When it comes to editing landscape and nature photographs, two names dominate the digital darkroom: Adobe Lightroom Classic and Adobe Photoshop. Both are industry powerhouses, but they serve fundamentally different roles.
Understanding these differences—especially in terms of editing philosophy, workflow, and functionality—is essential if you’re aiming to produce gallery-quality landscapes or professional-grade nature imagery.
In this deep dive, we’ll explore:
- The core editing philosophies behind Lightroom Classic and Photoshop
- What parametric vs. pixel-based editing really means
- Which types of edits carry over when moving from Lightroom to Photoshop
- Best practices for combining both tools in a streamlined landscape workflow
- What gives Photoshop its edge—and when Lightroom is more than enough
Let’s take the guesswork out of post-processing and help you build a better, more intentional editing workflow.
Lightroom Vs. Photoshop: Two Tools, Two Philosophies
At first glance, both Lightroom Classic and Photoshop seem like photo editing software—but their philosophies and use cases couldn’t be more different.
Lightroom Classic: Parametric, Non-Destructive, and Catalog-Based
Lightroom Classic is built for photo organization, global adjustments, and batch editing.
Its editing engine is parametric: instead of changing image pixels directly, it stores your adjustments as a set of instructions (like contrast +30, shadows -25). These are saved either in Lightroom’s catalog or in a sidecar .xmp file and only applied to your image when it is rendered or exported.
Key features of Lightroom’s parametric engine:
- Non-destructive editing (original RAW remains untouched)
- Lightweight processing with real-time previews
- Easy to batch process and synchronize edits
- No layers, brushes, or pixel painting – You can make brush styles in Photoshop for texture and more not the plain circle brush of Lightroom
- Limited masking flexibility – though getting better but still not close to what you can do in Photoshop
Best for: fast, high-volume editing, RAW photo development, global tonal and color adjustments.
Photoshop: Pixel-Level Control, Layer-Based Editing
Photoshop, by contrast, is a pixel-based editor. It allows for exact control over every pixel in the image through layers, masks, brushes, and selection tools.
Edits are either destructive (direct changes to pixels) or non-destructive (via adjustment layers or smart objects), depending on how you build your workflow.
Key Photoshop advantages:
- Full access to pixel data
- Powerful masking, blending, and compositing
- Adjustment layers for ultimate flexibility
- Best-in-class retouching tools (Clone Stamp, Content-Aware Fill, etc.)
- Slower and steeper learning curve
- Not designed for batch processing or photo organization
Best for: precise dodging/burning, controlled editing, exposure blending, and creative manipulation.
Parametric vs. Pixel-Based Editing: A Deeper Look
Let’s break down what actually happens under the hood when you’re editing the same RAW landscape image in Lightroom Classic vs. Photoshop.
Lightroom = Parametric Instructions
Lightroom doesn’t alter the actual pixels of your image. Instead, every change—be it exposure, contrast, HSL adjustments, or masking—is stored as metadata and displayed on-screen in real time. It’s like applying filters non-destructively.
Advantages:
- Can revisit and re-edit any change without quality loss
- Original RAW file is never modified
- Edits are stackable and easily synced across photos
Limitations:
- You can’t paint or clone pixels with precision
- No access to layers or blend modes
- Masking is powerful but not customizable down to pixel level
Photoshop = Full Pixel Control
Once you open a Lightroom-edited image in Photoshop (via “Edit in Photoshop”), Lightroom generates a rendered TIFF or PSD version of your file, bakes in the parametric edits, and opens that version in Photoshop. From this point on, you’re working with pixels, not RAW data.
This means:
- Edits from Lightroom are no longer individually editable (unless you edit as Smart Objects)
- You can now perform detailed retouching, compositing, and layer-based adjustments
- Tools like Content-Aware Fill, Blend If, and TK9 Luminosity Masks become available
Important note: While Photoshop offers more control, it’s also more permanent. Edits are harder to walk back unless you use smart objects or keep layered PSDs (I always use layered PSDs – Always)
What Carries Over When You “Edit in Photoshop” from Lightroom?
