I personally feel that using Lightburn allowed me to step up my game with photo engravings on various materials – chipboard, craft sticks, foam, ceramic tile, glass, etc. – using nothing more than a 2.5W diode laser. I documented my progress with photo prep and various materials, borrowing heavily from the work of @Bulldog on the LB forum, in this thread…
Good looking photos on wood can be tricky, of course, because of the grain pattern on different species. Following @Bulldog’s lead, I played a little with dithered images on painted, white-washed, and plain wood samples and it definitely can be used to good effect IMO.