Do you need to edit your Lightroom photos in Photoshop? Here's how to do it and why it might be useful.

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Adobe Lightroom is the gold standard for photo editing. It offers tools similar to those found in a traditional darkroom, as well as modern technical features to enhance your photography. To further edit your beautiful photos, you can edit Lightroom photos in Photoshop to turn them into interesting images with text, texture, and everything else Photoshop offers. You can even send your photos back and forth between Lightroom and Photoshop until you're happy with the final result.



First, you should have both Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop available on your device. If you have the Creative Cloud All Apps plan or the Adobe Photography plan, both are included. The plans include Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic; you can use either version of Lightroom to edit your photos in Photoshop.


How to open and edit a Lightroom Classic photo in Photoshop

Adobe Lightroom Classic lets you save and open photos directly from your system's local storage. Unlike most Adobe programs, Lightroom Classic doesn't use the cloud for storage, but you can still edit your Lightroom Classic photos in Photoshop.


To import your photos into Lightroom Classic, select the library and then import. Lightroom is great for editing images in RAW format, but you can also open and edit most images and even video formats. Highlight the image or images you want to import, then select import to move it to your library.

You can send your Lightroom photo directly to Photoshop from the Library tab, or you can edit it in Lightroom first from the Develop tab. When you edit your Lightroom image, you can also choose whether you want to send the original, unedited image or the photo adjusted in Lightroom to Photoshop.


If the image is in RAW format (and you want to edit it as a RAW file), there are slightly different options for sending and editing in Photoshop. But first, here are the steps to transfer your Non-RAW Photos in Photoshop.

  1. Select the desired image (either from the Library or the Develop tabs) and then navigate to photo in the toolbar or right-click on your image and select Edit in > Edit in Adobe Photoshop.
    Lightroom editing menu with Edit in Photoshop option highlighted

  2. In the popup, select Edit a copy of your image with Lightroom adjustments applied, Editing a copy of the original image or Editing the original Image directly. To avoid overwriting the original file with changes made in Photoshop, I would only recommend editing an original image in rare cases. Choose Edit to confirm your selection.
    Lightroom – Edit in Photoshop – Popup Menu

  3. This will open your photo in Photoshop, where you can apply any Photoshop feature to your image. This includes adding text, using filters, or even using Photoshop's Generative Fill and other AI tools.
    Image of a woman in Photoshop with a black and white texture filter on it

  4. When you are finished editing or manipulating an image in Photoshop, all you have to do is save it. Navigate to file > Save (or hit CMD / CTRL + S). Then, when you return to Lightroom, your library will be updated with a copy (or overwrite, depending on your selection in Step 2) of your image, reflecting your new changes.
    Lightroom Develop tab with edited photo and copy of image in timeline


Do not use
file
>
Save as
to save your Photoshop image. This breaks the path between your Lightroom image and the Photoshop edits. It's like saving a new file.

How to edit a RAW Lightroom Classic file in Photoshop

Although similar, editing a RAW image file in Photoshop requires slightly different actions than in Lightroom Classic. Although Lightroom is great for editing RAW images natively, Photoshop requires a plugin called Camera Raw, which is included with your Photoshop subscription.

  1. Select your photo from the Lightroom Classic library or Develop tabs and right-click or go to photo in the top toolbar. Then select Edit in > Open as Smart Object in Photoshop.
    Photo menu in Lightroom with options for editing in Photoshop

  2. This will open the image in Photoshop. It will initially look like a normal file with a normal Photoshop artboard. In the Photoshop Layers palette, double-click the thumbnail with the Smart object icon to open your smart object photo.
    Photoshop image with Smart Object icon highlighted on the layer

  3. Camera Raw opens as a separate window in Photoshop and shows your RAW image in all its glory. Here you will see similar editing tools as Lightroom, so if you have not pre-edited your image in Lightroom, you can do so in Camera Raw. Camera Raw itself does not have any AI tools, whereas Lightroom has AI tools for more specialized edits. When you have finished all the edits in Camera Raw, select OK to return to the Photoshop interface.
    Camera Raw plugin in Photoshop with image of a woman being edited

  4. Make further changes and apply all Photoshop tools to your image. Then navigate to file > Save (or use CMD / CTRL + S) to save your photo and send it back to your Lightroom Classic library. Your RAW format image will be converted to a TIF file and saved as such when returned to Lightroom. However, this is only a copy, the original RAW image will remain as it was in Lightroom.
    Nested images in the Lightroom timeline


How to open and edit a Lightroom CC photo in Photoshop

Lightroom CC is more integrated with Adobe Creative Cloud. Although you can store your photos locally, it is recommended and more common to store them in the cloud – Adobe plans usually offer 20GB or 1TB of cloud storage. Other than that, the main differences between Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic are the interface and some tools. They are similar, so it's not a drastic difference. We'll start by getting images into Lightroom CC, then move on to Photoshop.

  1. Import your photos into your Lightroom CC library by Add photosSelect your images and then choose Check for import > Add photos to add them to Lightroom.
  2. Then select the image you want to edit in Photoshop. Similar to Lightroom Classic, you can make changes in Photoshop before or after making changes in Lightroom. To open your Lightroom CC image in Photoshop, right-click the photo and select Edit in Photoshop or navigate to file > Edit in Photoshop.
    Lightroom CC with “Edit in Photoshop” option highlighted

  3. Your photo will open in Photoshop as a TIF file. You cannot open your image as a Smart Object or use Camera Raw for editing like you can in Lightroom Classic.
    Photo of a woman in medieval clothing in Photoshop

  4. After you have made image edits using Photoshop’s tools and features, save the image by going to file > Save or simply by selecting the X Click on the image tab and select Save in the pop-up.
    Image in Photoshop with highlighted X to exit

    A popup asking you to save in Photoshop

  5. Saving returns your edited image to Lightroom, where you'll find it in your filmstrip along with the original. A number in the corner of the thumbnail indicates how many image versions are nested within that image file. Double-clicking the thumbnail opens them so you can work on either the original or the newly edited version(s) in Lightroom.
    Embedded images in Adobe Lightroom


Why you should edit Lightroom photos in Photoshop

Photoshop and Lightroom offer different techniques

Although Adobe Lightroom is a powerful photo editing tool, it doesn't offer the same features as Photoshop, and for good reason. Lightroom uses code to edit images with a non-destructive editing workflow, so you always have access to your original, undamaged photos. Photoshop edits the photo itself, although there are some non-destructive tools available as well.

In addition to various ways to cache your photo's editing data, Photoshop also offers useful editing tools when photographic integrity isn't your only desire. Photoshop lets you add text, filters, textures, and much more that isn't available in Lightroom.


Lightroom is often the software of choice for photographers. It offers many of the tools found in a traditional darkroom, such as filters, dodge and burn, and cropping tools. In this day and age, Lightroom's offerings surpass those of a darkroom. However, if you want to take a great photo even further, Lightroom can't do it all.

Photoshop is considered a great photo editing software that allows you to merge multiple images together, add various interesting textures, and make a good photo spectacular. Although Photoshop is not the app of choice for layout designs, you can also use its tools to create content layouts like social media posts, posters, or other things while you're at it.

A rendering showing the Adobe Creative Cloud logo in red.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud offers dozens of professional software for creative design, photography, and videography. The unified system enables seamless editing across multiple platforms.

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