If you’ve followed me on Instagram or are a member of my Light & Airy Course, you already know how much I preach that your preset or profile matters far less than the way you shoot and your knowledge of Lightroom and editing.

No matter what preset or profile you start with, you have to be able to recognize what feels “off” in your image and then know how to fix it. When you combine that knowledge with using light well in-camera, you have a much better chance of getting your final image to look exactly like the vision you had in your head.

That’s why I always encourage photographers to stop searching for the next trending preset. Stop waiting for a one-click fix. Instead, master your craft. Master your gear. Master light. And most importantly, master the ability to both recognize and articulate what’s not working in your image and the steps to correct it.

If you need a roadmap for that process, that’s exactly what I walk you through in my Light & Airy Course which is an in-depth guide to every part of the process for how I shoot and edit my images.

Why I’m Testing TAP

Normally, I use Noble Presets as the base of my edits, but I also know that a lot of photographers are either using TAP profiles or at least curious about them... and if I want to be above and beyond helpful to my course members, I need to roll up my sleeves and experience them for myself.

So for the last little while, I’ve been experimenting and editing my own work with TAP to get a real feel for them. I’m still very much “in it,” but I wanted to share some first impressions here. (And don’t worry, this is just the beginning. I’ll be breaking things down in more detail in upcoming posts!)

Profiles vs. Presets

Before I share thoughts, let’s clear up one thing, TAPs are profiles, not presets. Here’s the difference:

• Presets: Apply a set of adjustments (sliders in Lightroom) that you can then tweak further.
• Profiles: Change the way Lightroom interprets your RAW file underneath the hood, while leaving your sliders at zero. You can still make adjustments on top of them, but the base “look” is baked into the profile itself.

Before I share my thoughts, here is a look at the same image edited with The Archetype Process (TAP Profile) and then again with the Noble Preset. Keep in mind that what I’m showing are just the base of my edits, not the final product. Neither Noble nor TAP is a one-click-and-done solution for me. They’re simply starting points.

My Initial Thoughts on TAP

After experimenting with TAP for a bit, here’s what I’ve noticed so far:

• TAP can feel tricky at first: The results can seem inconsistent, and the look shifts more noticeably depending on the light you’re shooting in. However, the more you use it, the more predictable it becomes as you understand what it’s doing to your images.
• It’s more film-like: As someone who majored in fine art film photography in college, I have to say, it’s the closest I’ve seen a digital profile get to the look and feel of true film.
• It has a lot of flexibility: Because it’s a profile, not a preset, you have a lot of room to adjust and fine-tune on top of the base. (You can also achieve a LOT of different looks and styles with it, depending on the film type you choose)
• It’s beautiful: I knew it would be, but I’ve still been impressed by the depth and richness these profiles bring. But do I like it better than my current editing base with Noble Preset? I'll report back on that after more time ;) 

What’s Next

I’ll be diving deeper into TAP in future posts. For now, I just wanted to share where I’m at in the process, because I know many of you are curious too. If you’re feeling frustrated with your edits (no matter what preset or profile you’re using), my encouragement is this: keep committing to learning! The magic isn’t in the preset; it’s in your knowledge and mastery of your craft, gear, light, and editing!