Participant
September 21, 2026
Photoshop to Lightroom workflow brightens image
- September 21, 2026
- 0 replies
- 9 views
Issue summary: Round-tripping a photo through Edit in Photoshop and saving it back with zero edits made results in a visibly brighter image in Lightroom.
Product and version: Lightroom desktop (cloud), version 9.4.1 MAS arm64
Operating system: macOS 26.6.2
Steps to reproduce:
- Select a photo in Lightroom and choose Edit In > Edit in Photoshop.
- In Photoshop, make no changes of any kind.
- Save as, keeping the file as TIFF.
- Return to Lightroom and compare the reimported version to the original.
Expected result: The image should be visually identical to the original, since no edits were made in Photoshop.
Actual result: The reimported image is noticeably brighter than the original.
Additional testing performed:
- Confirmed Edit in Photoshop settings match on both apps: TIFF, ProPhoto RGB, 16 bits/component. Photoshop Color Management Policy set to Preserve Embedded Profiles, and the file stays 16-bit throughout.
- Tested with resizing (various amounts and resample methods, including Preserve Details 2.0), brightening still occurs.
- Tested with a border-adding Photoshop action, brightening still occurs.
- Isolated to a true null edit (nothing changed at all), brightening still occurs, confirming the issue happens on Lightroom's reimport of the returned file, not from anything done in Photoshop.
EDIT: Exported PNGs seem to match but visually in LR the two images are much different in brightness.
