Is it a pebble or a mountain – the reference of size is inferred.

Ever been misled by the actual size of a mineral specimen when seen in a picture?  This is a universal problem when viewing an item that you are unable to see in person.  This is especially true when an item is presented on a featureless background with nothing for size comparison.  A 2-dimensional perspective offered in photographs with a background helps but does not always eliminate errors in judging the size of an object of interest.   

To combat this lack of dimensional perspective in photographs, publishers have devised many ways to try to train the eyes of their readers to grab a size reference of their featured item.  Especially true in the photography of rock and minerals where the size of their naturally created specimens has no guidelines.  In these photography segments the publisher will assist the viewer in judging size by a description of the size in units or they will place the object next to an item of which we recognize its size.  Thus the object included in the photograph serves to make a judgment of the size of the object.  As you browse the internet and view photographic plates in reference books you will see a wide variety of accessory objects in the photographs to serve as this size reference. 

Our philosophy:  The Specimen is the star of the image.  A size reference should only be included in a photo to enhance the examination of a specimen immediately giving the viewer a perspective to quickly approximate the size of their specimen of interest.  Our viewers should not have to labor to read a scale and calculate approximate size or figure out the spatial relationship to reference item in the photograph.  Lastly and frankly as working rockhound our hands are not anything that we want to include in photographs of gemstones and beautiful mineral specimens.