Fine-Tuning Lightroom Classic's Performance - Design Post 10

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Introduction

    Lightroom Classic (LrC) is popular amongst graphic designers, photographers, and other users. Even though it is popular, LrC runs into performance issues, like any other software program. This past week I found myself at my laptop for hours trying to use the Content-Aware Remove tool to remove some powerlines in a photo I shot for a project. It was lagging so I began researching ways to help improve LrC’s performance.

    Coincidentally enough, I’m flipping through the pages of Photoshop User’s October 2023rd edition - 24th Annual 100 Hot Tips, and I find an article specifically talking about the performance issues I am having. The article is called Fine-Tuning Lightroom Classic’s Performance by Rob Sylvan – Under The Loupe.

Fine-Tuning Lightroom Classic’s Performance

    Sylvan explains that a cool feature about LrC is that it uses previews for certain operations instead of full-resolution raw files. Using previews speeds up the performance for applying ratings, organizing photos, transferring photos between folders, and other library functions.

Hardware and Software

    When using LrC there are specific requirements that your hardware and software have. To run LrC properly, these requirements should be exceeded. The elements that you will need to keep an eye on are the processor (CPU), RAM, and graphics card (GPU). This will determine the speed/performance of your software, and it is good to be aware in case you end up having issues.

    Something that I didn’t realize is that the operating system (OS) must have a certain amount of free space on its internal drive. This is why professionals using a lot of space have multiple external hard drives to store their files on. Another tip is to purchase a solid-state drive (SSD) this will help increase the performance of your software and computer altogether.

Solid State Drives

INSTALL ALL UPDATES!

Preview Options In Lightroom Classic

    You have a few options when it comes to previewing photos in LrC. To access them select the Build Previews drop-down menu in the File Handling panel of the Import dialog.

    The Embedded & Sidecar option allows you to view your photos with a bit of a wait as they are being imported, however; LrC will eventually generate its previews.

    The Standard option will upload everything. You may have to wait a bit until the process is complete, but you will not have to wait for your photo to change while you are working.

    It is probably a good idea to develop a sense of your style and test out each option to see which one benefits you more.

        The resolution can also play a role in slowing down the performance so you can adjust that by going to (PC: Edit) – Catalog Settings and looking at the File Handling tab. You will see the Standard Preview Size drop-down menu, and from there you can change the resolution.

    If you are ok with photos being automatically deleted after certain periods, LrC also has settings that can be put in place to make this happen. You can find this under the Standard Preview Size setting.

Other Options In The Metadata Tab

    In the Catalog Settings, click the Metadata Tab and there will be something that says Automatically Write Changes into XMP.  This feature backs up the XMP metadata, and as you work, it will do so for both the catalog and each photo. By default, it is not selected, so if you decide to select this feature after doing a good amount of work, it will run in your background causing everything to run slowly.

    While you are in the Metadata Tab you can also uncheck the tab that has address selections if you do not use it, and you can also Pause Syncing while it's taking place if you are currently working on a project.

Performance Preferences

    In LrC go to (PC: Edit) and click preferences. There is a performance tab, and you are more than welcome to uncheck some of the options, but they are not recommended. If a specific one is causing you problems, you can uncheck it to see if it helps.

Optimizing The Catalog

    If you back up your photos when you are done with LrC, it automatically will optimize your catalog for you. If you don’t, you will have to do it yourself by going to File and selecting Optimize Catalog.


OPTIMIZE YOUR CATALOG!

OPTIMIZE YOUR COMPUTER!

Conclusion

    This was an insightful article. It was just what I was looking for to help solve my problem. The article goes into enough detail so that you can fix them yourself, and it gives extra recommendations that may be helpful. It also explains to you that some of these options may not be necessary, and some may cause problems for you. You are more than welcome to see what is best for your personal workspace. Everybody works differently, and everybody has specific preferences when it comes to using LrC. 

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