When you choose Photo > Edit In > Adobe Photoshop in Lightroom, here’s what happens technically:
These Lightroom Edits Carry Over Perfectly:
- Exposure, contrast, white balance
- Tone curve adjustments
- HSL, vibrance, and saturation
- Noise reduction and sharpening
- Crop and transform settings
- Visual effects of masks (e.g., sky darkening, subject brightening)
These Do Not Carry Over as Editable Elements:
- The masks themselves (you can’t re-edit Subject or Sky masks in PS)
- Sliders like Clarity, Texture, Dehaze become “baked in”
- Camera-specific settings like Lens Corrections or Camera Calibration
In short: Lightroom’s look is preserved, but its tools vanish once inside Photoshop.
Comparing Key Editing Functions: Lightroom vs. Photoshop
| Feature | Lightroom Classic | Photoshop |
| Editing Type | Parametric (non-destructive metadata) | Pixel-based (layers or direct edits) |
| RAW File Support | Native, full RAW workflow | Via Camera RAW or Smart Object |
| Masking Tools | Subject, Sky, Range masks | Brushes, selections, Blend If, TK9 |
| Layers | ❌ None | ✅ Full support |
| Cloning/Healing | Basic Spot tool | Advanced (Clone Stamp, Healing Brush, Content-Aware) |
| Color Grading | Good (Color Grading panel, HSL, profiles) | Excellent (Curves, Selective Color, Gradient Maps) |
| Exposure Blending | ❌ Not possible | ✅ Essential tool |
| Batch Editing | ✅ Very efficient | ❌ Inefficient, manual |
| Compositing | ❌ Not supported | ✅ Fully supported |
| Output Sharpening | Automatic or preset | Custom, layered sharpening (TK9, High Pass) |
Recommended Workflow for Landscape Photography
To take full advantage of both tools follow this order:
Best-of-Both-Worlds Workflow
- Import and Cull in Lightroom Classic
- Organize, rate, and select your best images
- Organize, rate, and select your best images
- RAW Development in Lightroom
- Apply lens corrections and a profile, adjust white balance, white & black point, tone, color calibration
- Add basic masks and global enhancements
- Apply lens corrections and a profile, adjust white balance, white & black point, tone, color calibration
- Edit in Photoshop
- Use precision tools for dodging, blending, and retouching if necessary
- Add adjustment layers for mid-tones, highlights, eliminate color casts
- Add creative effects and clean up image (distractions, dust spots, etc.
- Use precision tools for dodging, blending, and retouching if necessary
- Return to Lightroom
- Photoshop file is added back into catalog
- Use for exporting, printing, keywording, or web delivery
- Photoshop file is added back into catalog
When to Use Which Tool (and When to Combine)
Use Lightroom Only if you:
- Are editing travel, event, or web/social content
- Need to process hundreds of photos quickly
- Don’t need selective blending or dodge & burning work
Use Photoshop if you:
- Need precise local control for tonal balancing
- Want to blend exposures, do focus stacking, or detailed dodging & burning
- Are preparing images for print or gallery display
Use Both if you:
- Shoot complex landscapes with extreme dynamic range
- Want total control over every pixel and mask
- Seek more creative, multi-layered editing for your images
Final Thoughts: Lightroom and Photoshop Are Better Together
The debate of Lightroom vs. Photoshop is outdated.
They are not rivals. They are collaborators.
Lightroom Classic gives you speed, efficiency, and non-destructive flexibility.
Photoshop gives you creative power, control, and pixel-level precision.
When used together, they form a powerful hybrid workflow ideal for landscape and nature photographers who want both polish and perfection.
How I Use Both Lightroom and Photoshop
- I use Lightroom to catalog and organize my images. The tasks I use Lightroom for are:
- Organization
- Culling and choosing images
- I export to DxO Pure Raw prior to Lightroom editing for camera adjustments, chromatic aberations removal, and pre-editing sharpening, then back to Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw
- I use Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw for basic edits such as image profiles, white balance, pre-editing vibrance, set white & black points, adjust color calibration, lighten or darken large areas of the image, cropping (I hate Photoshop cropping – though I do have to use it sometimes), and that is about it.
- The rest of the edits are done using the tools in Photoshop and the actions (using the tools in Photoshop) of the TK9 panel
- Final images are cataloged back in Lightroom and Keyworded so I can search for any image at any stage from Raw to Final using Lightroom’s filters.
In short, I keep Lightroom edits basic when planning to jump into Photoshop. Apply only what’s essential—exposure, WB, basic contrast—and leave the heavy lifting to layers, masks, and blending in PS.
For More Information
Use the links in the article to learn more about the processes of how Lightroom and Photoshop work. You can also go to The Commons to learn more on editing or to chat about anythign photography!
