how to cite image in essay

Works-Cited-List Entries

How to cite an image.

To create a basic works-cited-list entry for an image, list the creator of the image, the title of the image, the date of composition, and the location of the image, which would be a physical location if you viewed the image in person. If you viewed the image online, provide the name of the website containing the image and the URL. If you viewed the image in a print work, provide the publication information for the print work, including a page number. Below are sample entries for images along with links to posts containing many other examples.

A Photograph Viewed in Person

Cameron, Julia Margaret. Alfred, Lord Tennyson . 1866, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

A Painting Viewed Online

Bearden, Romare. The Train . 1975. MOMA , www.moma.org/collection/works/65232?locale=en.

An Untitled Image from a Print Magazine

Karasik, Paul. Cartoon. The New Yorker , 14 Apr. 2008, p. 49.

More Examples

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Photographs

Slide Presentations

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• Works Cited: A Quick Guide

FLEET LIBRARY | Research Guides

Rhode island school of design, how to cite images.

• Chicago/Art Bulletin Style

MLA Caption Style

• When citing an image, the caption should be labeled as Figure (usually abbreviated Fig.), assigned a number, and given a title or caption
• For images found in a book or journal, include the publication information of the text.
• A caption ordinarily appears directly below the illustration and have the same one-inch margins as the text of the paper.
• Captions should be numbered consecutively.

Fig. 1. Mary Cassatt, Mother and Child , Wichita Art Museum. Illus. in Novelene Ross, Toward an American Identity: Selections from the Wichita Art Museum Collection of American Art (Wichita, Kansas: Wichita Art Museum, 1997) 107. Source: Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook . 8th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2016.

Additional Sources

MLA Style Center

Purdue Online Writing Lab: MLA Format

MLA Handbook (8th Ed) in the library

Citing Unidentified Images

When all or part of an image source is unknown or unknowable, use these points to guide your MLA image caption:

Unknown Artist, Author or Creator List that source by title in your works cited list. The title should be followed by the name of the source in the citation, and the remainder of the citation composed as appropriate for the source type. Alphabetize reference list entries beginning with a title using the primary word of the title (excluding a, an, or the).

An Image without a Title If an image is not titled, create a brief, descriptive title for it. Do not italicize this title or place it in quotes, and capitalize only the first word and any proper nouns.

Undated Sources Use "n.d." (for "no date") in the appropriate place in your citation. When this is used after a period in a citation, capitalize the "n" ("N.d.").

Sources consulted: MLA Citation Examples University of Maryland University Colleges Libraries Miscellaneous Photographs Collection , Archives of American Art

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How to Cite an Image in MLA Referencing

4-minute read

• 30th April 2020

Adding images to your work can illustrate your arguments or provide your reader with useful information. But how do you cite an image? In this post, we’ll look at how to cite an image in MLA referencing.

In MLA referencing , you can cite an image in two ways:

• Using the author or editor of the container volume
• Using the creator of the original image

The general format is similar in both cases, but we will separate them below.

Referencing an Image via the Container Volume

One way to cite an image in MLA is to cite the container volume (i.e., the published source in which you found the image you are citing). To do this, you would cite the name of the author/editor and a page number:

Pimenov painted the famous New Moscow in 1937 (Donaldson 23).

Here, we are referring to a painting by the artist Pimenov, reproduced on page 65 of a book by Donaldson. One difference from a regular citation is that you can include a figure number for the source. For instance:

Pimenov painted the famous New Moscow in 1937 (Donaldson, fig. 4, 23).

Here, we’ve adapted the citation to show that it is figure 4 in the container volume. This will make it even easier for a reader to look up the original image. But in either case, we would then begin the Works Cited list entry with “Donaldson” to help the reader find the source using the citation.

The format for citing a container volume in MLA depends on the format:

• For print sources, use the standard book or journal formats.
• For an image found online, cite it as a page from a website.

In other words, you cite the container volume as standard. For instance:

Donaldson, Christopher. Soviet Artwork Revisited. Hatful Publishing, 2009.

Here, we cite the book in which the image appears but not the artwork itself. This is because we’ve used the author of the container volume in the citations.

