@kissu wrote:
…the original file is a raw file. I have a weird system where I import to the Apple Photos, then drag the photos I want to edit to Desktop and them import from there to Lightroom. I thought they come through as raw files but maybe not?
That is probably where the problem is. In Apple Photos, the only way to get a raw original out of it is to select the photo and choose File > Export > Export Unmodified Original for (number of selected photos) Photo(s). Then import that into Lightroom Classic. This is what you should do for those photos to have full raw editing capability in Lightroom Classic.
For most (maybe all?) other export methods in Apple Photos, including drag-and-drop, Photos assumes you want it exported with Apple Photos edits, so it acts as if you chose File > Export > Export (number of selected photos) Photo(s). Raw is not available with that command, because a raw file can’t store edits.
Be aware that if the raw file is in Apple Photos and then you export it for import into Lightroom Classic, you now have two copies of the raw files: One still inside the Apple Photos library, and another where you exported a copy of the raw file from Photos. In addition, if in Lightroom Classic you set the Import dialog box to use the Copy option, that will create a third copy of the raw file at the location where you told the Import dialog box to copy the original.
So a consequence of this form of an Apple Photos to Lightroom Classic workflow is that if you don’t want to use up space for and manage two or three duplicates of the same original image, after importing to Lightroom Classic you’ll want to go back and delete the copy in Apple Photos and from any other intermediate location (like the desktop) that is not the final storage folder for that image where you set up Lightroom Classic to find it.
One way to avoid duplicates is to put Apple Photos into “referenced files” mode, so that it works like Lightroom Classic and both applications can reference the same single set of image paths outside the Photos library. That would also mean you wouldn’t have to export the raw original, because it would already be stored in a normal folder outside the Photos library where Lightroom Classic can import it right away. The main tradeoff with doing this is that if you’re using Apple Photos partly because you want to use its iCloud Photos features, referenced photos don’t work with iCloud Photos and won’t be synced to the Apple cloud with other devices. If that’s OK and you do want to use referenced photos in Apple Photos, the setting is in Photos > Settings, General tab, deselect “Copy Items to the Photos Library”.