Rendering style
The visual register of an output — photoreal, illustrative, diagrammatic, or sketch-like.
Style determines how finished an image claims to be, and therefore what kind of feedback it invites. A sketch-like render asks whether the idea is right; a photoreal one asks whether the material is right.
Matching style to design stage matters more than picking the most impressive option. Presenting a photoreal image of a scheme that is still in flux tends to freeze decisions that should have stayed open.