But if you prefer to cite the creator directly, or if you’re citing a standalone work rather than one that has been reproduced in another source, you will need the format below instead.

Referencing an Image via the Artist or Creator

Alternatively, you can cite the creator of an image. The format here is the same as above, but we use the name of the artist or image creator in the citation:

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New Moscow was painted in 1937 (Pimenov, fig. 4, 23).

In the Works Cited list, as above, the format depends on where you found the image. If it was reproduced in another source, such as a book or journal article, you would use the standard format for the container volume, but you would also include the image information. For instance:

Pimenov, Yuri. New Moscow. 1937. Donaldson, Christopher. Soviet Artwork Revisited. Hatful Publishing, 2009, p. 23, fig. 4.

Note that we include the page and figure number for the image at the end of the citation. However, you can also cite a standalone image (e.g., from a gallery or collection). The format for this is:

Surname, First Name. Title of Work. Date of creation, collection and location, URL (if applicable).

So, for instance, we could cite a painting from the Tate Gallery as follows:

Taslitzky, Boris. The Strikes of June 1936. 1936. Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/taslitzky-the-strikes-of-june-1936-t07404.

Reproducing an Image in an Essay

If you are including an image in your essay, you should add the source information in a caption directly beneath the image:

You can then refer to the image using the figure number:

The Strikes of June 1936 (see fig. 1) is a sketch for a larger painting.

In the Works Cited list, meanwhile, you should add an entry for the image using a format based on where you found it (as explained above).

Hopefully, this has given you a clearer idea of how to cite an image in MLA referencing. If you’d like someone to check you have referenced images correctly, our expert editors can help! Why not try a free sample ?

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Citing Sources: MLA

• MLA Citation Style
• In-Text Citations
• Article/Database

Image from the Internet

Image from a database, image in print, personal photograph.

• Fashion Forecast
• Works Cited Page
• FAQ about Citation

If the image is only found on the web, provide the name of the artist, title of the work then follow the citation format for a website. (Remember to delete "http://" from the address, it is not needed and makes the citation easier to read.) If there is no artist information leave it out.

If the the picture was found using Google do NOT cite Google as the publisher, visit the original page and use information from the website that is hosting the picture.

Basic Format:

Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Image."  Title of Website, Version (if applicable), Publisher, Publication Date, URL.

Souza, Pete. "President Obama, Vice President Biden and Members of His National Security Team."  PHOTOS: One Photographer's 'Remarkable' Chance To Cover The President,  NPR, 26 Oct. 2016, www.npr.org/2016/10/26/499490029/photos-one-photographers-remarkable-chance-to-cover-the-president.

Dressed_Podcast. 20,000 followers!  Instagram , 8 Jan. 2019, www.instagram.com/p/BsYKpQkADCr/.

Artwork from Museum Website: 

van Gogh, Vincent.  "Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat (obverse: The Potato Peeler)." The Metropolitan Museum of Art , 1887, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436532. Accessed 3 Jan 2019.

Although this image is almost identical to the image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website it is cited in the style of an article from a database.  Also note that ARTSTOR's data is slightly different from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's ("verso" instead of "obverse").  Whenever possible try to copy citation information word for word.

van Gogh, Vincent. Self-portrait with a Straw Hat (verso: The Potato Peeler). 1887. Artstor, libproxy.fitsuny.edu:2717/asset/MMA_IAP_1039651908

from https://style.mla.org/citing-online-images/

Original Artwork in Museum:When citing the original artwork (like a painting you saw in a museum) include the city the museum is located in:

van Gogh, Vincent.  Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat (obverse: The Potato Peeler). 1887, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Here is an example of how to cite the same painting but from a picture in a book.  (Note that the museum description and book description differ slightly):

van Gogh, Vincent.  Self-Portrait,  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Van Gogh in Arles , by Ronald Pickvance, Harry N. Abrams, 1984, p. 34.

