Lightroom clean up

[sued42541305]

I need to clean up lightroom. Should I go after duplicates first, or delete old catalogs and backup files?

Thanks in advance.

Sue

[Rob_Cullen]

My approach to the same situation would be-

-Research advice form other sources- see links below:

-Backup your photos and current Catalog

-Delete old catalogs (Take care to NOT delete the current working Catalog)

-Delete most Backup Catalogs, but keep a couple on another physical hard-drive (always needed for disasters)

-Use a Plugin to detect 'Duplicate' photos that you can then decide to delete later.

-Tidy up the Master Catalog.

Duplicate Photos (Lightroom Queen)

Clean Up Your Files and Folders in Lightroom | Laura Shoe's Lightroom Training Tutorials and Tips

Julieanne Kost. Lightroom tutorials.

[dj_paige]

I need to clean up lightroom. Should I go after duplicates first, or delete old catalogs and backup files?

Thanks in advance.

Sue

By @sued42541305

Actually, I doubt anyone across the internet can give you a definitive answer. Which is a bigger problem for you, duplicates or old catalogs or backup files? We don't know, but you do.

By the way, be very careful delete backup files, make sure you always have at least one backup of everything (photos and catalog) — and some people make sure they have 2 or 3 backups of everything.

[Todd Shaner]

"Should I go after duplicates first, or delete old catalogs and backup files?"

If you're doing this because you're running out of space on your drive(s) it's just a matter of time before it happens again. Drives are very inexpensive when compared to cost of camera equipment, etc. My suggestion is to add an external drive or install another internal drive.