The Vanguard VEO 3T+ 234AB aluminum travel tripod is the quick change artist I’ve been looking for. It’s light, folds to just a hair over 18 inches, and is about the most versatile tripod I’ve used in a long time. Plus, it’s affordable. Without totally derailing my budget, it provides everything I need from a travel tripod.

Overview
Vanguard  is one of the world’s leading makers of sporting optics, tripods, camera bags, photo backpacks and more. For a deep-dive look at their prowess in the photo enthusiast channel, check out our review of some of their innovative accessories, published a few weeks back.

The Vanguard VEO 3T+ 234AB is an all-in-one aluminum travel tripod that’s shorter than its name. Travel tripods—all tripods, for that matter—must achieve balances: folded size and weight vs maximum extended height and stability, for instance. As I’ve written at least 10,000 times, a tripod has one purpose on Earth, namely, to hold a camera in precisely the same place for an extended period of time. Beyond that, everything is either a bell or a whistle.

Tripod buyers must balance several factors as well. All product purchase decisions are compromises. Cost, long-term durability, pride of ownership and ease of use are just four characteristics to consider. Read our comprehensive Tripod Buyer’s Guide for more details and advice about making an informed tripod purchase.

And if you want to be convinced that you need a tripod in the first place, read 7 Reasons You Should Use a Tripod.

Key Features of the Vanguard VEO 3T+ 234AB
Small pack size (18.11 inches)
More than adequate maximum extended height (57.48 inches)
Excellent minimum deployed height for low-angles (6.61 inches)
Light weight (4.83 pounds)
Large load capacity (22 pounds)
Multi-Angle Central Column (MACC) expands applications
Fully extendible center column (unlike some so-called “multipurpose” tripods)
Four (4) aluminum alloy legs (23mm dia.)
Easy-clean twist leg locks make user maintenance a breeze
Three (3) Easy-set leg angles
Converts to monopod with 60-inch extendibility
Includes latest Arca-compatible VEO 2 BH-110S dual-axis ball head
Includes Quick Shoe QS-62v3
Includes VEO MA-1 multi-mount adapter
Includes spiked feet for difficult surfaces like grass, ice or rocks
Includes high-quality travel/storage case & tools

In the Field
The Vanguard VEO 3T+ 234AB is extremely easy to set up and reliably sturdy. The Vanguard VEO SPH Smartphone Holder (see bundle info below) was a blessing, particularly because the Multi-Angle Central Column (MACC) allowed me to mount my iPhone and camera on the same tripod, thereby leaving both hands free for camera operation.

Conclusion
At a time when necessities are becoming more expensive and luxuries harder to justify, Vanguard delivers high-end quality and rich features at very affordable prices. Is Vanguard the first name you think of when someone mentions tripods? Probably not. But perhaps they should be.

Pricing & Availability
Vanguard VEO 3T+ 234AB travel tripod is available directly from Vanguard now for $239. That’s a discounted price and subject to change. Regular price is $299.

This aluminum alloy travel tripod has a fraternal twin that features carbon fiber legs. Designated VEO 3T+ 234CB, the carbon fiber model weighs approximately one-half pound less (4.36 vs 4.83 pounds) and is available directly from Vanguard at the discounted price of $299 (regular retail is $379). Note that the catalog name of the carbon fiber model ends in “CB” instead of “AB.”

Urban Kit
Vanguard also offers the Urban Kit, a high-value bundle that delivers a significant savings. The Urban Kit includes a Vanguard VEO City CB34 NV Urban Crossbody Bag in dark navy blue ($139), the Vanguard VEO SPH Smartphone Holder ($89) along with the Vanguard VEO 3T+ 234AB travel tripod—all for just $369. (The regular retail price is $599.97.)

Why Does Vanguard Offer Bundles?
“This helps us compete with some of the more established brands out there, and we stand behind our quality, since we own our own manufacturing facilities and control the production processes,” said Vanguard USA Senior Marketing Manager Jay Hathaway. “Our bundles lineup is going to be consistently updated as we offer new products and discover new ways to combine our items,” he added.

Become a Member of the Shutterbug Community
Register for a free account. Sign up for our newsletter. Spend five minutes (or less) uploading your best shots once every week or so. Potentially become a Shutterbug Photo of the Day winner. Enjoy viewing the fantastic work being done by thousands of photographers all over the world—and add your images to the enduring collection.

Find Shutterbug on Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram, Flipboard, and YouTube.

—Jon Sienkiewicz

—Jon Sienkiewicz

Most outdoor photographers know that using a Curves adjustment in Photoshop or Lightroom is one of the best ways to add contrast and boost the tonality in an image to make it more compelling. But there’s a unique trick for using Curves in Photoshop, and it works wonders with one simple adjustment.

Austin James Jackson is a young, professional landscape photographer based in Southern Utah, whose shooting and editing skills belie his age. In this quick tutorial he demonstrates a method for using Curves that he relies upon for “almost every single photo that I edit,” and it’s easy enough for anyone to use.

James says that even if you’ve used Photoshop’s Tone Curve in the past, “I’m going to show you something you don’t know that will make any photo look amazing.” While this technique is a no-go in Lightroom, it can be replicated with any photo-editing software that lets you fully adjust the tone Curve.

James begins with a pretty forest scene on his screen and grabs the Curves adjustment tool. Before jumping into his trick, he provides a quick overview of how the Curves graph works to lighten or darken an image—simply by dragging and moving the diagonal line in the box. He also illustrates why the “S-Curve” is so commonly used.