Smith, Jane.  Photograph of Self in Front of Rothko Painting. 25 Sept. 2015. Author's personal collection.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Harvard Referencing / Harvard Referencing Style Examples / How to reference an image in Harvard style

How to reference an image in Harvard style

Referencing images can be confusing. Do you reference the photographer or the subject of the image itself? Do you include where you saw or found the image? What if you took the photograph yourself? This guide will help clear up the confusion!  

Below, the guide will cover how to cite images in different scenarios, both as an in-text citation and a reference. For each scenario, you will be given a citation structure, along with examples to illustrate each case.

Online images/photographs  

Today, finding and citing a digital or online image is simple. You’ll need the following information:

• Photographer’s name
• (Year published)  
• Title of the photograph, italizised
• Available at: URL (Accessed: the date you sourced the image)  

In-text citation structure and example:

(Photographer’s name, Year published)

Photographer’s name (Year published)

B.B. King’s beautiful Gibson semi-hollow body ES-355 guitar (Joseph, 2001) ……

Reference list structure and example:

Photographer’s Last Name, Initial. (Year published) Title of the photograph. Available at: URL (Accessed: the date you sourced the image)  

Joseph, J. (2001) Lucille. Available at: http://www.jackjoseph.co.uk/photo_23456.html (Accessed: 22 August 2016)

Online images/photographs from a curated collection  

As we know, the Internet has a vast repository of curated image collections, especially on sites like Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram, to name just a few. The rules stay pretty much unchanged in this case, as well.  

You will just need to direct the viewer/reader to the source where you viewed or uploaded the image. You may cite relevant information about images sourced from such Internet collections as follows:

• (Year published)
• Title of the photograph/collection, italicized

Photographs by Gustavo Grandissimo (2015) …

Grandissimo, G. (2015) The heights of abstraction. Available at: https://instagram.com/theheightsofabstraction (Accessed: 10 August 2012)

Images without a listed photographer or artist  

You may cite information about images without a listed creator. You’ll need the following information:

• Title of the photograph, italicized

As you can see in the image of the controversial protest rally ( Up in arms , 2019) …

Title of the photograph (Year published) Available at: URL (Accessed: the date you sourced the image)  

Up in arms (2019) Available at: http://www.therevolutionbeat.com/protests/2019/image_34567.html (Accessed: 10 March 2019)

Prints or slides

A print refers to a printed reproduction of a popular work of art or image. A slide, on the other hand, is a transparent photograph that consists of chromogenic dyes mounted inside a plastic frame to be projected onto a large screen.  

Information needed:

• [Photograph]
• Place of publication: Publisher’s name, if available

The expanding mushroom cloud from the resulting blast was captured on that fateful day (Tanaka, 1945)

Tanaka, N. (1945) The day Fat Boy fell to Earth [Photograph]. Hokkaido: Kurosawa Publishers  

Images photographed by you

It is not necessary to provide a reference to a photograph or image if you are the creator. However, check with your tutor about the most appropriate way to present original images or photographs in your work.

If you need to reference an original image, you can use the following citation structure:

• Your name (Year published or taken)

…lays emphasis on the fact that the sun doesn’t need to be the focus of a picture (Koenig, 2019)

Your Last Name, Initial. (Year published) Title of the photograph [Photograph]  

Koenig, K. (2019) The sunset [Photograph]  

Published October 29, 2020.

Harvard Formatting Guide

Harvard Formatting

• et al Usage
• Direct Quotes
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Page Numbers
• Writing an Outline
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Holman Library

• Library Instruction

Research Guide: Citations

• MLA Images and Visual Presentations Citations Example
• Citing Sources
• Quick Overview
• Plagiarism & Academic Honesty This link opens in a new window
• APA Citation Style Overview
• In-Text Citations - APA
• ARTICLES - APA Reference List
• BOOKS - APA Reference List
• ONLINE SOURCES - APA Reference List
• OTHER SOURCES - APA Reference List
• APA Formatted Paper Example
• APA Annotated Bibliography Example
• APA Verbal/Speech Citations Example
• APA Images and Visual Presentations Citations Example
• MLA Citation Style Overview
• In-Text Citations - MLA
• ARTICLES - MLA Works Cited
• BOOKS - MLA Works Cited
• ONLINE SOURCES - MLA Works Cited
• OTHER SOURCES - MLA Works Cited
• MLA Formatted Paper Example
• MLA Annotated Bibliography Example
• MLA Verbal/Speech Citation Example
• Other Citation Styles
• Citation Generator (NoodleTools)
• Synthesizing Sources
• Get Help & Citation Workshops

Images, Charts, Tables, Graphs - MLA

• Images Inserted in Essays and Presentations
• Images Not Inserted But Referred To

Images Inserted in Essays and Visual Presentations

When you insert an image into your essay or visual presentation, you need to provide a caption.

