Adding Scale
Size is relative. Without a point of reference, a giant sequoia pine tree in your photograph is any size we assume it to be. Place a hiker walking past its base and suddenly the size of the tree jumps out at us and takes the job of guessing out of our hands. By placing a known point of reference in the frame next to something of unknown size, you are saying, “It was this big!”
The human figure is probably the strongest point of reference because it not only says, “The tree was this big,” but also, “The tree was this big in relation to me.” It personalizes it and removes the need to interpret. Instead of having to do the math—“Let’s see, if the tree was that big next to an elephant, it would be...”—we immediately have a sense of its ...
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