Quote Originally Posted by Frank S View Post
When it comes to the scale of a photo I have several times spotted an object of a known size near or preferably on the subject itself otherwise scale can become askew. any object in the fore ground will make the subject appear smaller than it is likewise the opposite can occur when the standard is behind the subject.
I've met a few who thought everything they knew was an intellectual secrete when the knowledge they thought was their's and their's alone was usually something they had obtained form others in the first place I don't have much time for those either.
For sussing out the dimensions, I try to get the actual dimensions X and Y of something on the image. Otherwise it would be all guesswork. Even if it is only a part of the image, it should still tell the scale well enough. You're right about the optical illusion stuff though. I recently saw a show talking about some salt flats in South America which for part of the time each year are covered with shallow water. They showed how, when you have no background to use for a scale reference, you can play optical tricks that make sizes of foreground and background get way out of whack. Makes for some funny looking photos.

Then there's that guy hoarding his "intellectual secret" (he got from someone else) which isn't even true.