MLA guidelines for illustrative visual material other than tables (photos, maps, graph, chart, line drawing, etc.):

• Images should be labeled Figure (usually abbreviated Fig.), assigned a numeral and given a caption (information about the source)
• Type both label and caption directly below the image
• If the caption provides complete bibliographic information about the source and the source is not otherwise cited in the text, no entry is needed for the source in the works cited list
• If full bibliographic details are provided in the caption, punctuate the caption like a works-cited entry but do not invert the name of the creator
• Otherwise, use commas to separate elements in a caption and provide full publication details in the works-cited list

Fig.1. Dorothea Lange. Toward Los Angeles, California.  1937. Library of Congress: Farm Security Administration.

Tables Inserted in Essays and Visual Presentations

• A table is usually labeled Table, numbered and titled
• Type both label and title on separate lines above the table, capitalize as you would a title (not all caps)
• Place the source of the table and any notes in a caption immediately below the table (designate notes to the table with lowercase letters rather than numerals)
• Contents of the table should be double-spaced
• Use dividing lines as needed for clarity
• If the caption provides complete bibliographic information about the source and the source is not otherwise cited in the text, no entry is needed for the source in the works cited list

Table 1                                                                                                                                                       Title of Table, Capitalized.

Source information for the table.  If the caption provides complete bibliographic information about the source and the source is not otherwise cited in the text, no entry is needed for the source in the works cited list

  a. Any notes about the information presented in the table. 

Images, Charts, Tables, Graphs Not Inserted but Referred to into Essays & Presentations

If you refer to information from an image, chart, table or graph, but do not insert it in your essay or presentation, create a citation both in-text and on your Works Cited list.

If the information is part of another format, for example a book, magazine article, encyclopedia, etc., cite the work it came from.

• Example: if information came from a table in an article in National Geographic magazine, you would cite the entire article.
• Example citation:
• MLA Style Center - How to Cite an Image Examples for images viewed online, in person and in print.

If you are only making a passing reference to a well known image, you would not have to cite it, e.g. describing someone as having a Mona Lisa smile.

Additional Resources

• MLA Tables, Figures, and Examples - Purdue Online Writing Lab Examples and guidelines for using visual materials in MLA style.
• MLA Style Center - Tables and Illustrations Guidelines and examples for incorporating visual images in MLA style.

Quick Guide - MLA

Quick guide - mla citation style.

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Finding & Using Images

• Citing Images in MLA

Citing Images or Graphs

Please see below for MLA guidelines on how to cite images or graphs from the web or from a database.

• From Database
• Using Images in Project
• Using Artwork in a Project
• Help Resources

Citing an Image or Graph from the Web

Format:  Author(s). “Title of Image/Graph.”  Title of Website in Italics , Website Publisher (if different than title), Date of Publication/Posting, URL.

Example :  “Kim Kardashian.”  Vanity Fair , Condé Nast, 11 Jan. 2004, www.vanityfair.com.

Example 2:  Lange, Dorothea. "Migrant Mother."  Prints & Photographs Reading Room Collection , Library of Congress, 11 Jan. 2004, montevideo.usembassy.gov.

Example (No Title) : Penguin sitting on rock.  National Geographic , www.natgeo.com/images/149603845. Accessed 9 Feb. 2021.

Example (Artwork):  Van Gogh, Vincent.  The Starry Night . 1889.  MoMALearning , Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/vincent-van-gogh-the-starry-night-1889/.

