Things You'll Need:
- Adobe Lightroom (v1 or v2)
- Windows/Mac Computer
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Step 1
Render Standard and 1:1 previews. When importing photos, it is a good idea to render Standard Size Previews in the process. However, much of Lightroom's processing power later on is used to render 1:1 previews on demand, which greatly slows down the program. By rendering 1:1 previews en mass (by going to "Library," then "Previews" in the menu bar), more hard disk space is used, but less processing power is required later on.
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Step 2
Free some hard disk space. Make sure you have a considerable percentage of your hard drive free, as Lightroom's library works much smoother when it has space to work with. In addition, confirm in the Preferences that your Lightroom Cache is located on either an internal drive, or on a high-speed external drive. Having your cache on a USB external drive will slow Lightroom down considerably, and make editing photos a slow and painful experience.
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Step 3
Organize your files. Different photographers prefer to organize their folder hierarchies in different ways. Experiment with what works best for you, and make sure that you keep your folders organized and tidy. Having a messy Lightroom library makes finding a particular photo extremely difficult, and sorting through thousands of photos requires unnecessary processing power. In addition, tagging your photos with keywords can ease your workflow as well.
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Step 4
Purchase more RAM (if possible). Lightroom is a resource-intense program, and it never hurts to have as much RAM as possible. As prices drop, purchasing as much RAM as your computer can handle only seems logical. This will speed up the program considerably, and allow you to work with more photos at a much quicker pace.
