What are plugins and how to use them
So what are plugins? Plugins are third-party software, also called an add-on or extension which you can use to add new functions to host programs (like Lightroom Classic) without actually modifying or changing the host program itself. There are quite a few plugins let's have a look at what they are and how to access them.
What Plugins are available?
There is a whole range of Plugins available to work with Lightroom Classic and Photoshop. You can also use Photoshop as a Plugin too. You can use many of these plugins on other programs like Luminar as well;
Topaz Studio - DeNoiseAI, SharpenAI & Studio II
Plugin Manager
You can check what Plugins are installed in the Plugin Manager in Lightroom. File > Plug Manager. You can add and remove plugins from here too. Adobe Photoshop is usually already set up for you.
How to access plugins
Firstly, you may need to access and set up your External Editing settings. Go to Edit > Preferences > External Editing tab. The top part is how I like to set up for editing in Photoshop. The Bottoms part if your drop down the Custom tab you can choose various plugins. Click OK to save settings.
Now you can edit in external plugins. Select your image in Lightroom, rick-click and choose Edit in and then choose your plugin from the drop-down menu.
Once you have finished editing your image, simply save and it will save as a copy in Lightroom Classic, usually alongside or at the end of your film strip. If you have opened and saved in Photoshop a copy will be made with a .PSD extension.
Most Plugins work in a similar way, depending on what extension you chose in the External Editor it may be a TIFF file. Perhaps Plugins could be the 'key' to your editing happiness?