales and stories. The included grain mimics the texture of book paper, subtle from afar yet tangible upon inspection.
Lauren Wessel
“I’m one of those photographers who doesn’t stick with one preset for my whole portfolio— I dabble with just about every Archipelago and Quest preset ever created! That said, the Quest collection I reach for often when I am at a loss for what to edit with is Quest 20 Orphic. It is unexpectedly versatile in tones and tools, giving me exactly what I am looking for when I’m not sure how to even describe what that is! Add in the Mist tool for some added drama and I’m hooked!”
Lauren is the Lead Moderator of the Archipelago Collective Facebook Group and keeps the team’s to-do list full of tasks for ongoing projects, preset launches, and more. She also writes copy for the email newsletters and Quest Lab articles.
You can find Lauren’s work on her Instagram @laurenalexandra.photography and her website https://laurenalexandra.photography/
Entrancing, dark, and mysterious; Orphic delivers a powerful collection of presets using the latest Adobe AI technology to help create the dark & moody images you’ve dreamed of. The 3 color presets included fade from cool & neutral tonality into a bold warmth giving you a simplistic variety that will translate across your entire body of work. Also included is a one-of-a-kind B+W preset, mirroring the features of its counterparts, while providing a uniquely toned aesthetic. Lastly, the AI tools featured with Orphic not only provide transformative lighting, but the ability to add a realistic Mist effect to any image. Explore the darkest corners of your creativity with Orphic.
Kate Cullen
"SO hard to choose, but I keep coming back to Quest 38 BeQuest - I love the soft romantic tones and the Aurae tools are just too beautiful!"
Kate is one of our Archipelago Collective Facebook Group Moderators— you’ve probably seen her gorgeous work photographed in the English countryside in the group!
You can find Kate’s work on her Instagram @katecullenstyle and on her website https://www.katecullen.co.uk/
BeQuest Presets transport you to a warm, romantic dreamworld where glimpses of lovers dance by candlelight and live happily ever after in the space between sunset and dusk. Your images take on the baroque look of legacies past, with an amorous glow, mood, and remarkable Aurae effect reminiscent of the incandescent light of eclipse totality.
Seran Halter
"Falena is my favorite Quest set! It is the ultimate creative set and the glimmers and grain give your images the perfect cozy and nostalgic feeling. The color profiles render beautifully no matter the time of day. Overall just an amazing set for all creative and travel images. I use it across all my work!"
Seran is one of our Archipelago Collective Facebook Group Moderators— you’ve probably seen her photos of farm animals and the Oregon Coast in the group!
You can find Seran’s work on her Instagram @bees.mulberry.photography and on her website https://www.beesplusmulberryphotography.com/
Falena was crafted to evoke an atmosphere of warmth and tranquillity—like that perfect moment when you wrap yourself in a blanket, cradling a hot drink, as the gentle flicker of firelight dances across the room. Outside, the wind howls and rain pelts against the windows, but inside, you’re cocooned in comfort, shielded from the storm. It’s an invitation to pause, breathe, and let the world slow down. These presets are imbued with deep, inviting tones, offering a rich warmth balanced by subtly muted colors and a delicate, soft glow.
What Quest preset do you reach for the most? Tell us in the comments!