BackdoorArts
Senior Member
Here's where you're losing it. A TIFF or PSD file contains 100% of the light data in each pixel that the RAW file contains. In NX2 you're not editing the RAW file, you're storing adjustments to the RAW file in a sidecar that is applied whenever the RAW file is accessed. No program actually updates a RAW file - ever.
Lightroom does the exact same thing. It stores it in the catalog or in a sidecar, but it does ALL edits non-destructively. If you invoke Nik from Lr, and do so with the preference set to use a Tiff file, all the light information gets sent to Nik so you can pull shadows and all the other stuff you can do to a RAW file. Same with a PSD, but not with a JPEG. So don't ever use JPEG. When the file returns to Lr from Nik it will create a new Tiff/PSD file and put it in your Lr catalog (there's an option to automatically stack it with the original). Any edits you then do in Lr will be non-destructive to that Tiff image (the adjustments are kept in the catalog). What you cannot do is go back into Nik and adjust those edits with the Nik filter - for that you need to use Photoshop. But outside of the adjustments within Nik, everything is non-destructive, you just have a new file that represents your progress. If you need to go back and change something, go back to that file and start again from there.
In Photoshop you can use Smart Layers/Objects so that whatever filter you use you can reinvoke it with the original settings and make adjustments after the fact. Beware, if you stack a bunch of filters all of them will be reapplied in order, so it can take a significant amount of time after returning to Ps to start working again.
Lightroom does the exact same thing. It stores it in the catalog or in a sidecar, but it does ALL edits non-destructively. If you invoke Nik from Lr, and do so with the preference set to use a Tiff file, all the light information gets sent to Nik so you can pull shadows and all the other stuff you can do to a RAW file. Same with a PSD, but not with a JPEG. So don't ever use JPEG. When the file returns to Lr from Nik it will create a new Tiff/PSD file and put it in your Lr catalog (there's an option to automatically stack it with the original). Any edits you then do in Lr will be non-destructive to that Tiff image (the adjustments are kept in the catalog). What you cannot do is go back into Nik and adjust those edits with the Nik filter - for that you need to use Photoshop. But outside of the adjustments within Nik, everything is non-destructive, you just have a new file that represents your progress. If you need to go back and change something, go back to that file and start again from there.
In Photoshop you can use Smart Layers/Objects so that whatever filter you use you can reinvoke it with the original settings and make adjustments after the fact. Beware, if you stack a bunch of filters all of them will be reapplied in order, so it can take a significant amount of time after returning to Ps to start working again.