Quinn returned to the USA in the late 80s and began working on both features (Maggie Greenwald's "The Kill-Off" 1989) and TV ("Over the Limit", a 1990 "ABC Afterschool Special"). Quickly establishing himself with his knack for updated expressionism, he won the director of photography slot on such features as "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" (1991). Quinn demonstrated a keen ability to bring the sense of the outdoors to interiors, so the lighting and tones change subtly, as if guided by natural law. This was the case with "Cousin Bobby" (1992) Jonathan Demme's documentary about his cousin, Greenwald's Western "The Ballad of Little Jo" (1993) and especially Louis Malle's "Vanya on 42nd Street" (1994). In the latter, the line between real life and the rehearsal of the Chekhov play blurred and the decaying theater in which it was shot called for light to spray the actors as if from cracks in the ceiling rather than any stage design. Quinn also handled the warm lighting and prickly, sexual cinematography for Mira Nair's "Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love" (1997).
Like most cinematographers, Quinn has also shot commercials and TV campaigns, earning a Clio Award for his work on MTV's 1991 AIDS awareness series. His TV work has also included the PBS "American Playhouse" presentation "The Hollow Boy" (1991) and "Lies of the Twins" (USA Network, 1991), which featured his brother Aidan Quinn in the dual title roles.