Is there a term for photos with a cold, yet relaxing, feeling to them?

Question

What do we call such type of photos where it is always kinda gray, has a cold feeling and relaxing feeling to it, and is most likely going to be in a northern country like Sweden or Canada?

I'm personally not an expert in photography but if there is some sort of genre that I can use to find similar photos that would help me a lot.

This image (https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/5zyw0l/two_girls_one_owl/) is a similar photo hope it helps you better to narrow down your answer.

Welcome to Photography at Stack Exchange! We get a lot of 'What do you call this" or "How do I create this effect" types of questions. Unless a description of the characteristics of what makes an image or type of image distinctive is included in the title of the question it is indistinguishable to search engines from all other such questions. for more please see: Important information for asking “What's this effect?” questions — Michael C, Mar 18 '17 at 02:05
Can you please describe a little more what you find similar between the two photographs? I see gray and perhaps relaxing in the first, but the second isn't very gray and isn't what I would describe as relaxing. I don't really see "cold" in the first except for in the lack of sunlight — whereas in the second it is explicit in the clothing and snow. — mattdm, Mar 18 '17 at 13:55
Is it the same as this? How can this brightly colored yet gentle pastel-color effect be achieved? — mattdm, Mar 20 '17 at 17:48

user1118321 · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-18T16:16:16.753

There are many aspects to this photo. The most visible one is the single point perspective. The road draws the viewer's eye to a single point on the horizon. However, from your description, I don't think that's what you're after.

The next obvious thing is the lighting, and I think that's what you're interested in from what you've written. The light is very diffuse. There's no strong light coming from any one direction. It's a very even lighting over the entire landscape. This common on a cloudy day. Photographers sometimes refer to it as a "giant soft box in the sky." There are no parts that are very bright or very dark. This is definitely a distinct look that's different from a very sunny day which has very harsh shadows and blown out highlights. And it's different from dramatic lighting where there's a single portion of the photo lit by a beam of light while the rest is in shadow, or at least subdued compared to the bright part.

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:43

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No, there is no blanket term for this. Your first image is low key — the predominance of tones are dark. You may have some success in searching for low key landscape. However, this isn't necessarily cold — although you could add that to the search, too.

Unfortunately, in photography, especially recently, there is some confusion between a low-key image and low key lighting, where the "key" refers to something different. A low-key image is as described, predominantly dark tones, and the result is generally somber, restrained, depressing — or maybe your "cold and relaxing". Low key lighting, on the other hand, results in high-contrast edges standing out from a dark or black background — dramatic, mysterious, taut, and not what you're looking for. (More on all of this here.)

But that said, your second image isn't low-key in either of these senses. The sky is overcast, and the coats and the snow are cold. There's a landscape in the background, but I wouldn't describe the photograph as a landscape in genre. (If I had to categorize, I would say fashion.) So, I'm kind of at a loss at a link — but that leaves my conclusion the same: whatever you are looking for, there is not a single genre term for it.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:43

Community

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answered Mar 18 '17 at 14:22

mattdm

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Perhaps "dark, but with no true blacks?" – Michael C Mar 20 '17 at 17:20
@MichaelClark Maybe? That'd make this basically same as How can this brightly colored yet gentle pastel-color effect be achieved?, or one of the half-dozen other similar questions where that turned out to be the thing. – mattdm Mar 20 '17 at 17:48
Well, except the pastel-color one isn't dark overall, just no pure blacks. – Michael C Mar 20 '17 at 18:11
@MichaelClark The owl twins photo isn't really dark overall either, even if it does tend to browns and grays. Pretty much just guessing at this point. – mattdm Mar 20 '17 at 18:13
Other than the blown out sky in the upper third, it is. – Michael C Mar 20 '17 at 18:14

Is there a term for photos with a cold, yet relaxing, feeling to them?

2 Answers2