Library module Strategy for using Previews

[crbuckjr]

Lightroom Version Number

14.0.1

Operating System

1. Windows 10

I have been using 1:1 previews on all imported photos. And, my SSD is getting full and it looks like the size of my preview folder is part of the problem along with others.

In short, I need a strategy for using previews and then, perhaps, deleting them when they are no longer important to keep.

Basically, I take a lot of photos in the summers when the grandkids are around. For example, I might take 100 photos of a water ski run....and then want to quickly review them to pick a couple for the album that I do annually. I have been building 1:1 previews on import in the understanding (hopefully correct) that this will speed up the process when I am skimming through them. I have heard that Smart Previews will do much the same while using much less SSD space. Correct??

Typically, once the year is over and the albums are printed, I don't go back (much) to those photos. So, I am guessing that I can wait a second for the images to pop on the screen if I do go back.

So, I'd like to manage the space while preserving any speed advantages for a year or so.

I don't really know the pros and cons of 1:1, smart previews and regular previews.

I'd appreciate any advice on an approach for managing the use of previews for my situation. and, for culling unneeded existing previews.

Thanks much

Chuck

 

[Johan Elzenga]

I have been building 1:1 previews on import in the understanding (hopefully correct) that this will speed up the process when I am skimming through them. I have heard that Smart Previews will do much the same while using much less SSD space. Correct??

No, both are not correct. You only need a 1:1 preview if you zoom in to 100%, for example to critically check the sharpness. If you skim through images to find the best one, you will probably not zoom in so you won't use the 1:1 previews at that point.

Smart previews are small proxies of your original images. They are primarily meant for editing when the originals are offline. Lightroom can also use them in the develop module (if you enable that) even when the originals are available, and that will speed up this process, especially on slower machines. But when you skim through images in the Library module, smart previews will have no function at all.

 

[crbuckjr]

thanks very much......guess I was way off...couple of questions

I don't zoom into 100% much....I assume that it might take a second or two but that I can zoom in just fine without 1:1's. Correct?

What about the "normal" previews.

Seems like I don't need any previews at all. Am I getting the picture correctly?

If so, then, how do I get rid of the various previews that I have built?

thanks for the big help

Chuck

 

[clee01l]

My approach has been just the opposite. On import, I build only minimal previews knowing the LrC can quickly build a more detailed image if I need a closer inspection. I know that I high percentage of the images that i import will be discarded after an initial viewing. So why build any more than a minimal preview.

Also, I do not build any Smart Previews. one of the big reasons for Smart Previews is to provide an image when the original is not available (i.e. when traveling with a laptop and leaving the external disk behind.) The other reasons include speeding up the develop process. Performance in develop has never been an issue for me. with no Smart Previews.

FwIw, I'd recommend getting an EHD to store your images. Your C:\ drive IMO should be for the OS, Apps and Working storage. For optimum performance you need to keep at least 100 GB of freespace for working storage on C:\

So. Minimal Previews and No Smart Previews

 

[Johan Elzenga]

I don't zoom into 100% much....I assume that it might take a second or two but that I can zoom in just fine without 1:1's. Correct?

Correct. Lightroom Classic will generate a 1:1 preview if and when it needs it, so it only takes a little more time.

Seems like I don't need any previews at all. Am I getting the picture correctly?

No, you are not getting that correctly. Lightroom Classic is a non-destructive editor. It does not alter the pixels of the original image. That means that in order to show you how the picture will look with its edits applied, it will need to generate a preview of it. Even if you have not edited yet, that is the case. You will always look at a preview.

Bottom line: do not generate smart previews or 1:1 previews, but do generate standard-sized previews. Those are the previews that are used when you look at the image in Loupe view (so one image in screen size) and also when you look at thumbnails in the grid.

Lightroom has the option to discard smart previews and/or 1:1 previews in the Library - Previews menu. In Lightroom Classic 14 there is a new option in the catalog settings where you can now set the maximum size you want to allocate to previews.

 

[crbuckjr]

I am with you. Thanks. I do have my pics on an SSD....I move them from one desktop to another...

Now, how do I get rid of all the previews I have already built ....and taking up storage space???

thanks much

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Open your catalog folder and trash the 'catalogname previews.lrdata' and 'catalogname smart previews.lrdata' folders.

 

[clee01l]

Now, how do I get rid of all the previews I have already built ....and taking up storage space???

Delete the Previews folder. Lightroom will create a new empty Previews folder the next time you start up

 

[Jim Wilde]

I'd appreciate any advice on an approach for managing the use of previews for my situation. and, for culling unneeded existing previews.

An alternative approach which hasn't been mentioned here would be to use the "Embedded & Sidecar" preview option during import. When shooting in raw format, most cameras will embed a jpeg preview which can be extracted by LrC during import and used as the initial Library preview (which saves time during import). The embedded previews created by some cameras are full resolution, though some cameras only create a lower resolution preview. My Canon cameras fortunately do generate those full-size previews, so the benefit for me is that I have more or less instant access to the 1:1 image when doing the initial cull in the Library module after import without having to go through the pain of building 1:1 previews first. After initial culling in Library, then switching to Develop for editing the selects, the embedded preview will be automatically discarded as soon as the first edit is made so after editing an image and returning to Library the new standard preview is automatically then created (which of course is the same process that is used even if you build standard or 1:1 previews during import).

 

[eliano.imperato]

So. Minimal Previews and No Smart Previews

Hello Cletus,

why minimal and no embedded and sidecar?
I've always had a doubt about it but in the meantime I'm using embedded and sidecar previews just because it's the same criteria used by the fast Photo Mechanic.

 

[clee01l]

Hello Cletus,

why minimal and no embedded and sidecar?
I've always had a doubt about it but in the meantime I'm using embedded and sidecar previews just because it's the same criteria used by the fast Photo Mechanic.

My reasoning was that I would likely delete a large number of imported images as soon as I first looked at them. Minimal seem like the smallest Preview footprint. If I could, I would generate no previews on import. LrC quickly generates a screen full of thumbnails if I delete the Previews folder and let LrC start fresh.

Importing RAW NEFs only has embedded as there are no sidecars for the NEF. As Jim Wilde has said of his Canon, it generates full size previews from embedded, I believe the same is true for Nikon RAW. My 32" monitor is 3840X2160 px and a full size Nikon is 8256X5504.