*Note:  For images without titles, create a descriptive title in plain text – no italics, no quotes. Capitalize only the first word and any proper nouns. *Note:  Italicize titles of formal art work and include the date of creation after the title with a period.  The Starry Night . 1889. *Note:  Include an accessed date at the end if no date of publication/posting is available. *Note:  Image URLs should be from the actual website that hosts the image. Be careful with this. If you use Google or another search engine to find the image, if you copy the URL it may give you Google's search URL rather than the actual URL of the image's website. *Note : You can usually omit the http:// unless needed to hyperlink. *Note:  For URLs longer than 3 lines, you can shorten the URL. Always retain the host (main website) of the URL.

Citing an Image or Graph from a Database

Format:  Creator(s). "Title of Image/Graph ." Title of Source (if given),  Publisher, Date.  Database Name,  URL.

Example:  Johnson, Clinton. "Boston Street Scene." Library of Congress, 1895.  Credo Reference,  go.openathens.net/redirector/sccsc.edu?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.credoreference.com%2Fcontent%2Fentry%2Fbridgeart%2 Fstate_street_boston_engraved_by_s_lacey_engraving_b_w_photo%2F0%3FinstitutionId%3D2682.

Example:  "Daily Time Spent on Social Networking by Internet Users Worldwide from 2012 to 2022 (in Minutes)."  Digital 2022: Global Digital Overview , We Are Social / DataReportal / Hootsuite, 26 Jan. 2022.  Statista , www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/.

Citing Images in a Presentation

MLA gives two different ways to cite an images in a presentation or paper depending on how you are using the image in your presentation. The difference depends on whether the image is just for illustration or decoration (a stand along image), or if you're going to refer to this image in your presentation (the image itself is part of the content of your presentation.

Option 1: Image is for Illustration or Decoration (not going to talk directly about the image during your presentation).

In this case, list the entire citation information in the caption of the image. Do not list it on your Works Cited page at the end.

Option 2: Image is Part of the Presentation (going to talk about the image specifically during your presentation)

​In this case, you'll still include a caption for the image, but the caption will only include an in-text citation, and the entire citation information will go on the Works Cited page like you with a regular source.

See the two different ways you could use the image below in a presentation, and how the citing would differ.

​Option 1: If the image below is on a slide about massage therapists, but you don't directly talk about the image, then you'd include the full citation information in the caption for the image. See below.

Fig. 1: Cuttingham, Alyssa. Massage Chair. Massage & Bodywork , vol. 28, no. 3, Dec. 2016, p. 14. Vocational and Career Collection , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=imh&AN=imh984947&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=s9007306.

Option 2: If you're displaying this image of the massage chair in order to talk about the correct positioning and demonstrate how someone should sit in the chair, meaning that you'll talk about this image and what it shows, then you would include the citation information in your Works Cited, and the caption would just include an in-text citation.

Fig. 1: Correct Positioning in a Massage Chair (Cuttingham 14).

Works Cited

Cuttingham, Alyssa.  Massage Chair. Massage & Bodywork , vol. 28, no. 3, Dec. 2016, p. 14. Vocational and Career Collection, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=imh&AN=imh984947&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=s9007306.

Citing Artwork in a Project

There are several ways to cite Artwork in a project in MLA format.

When you include artwork directly into your paper or presentation, it should be labeled as "Fig." with a number, followed by a period. (Example: Fig. 1.).

Under the image, place a caption that will start with the Figure label and number. Then you have options for how to finish the caption.

Give the full MLA citation for your source. Do not invert the creator's name (if you have one listed). 

If you include the full MLA citation in your caption and you do not cite the source again in your project, you do not need to include the source in your Works Cited.

Fig 1. Vincent Van Gogh.  Self Portrait . 1889.  National Gallery of Art , www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.106382.html. 

Give basic information about your source such as the creator of the image, title, year, and any other important information. If you do not include the full MLA citation, your source must be added to your Works Cited page.

Fig. 1. Vincent Van Gogh,  Self Portrait,  oil on canvas, 1889.

Van Gogh, Vincent.  Self Portrait . 1889.  National Gallery of Art , www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.106382.html. 

