If Lightroom is still slow for you, Adobe promises help is on the way

By Trevor Mogg January 29, 2018

Adobe

lightroom update adobe lightroomcc share — Adobe

If you’re still having issues with a slow Lightroom Classic, an update is coming in February that should address the problem.

Adobe launched the latest version of its popular photo editing and management software last fall, and for the first time split it between Lightroom Classic (essentially Lightroom 7 for desktops) and Lightroom CC, a lighter, mobile-oriented version of the software that has fewer features than Classic.

Recommended Videos

Having listened to complaints from photographers about the sometimes sluggish performance of Lightroom 6, Adobe had promised speed improvements with Lightroom Classic. But soon after its launch, it quickly became apparent that some users were still experiencing issues regarding the software’s ability to handle certain tasks in an efficient manner.

An update released in December 2017 addressed many of the bugs that troubled the launch version of Classic, but the speed of the software continued to bother a number of photographers.

The good news is that version 7.2 is imminent and looks set to properly enhance the operation of the Adobe-made software. The bad news? Your machine will need at least 12GB of RAM to benefit fully from the update. Adobe, however, says that “the majority” of Lightroom Classic users have machines with at least 12GB of RAM, “so this release will deliver a significant performance impact for most users.”

Adobe addresses key performance issues

“We were able to make significant strides with our partners at Intel on addressing key performance issues,” Adobe told DPreview this week, adding that it has “optimized CPU and memory usage so that performance will scale better across multiple cores on computers with at least 12GB of RAM.”

Specifically, Adobe claims the software tweaks will improve speed performance for:

import and preview generation
moving between images in Loupe View
rendering of adjustments in Develop mode
batch merge operations of HDR images and panoramas
export

Adobe told PetaPixel that it’s “really pleased” with the latest performance improvements, but said it was “far from done” and has “more performance optimizations and improvements planned” for future releases. We’re certainly hoping version 7.2 finally puts the Classic issues to bed as for many photographers the software is impressive when it’s firing on all cylinders.

If you’re new to Lightroom but want to find out more about it, check out DT’s brief but informative guide for beginners, and then consider the free trial.

Adobe offers various pricing options depending on the package, though a popular deal for $10 a month gets you Lightroom CC, Lightroom Classic, Lightroom apps for mobile and web, Photoshop CC, Adobe Spark, and 20GB of cloud storage.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Photography

Adobe Photoshop Elements is getting so good, it edits photos for you

Adobe’s photo editor designed for the nonprofessional is getting so streamlined, the program will choose and edit photos for you, right in the home screen. The new Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements integrate a handful of artificially intelligent features designed for faster edits, from selective color to recoloring a black-and-white photo. Photoshop Elements 2020 and Premiere Elements 2020, announced on Thursday, October 3, are designed for the “memory makers,” Adobe says -- the non-pro photographers and videographers capturing family memories.

Before even heading into the main interface of Photoshop Elements, the software will complete one of four different edits and show it off for you on the home screen. Auto Creations were originally launched with collages and slideshows in the previous version, but the Adobe Sensei powered tool will now also do a handful of photo edits automatically. The feature includes four new edits -- a black-and-white selection with part of the image remaining in color, a pattern brush with repeating graphics over the background, a depth-of-field edit with a blurred background, and a painterly option with a textured frame.

Photography

How to make a watermark: A quick and easy way to protect your photos

Here's how to make a watermark on any computer or smartphone

Love them or hate them, applying watermarks to your photographs is a way to prevent people from sharing your photographs online without due credit. Skilled Photoshoppers and Google can erase some watermarks, but watermarks will help prevent lazy image thieves from stealing your work, along with making it easy for viewers to see who took that photo.

Below, you will find a few of the different methods for adding a watermark to an image, ranging from simple to sophisticated, that you can use to make sure your photos are at least somewhat protected from taking on a life of their own without people knowing they’re yours.
The fast and free way
The cheapest way to add some form of copyright to your image is to use the text tool in any photo-editing program (heck, even Microsoft Paint will do the job) and tag your name on it. You can do it discreetly by writing it in a corner, in small font size, or you can plaster it over the entire photo. Draw a box around it, color it, use a funky font -- it’s entirely up to you. This method might not be attractive, but it’s easy and you don't have to buy any fancy software. Photo editors with bulk watermarking will be faster, but if you just want to watermark a shot or two, you probably already have a program that will work. For a cleaner approach, marking multiple images at once, or if you already own a photo editing software, read on.

Photography

Lightroom adds first new slider in 4 years and will teach you how to use it

Adjusted with selective texture, reducecd from the waterfall and added to the trees and rocks.Image sample using the global texture tool.

While Adobe Lightroom sees an update every few months, the photo editing program’s selection of sliders hasn’t changed since the Dehaze tool in 2015. That’s changing with the May 2019 update, however, as Adobe brings the texture slider to all versions of Lightroom, including Lightroom Classic, Lightroom CC and Camera RAW. The tool allows photo editors to add or smooth out detail -- and new in-app learning tools will also help teach the different options. The updates begin rolling out Tuesday, May 14.