diff --git a/src/entities/project/ui/ProjectCard/ProjectCard.tsx b/src/entities/project/ui/ProjectCard/ProjectCard.tsx
index 2af0474..f498486 100644
--- a/src/entities/project/ui/ProjectCard/ProjectCard.tsx
+++ b/src/entities/project/ui/ProjectCard/ProjectCard.tsx
@@ -26,6 +26,12 @@ type Props = {
    * Optional preview image URL
    */
   imageUrl?: string;
+  /**
+   * Skip lazy-loading the preview image. Set true for above-the-fold cards
+   * (typically the first card in the list) to improve LCP.
+   * @default false
+   */
+  priority?: boolean;
 };
 
 /**
@@ -33,7 +39,7 @@ type Props = {
  * Sidebar: year badge, stack tags, View Project button.
  * Main: title, optional image, description.
  */
-export function ProjectCard({ title, year, description, tags, url, imageUrl }: Props) {
+export function ProjectCard({ title, year, description, tags, url, imageUrl, priority = false }: Props) {
   return (
     <Card className={cn('group hover:shadow-brutal-xl transition-shadow duration-300')}>
       <CardSidebar
@@ -49,7 +55,7 @@ export function ProjectCard({ title, year, description, tags, url, imageUrl }: P
                 ))}
               </div>
             )}
-            <Button href={url} variant="primary" size="sm" className="w-full">
+            <Button href={url} variant="primary" size="sm" className="self-start lg:w-full lg:self-auto text-center">
               View Project
             </Button>
           </div>
@@ -57,7 +63,9 @@ export function ProjectCard({ title, year, description, tags, url, imageUrl }: P
       >
         <div className="flex flex-col gap-4">
           <CardTitle className="font-heading">{title}</CardTitle>
-          {imageUrl && <ImageLightbox src={imageUrl} alt={title} className="brutal-border bg-blue" />}
+          {imageUrl && (
+            <ImageLightbox src={imageUrl} alt={title} priority={priority} className="brutal-border bg-blue" />
+          )}
           <RichText html={description} />
         </div>
       </CardSidebar>
diff --git a/src/widgets/ProjectsSection/ui/ProjectsSection/ProjectsSection.tsx b/src/widgets/ProjectsSection/ui/ProjectsSection/ProjectsSection.tsx
index f71d3e0..97da991 100644
--- a/src/widgets/ProjectsSection/ui/ProjectsSection/ProjectsSection.tsx
+++ b/src/widgets/ProjectsSection/ui/ProjectsSection/ProjectsSection.tsx
@@ -13,9 +13,14 @@ export default async function ProjectsSection() {
     tags: ['projects'],
   });
 
+  /* Mark the first project that actually has an image as LCP-priority.
+   * Using `index === 0` alone misses the case where the first card has no
+   * image and the LCP candidate ends up being the next card's image. */
+  const lcpIndex = items.findIndex((project) => project.image);
+
   return (
     <div className="space-y-6 max-w-section">
-      {items.map((project) => (
+      {items.map((project, index) => (
         <ProjectCard
           key={project.id}
           title={project.title}
@@ -24,6 +29,7 @@ export default async function ProjectsSection() {
           tags={project.stack}
           url={project.url}
           imageUrl={project.image ? buildFileUrl(project.collectionId, project.id, project.image) : undefined}
+          priority={index === lcpIndex}
         />
       ))}
     </div>