... blog post:
As you know I do not usually include people in my photographs practicing as I do the technique of "Absent Presence", but sometimes it is useful to do so to give something a sense of scale.
The photo above benefited from the person in it to help reveal something of the true scale of the shrub that is its focus.
Somethings have an implied sense of scale from the context in which they find themselves, like the rhododendron above that looks big as indeed it is framed by the large woodland trees whose scale we understand. Although its true size still has to be experienced to be understood properly, so it would probably would have benefited from a person craning up to look at the top of it way above them.
In the photo above, it is obvious the plant is big judging by the thickness of the bole of the tree next to it and the size of some of the trees in the background. How tall it is, is less easy to judge as the reference points are a little more ambiguous. Tall for sure, but... well about three and a bit times the height of the average person, so again including someone in picture might of helped?
So, sometimes it can be useful to put something like a person in your picture to add a sense of scale and, even as a die hard Absent Presentist, I will do so when needs must.