Why does Windows Photos take 15 seconds to open a 1 MB image?

I have noticed that Windows Photos takes around 15 seconds to open a simple 1 MB image, which seems unusually slow considering my PC normally handles everyday tasks without any noticeable delays. I have tried opening different pictures, but the problem keeps happening, and I cannot figure out whether the cause is the Photos app itself, corrupted cache files, background processes, or a recent Windows update, so I would appreciate suggestions for troubleshooting this frustrating delay without reinstalling Windows or losing my existing photos and settings.