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• Finding Images
• Citing Images in a Project in MLA
• Citing Images in a Project in APA
• Citing Images in APA

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Locating and Using Images for Presentations and Coursework

• Free & Open Source Images
• How to Cite Images
• Alt Text Image Descriptions

Copyright Resources

• Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States from Cornell University Library
• Copyright Overview from Purdue University
• U.S. Copyright Office
• Fair Use Evaluator
• Visual Resources Association's Statement of Fair Use of Images for Teaching, Research, and Study
• Creative Commons Licenses

Attribution

Again, the majority of images you find are under copyright and cannot be used without permission from the creator. There are exceptions with Fair Use, but this Libguide is intended to help you locate images you can use with attribution (and in some case, the images are free to use without attribution when stated, such as with stock images from pixabay). ***Please read about public domain . These images aren't under copyright, but it's still good practice to include attribution if the information is available. Attribution : the act of attributing something, especially the ascribing of a work (as of literature or art) to a particular author or artist. When you have given proper attribution, it means you have given the information necessary for people to know who the creator of the work is.

Citation General Guidelines

Include as much of the information below when citing images in a paper and formal presentations. Apply the appropriate citation style (see below for APA, MLA examples).

• Image creator's name (artist, photographer, etc.)
• Title of the image
• Date the image (or work represented by the image) was created
• Date the image was posted online
• Date of access (the date you accessed the online image)
• Institution (gallery, museum) where the image is located/owned (if applicable)
• Website and/or Database name

Citing Images in MLA, APA, Chicago, and IEEE

• Directions for citing in MLA, APA, and Chicago MLA: Citing images in-text, incorporating images into the text of your paper, works cited APA 6th ed.: Citing images in-text and reference list Chicago 17th ed.: Citing images footnotes and endnotes and bibliography from Simon Fraser University
• How to Cite Images Using IEEE from the SAIT Reg Erhardt Library
• Image, Photograph, or Related Artwork (IEEE) from the Rochester Institute of Technology Library

Citing Images in Your PPT

Currently, citing images in PPT is a bit of the Wild West. If details aren't provided by an instructor, there are a number of ways to cite. What's most important is that if the image is not a free stock image, you give credit to the author for the work. Here are some options:

1. Some sites, such as Creative Commons and Wikimedia, include the citation information with the image. Use that citation when available. Copy the citation and add under the image. For example, an image of a lake from Creative Commons has this citation next to it:  "lake"  by  barnyz  is licensed under  CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 .

2. Include a marker, such as Image 1. or Figure 1., and in the reference section, include full citation information with the corresponding number

3. Include a complete citation (whatever the required format, such as APA) below the image

4. Below the image, include the link to the online image location

5. Hyperlink the title of the image with the online image location

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• Last Edited: Jun 8, 2023 3:28 PM
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Finding Images

• Finding Still Images
• Finding Moving Images

Referencing your images

• Reverse image searching
• Academic Skills Gateway
• Book an ASC Appointment

Like any book or journal article, images created by someone else must be cited with a 'sufficient acknowledgment'. This means every time you use an image in an essay  you must provide a citation where the image appears and then an entry in your reference list or bibliography. You must also provide a citation to any images you use in presentations, blogs or websites.

It is vital that you keep an accurate record of everything you consult when doing your work and cite what you have used clearly so that:

• You can find the original source  again yourself
• Someone reading your work will be able to  find the original source
•  You can avoid plagiarism by making clear what is your work and what is in the source

You can maintain a record of the references you using either a bibliographic software package such as EndNote or by recording the details manually on reference cards.

 For more information on quoting and managing references see the  i-cite website

Sufficient Acknowledgment

To comply with copyright law, even within educational exceptions, you must always include a sufficient acknowledgment when using still and moving images. Think of this like referencing a text - if you did not include the reference you would be plagiarising another person's work.

A sufficient acknowledgement should include the following:

• Artist/ maker/ author
• Title of the work and date made
• Source of the reproduction/film

For example: Julia Margaret Cameron, The Mountain Nymph Sweet Liberty, 1866, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Image databases, like Bridgeman and Artstor, often include an acknowledgement for you to use which can be directly copied and pasted into your work. 

