Thanks so much.  What exactly do you mean in turning off shading? Are you referring to texture filtering or something like that?

Do transparencies (as in hair props) cause things to be slower too?

I have thought about the invisibility issue too - i.e. turn off what you're not using, etc. or using the wireframe too.

Does it help much to use smaller resolution IMAGE MAPS as in 512x512 vs 1024 x 1024?  

And finally, I am using some noise generation on the fabrics to create rough texture. I know that all of this has to contribute to render issues with firefly but don't know to the extent it matter in Preview mode.  tks

Windows 10 - Poser Pro 2012 - 64Bit - 24GB RAM - 4 x 3.40 GHZ processor