I agree, and this render is a good example of how thin trunked, tall crown trees reveal the subject and yet don't look unhealthy and spindly.
As a workaround, I've sometimes played with tree Age and Scale.
For instance, London Plane at 30% Age and 100% Scale is too chunky. The 5% Age version has a good thin trunk, but the crown is too low. Increasing the Scale makes the same young tree shape taller. Unfortunately, the X and Y axes are locked to Z, so you can't play with width - but at least foliage is out of the way and you can see buildings from eye level.