When using an image from Flickr or Creative Commons, the name of the person who has uploaded the image can also be used. This is usually included in the details section of the image. 

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• Last Updated: Sep 14, 2023 1:26 PM
• URL: https://libguides.bham.ac.uk/subjectsupport/skills/images

Finding and referencing images: Referencing images

• Referencing images
• Finding images and videos

Introduction

In this guide, ' IMAGE ' is used to refer to any visual resource such as a diagram, graph, illustration, design, photograph, or video. They may be found in books, journals, reports, web pages, online video, DVDs and other kinds of media. This guide also refers to ‘ CREATOR ’. This could be an illustrator, photographer, author or organisation.

The examples are presented in Harvard (Bath) style and offer general guidelines on good practice. For essays, project reports, dissertations and theses, ask your School or Department which style they want you to use. Different referencing styles require the use of similar information but will be formatted differently. For more information on other referencing styles, visit our referencing guide .

Using images to illustrate or make clear the description and discussion in your text is useful, but it is important that you give due recognition to the work of other people that you present with your own. This will help to show the value of their work to your assignment and how your ideas fit with a wider body of academic knowledge.

It is just as important to properly cite and reference images as it is the journal articles, books and other information sources that you draw upon. If you do not, you could find yourself accused of plagiarism and/or copyright infringement.

Using images and copyright

For educational assignments it is sufficient to cite and reference any image used. If you publish your work in any way , including posting online, then you will need to follow copyright rules. It is your responsibility to find out whether, and in what ways, you are permitted to use an image in your coursework or publications. Please refer to our copyright guidance and ask for further assistance if you are unsure.

Some images are given limited rights for reuse by their creators. This is likely to be accompanied with a requirement to give recognition to their work and may limit the extent to which it can be modified. The ‘Creative Commons’ copyright licensing scheme offers creators a set of tools for telling people how they wish their work to be used. You can find out more about the different kinds of licence, and what they mean, on the organisation’s web pages .

What is a caption?

Any image that you use should be given a figure number  and a brief description of what it is. Permission for use of an image in a published work should be acknowledged in the figure caption. Some organisations will require the permission statement to be given exactly as they specify. If they are required, permissions need to be stated in addition to the citing and referencing guidance given below.

Referencing images in PowerPoint slides

For a presentation you should include a brief citation under the image. Keep a reference list to hand (e.g. hidden slide) for questions. Making a public presentation or posting it online is publishing your work. You must include your references and observe permission and copyright rules.

Example of a caption

Figure 1. Library book. Reproduced with permission from: Rogers, T., 2015, University of Bath Library

Citing and referencing images

Citing images from a book or journal article.

If you wish to refer to images used in a book or journal, they are cited in the same way as text information , for example:

The functions and flow of genetic information within a plant cell can be visualised as a complex system (Campbell et al., 2015, pp. 282-283).

Campbell et al. (2015, pp. 282-283) have clearly illustrated how a plant cell functions.

If you were to include this example in an essay the caption and citation below the image would look similar to this:

Figure 7. The functions and flow of genetic information within a plant cell (Campbell et al., 2015, pp. 282-283).

The reference at the end of the work would be as recommended for a book reference in our general referencing guide .

For a large piece of work such as a dissertation, thesis or report, a list of figures may be required at the front of the work after the contents page. Check with your department for information on specific requirements of your work.

Google images

When referencing an image found via Google you need to make sure that the information included in your reference relates to the original website that your search has found. Click on the image within the results to get to the original website and take your reference information from there. Take care to use credible sources with good quality information.

Citing and referencing images from a web page

If you use an image from a web page, blog or an online photograph gallery you should reference the individual image . Cite the image creator in the caption and year of publication. The creator may be different from the author of the web page or blog. They may be individual people or an organisation. Figure 2 below gives an example of an image with a corporate author:

List the image reference within your references list at the end of your work, using the format:

NASA, 2015.  NASA astronaut Tim Kopra on Dec. 21 spacewalk [Online]. Washington: NASA. Available from: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/nasa-astronaut-tim-kopra-on-dec-21-spacewalk [Accessed 7 January 2015].