Now it’s time for James’ favorite quick Curves adjustment that he prefers to a standard S-Curve that often results in bright areas that are too bright, and dark portions of  scene that are overly dark—often obscuring details in both portions of the frame. His technique works because you can make as many points on the Curve as you want.

James drags up the bottom left point and drags down on the right point. As you’ll see, this essentially protects the highlights and shadows while enhancing details and interest in both areas of the shot.

These simple adjustments take less than 20 seconds, and a quick glance at the before/after images reveals the effectiveness of James’ unfamiliar trick. He repeats this quick maneuver with two more landscape photos, one of a stand of redwoods and another of a seaside scene, just so that you’re convinced. In all cases his results are impressive.

You can find more straightforward editing techniques by paying a visit to James’ YouTube channel, and by watching a tutorial we posted earlier that explains a simple technique for fixing any photo with a skewed perspective or converging vertical lines.

If you’ve been playing around with the beta version of Photoshop 2024 for what seems like forever, it’s time to get real as the official release has been unveiled. We enlisted the help of one of the world’s most acclaimed image-editing experts to help you understand and use the most important new capabilities.

Instructor Unmesh Dinda lives in Mumbai, India but he’s an internationally acclaimed image-processing expert who teaches workshops across the globe. There are almost five million subscribers to his wildly popular YouTube channel and if you’re not already a follower it’s time to take a look.

In this episode Dinda takes a deep dive into the headline features of Photoshop 2024, and insists that “with new Filters, Generative AI, and several fixes, this update changes the course of Photoshop forever.” So set aside 12 minutes, pull up a chair, grab pen and paper, and let’s dig in.

Dinda begins with what he calls “Filters on steroids” and this description isn’t too far off base, because there’s a myriad of new options and he demonstrates how they work. You can easily modify every aspect of this tools, modify the intensity of colors, and change the opacity of each effect. All of these filters are non-destructive in nature, so you have the option of a do-over whenever you want.

If you’re unfamiliar with executing an update Dinda explains how to do that by going to your Creative Cloud desktop app to quickly get this “shocking” new version. Then Dinda turns to a description of Photoshop’s new Remove tool and the updates it includes. As you’ll see it offers more control and versatility than ever before.

Next on Dinda’s list are what provoked all the excitement over the beta—namely the remarkable AI-based Generative Fill and Generative Expand features. If you’ve yet to experiment with these amazing tools Dinda will quickly get you up to speed today. Photoshop 2024 also includes a guided tutorial you can always refer to if you run into a jam.

Some folks have wondered about any potential limitations for using Photoshop’s generative features, and Dinda clarifies all that, while explaining how Adobe’s “Generative Credits” work. Basically, you’ll receive a certain number of credits, depending upon your plan, and you’ll spend them whenever using any of the generative capabilities.

Dinda explains how to determine the number of credits you have. You’ll still be able to use Generative Fill and Generative Expand once you’ve used up your credits, but the process will slow down. At some point in the future Adobe will offer the opportunity to purchase more credits if you so desire.

There’s much more to learn in this lesson for speeding up the learning curve, to take a close look and jot down a few notes. Then head over to Dinda’s YouTube channel for more image-editing tips and tricks.

And for those of you who are Lightroom users, be sure to check out the beginners guide we posted that explains everything you need to know about tools in the Basic tab.

Lightroom Classic is a powerful image-editing tool, with a myriad of tools for photographers of all skill levels. New users, however, may initially be bewildered by the wide array of features, but we’ll solve that today in less than 10 minutes.

The Behind the Tripod YouTube channel is designed to help inexperienced photographers shoot and edit better photographs, and the beginners guide below is a great example. This straightforward tutorial explains everything you need to know to get started by demystifying LRC’s Basic tab.

Instructor Steve Mills demonstrates a step-by-step process for enhancing your photos so you can make the most of the tools necessary and establish a simple workflow today. As he says, “If you shoot in Raw, it’s in my humble opinion that Lightroom Classic is perhaps the best option for editing your photos.”

Mills says LRC is far easier to learn than Photoshop, and everything begins in the Basic tab. Once you feel comfortable with the preliminary tools you can then move on to more advanced features. He kicks off the episode by opening an image in the Library, navigates to the Develop module on the top right of the screen, and quickly gets to work.

You’ll then see a panel on the left that includes presets and the important History option. There’s also a panel on the right with straightforward sliders for adjusting a variety of image attributes. LRC works in a non-destructive way, meaning you always go back for a do-over, and Mills explains how the History tool enables you to easily do that.

Once you click on the Basic tab you’ll see “all the bits” Mills discusses today. He says that his workflow typically begins with careful cropping when that can help improve the composition of a shot. He then explains how the adjustment tools in this tab work, including a quick method for converting color images to b&w.

When it comes to enhancing color photos Mills prefers the default Adobe Color profile because “I like to start with a blank canvas.” He then demonstrates how to use simple sliders in the Basic tab to adjust parameters like White Balance, Tint, Exposure, Contrast, Highlights and Shadows.

Other simple sliders provide adjustments to Texture, Clarity, Dehaze, Saturation, Vibrance and more, and you’ll see how all of these work. Mills is a firm believer in taking a subtle approach with all of these enhancements and says “overcooking” adjustments can easily spoil an otherwise nice shot.

Everything you learn is so easy to accomplish that you’ll no longer feel like an LRC beginner by the time you’ve finished watching the lesson. There’s much more to learn on Mills’ instructional YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look.

We also recommend watching the tutorial we posted earlier, explaining why Lightroom’s AI Denoise feature may let you down unless you understand a few tricks.