Wikipedia images

If you want to reference an image included in a Wikipedia article, double-click on the image to see all the information needed for your reference. This will open a new page containing information such as creator, image title, date and specific URL. The format should be:

Iliff, D., 2006. Royal Crescent in Bath, England - July 2006  [Online] .  San Francisco: Wikimedia Foundation. Available from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Crescent_in_Bath,_England_-_July_2006.jpg [Accessed 7 January 2016].

Images and designs from exhibitions, museums or archives

If you want to reference an image or design that you have found in an exhibition, museum or archive, then you also need to observe copyright rules and reference the image correctly. The format is:

For example, if you want to reference an old black and white photograph from 1965 that is held in an archive at the University of Bath:

Bristol Region Building Record, 1965. Green Park House (since demolished), viewed from southwest [Photograph]. BRBR, D/877/1. Archives & Research Collections, University of Bath Library.

NB if you were to reproduce this archive image in your work, or any part of it (rather than just cite it), you would also need to note ‘© University of Bath Library’. This copyright note should be added to the image caption along with the citation.

Referencing your own images

If you take a photograph, you do not have to reference it. For sake of clarity you may want to add “Image by author” to the caption. If you create an original illustration or a diagram that you have produced from your own idea then you do not have to cite or reference them. If you generate an image from a graphics package, for example a molecular structure from chemistry drawing software, you do not need to cite the source of the image.

Referencing images that you adapt from elsewhere

If you use someone else’s work for an image then you must give them due credit. If you reproduce it by hand or using graphics software it is the same as if you printed, scanned or photocopied it. You must cite and reference the work as described in this guide. If the image is something that you have created in an earlier assignment or publication you need to reference earlier piece of work to avoid self-plagiarism. If you want to annotate information to improve upon, extend or change an existing image you must cite the original work. However, you would use the phrase ‘adapted from’ in your citation and reference the original work in your reference list.

AI generated images

If you have used an AI tool to generate an image you must acknowledge that tool as a source  (see point 7 of the  academic integrity statement ).

This content is not recoverable; it cannot be linked or retrieved. There is no published source that you can reference directly. Instead you would give an in-text, ‘personal communications’ citation , as described in part 15 of our 'Write a citation' guidance (from the Harvard Bath guide). This type of citation includes the author details followed by (pers. comm.) and the date of the communication.

For example, an image of a shark in a library generated with Craiyon with a ‘personal communications’ citation included in the image caption:

Figure 3. Shark in a library image generated using an AI tool (Craiyon, AI Image Generator (pers. comm.) 14 July 2022). 

Online images and resources for your work

The library has compiled a list of useful audio-visual resources, including images, that can be used for essays or assignments. Visit the ' finding images and videos ' tab of this guide to find out more.

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• Last Updated: Nov 6, 2023 3:07 PM
• URL: https://library.bath.ac.uk/images

Generate accurate Chicago citations for free

• Knowledge Base
• Chicago Style
• How to Cite an Image in Chicago Style | Format & Examples

How to Cite an Image in Chicago Style | Format & Examples

Published on May 25, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 5, 2022.

Chicago Reference Generator

In Chicago notes and bibliography style , it’s recommended to just cite images in notes, omitting them from the bibliography. List an image in your bibliography only if you cite it frequently,  if it’s essential to your argument, or if your university requires you to.

Follow the format shown below to create a note and—if necessary—a bibliography entry for an image viewed online. Make sure to cite the page where the image is hosted, not, for example, the Google search results where you found it.

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Table of contents

Citing an artwork from a museum, citing an image from a book, image citations in chicago author-date style, frequently asked questions about chicago style citations.

When you viewed an artwork in person at a museum, gallery, or other location, provide information about the institution housing it. Include a URL if the museum website has a page dedicated to the artwork.

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An image you encountered in a book , journal article , or other print source should be cited by first listing information about the image itself, then listing information about the source it was contained in, including the page number where the image can be found.

Use italics for the title an image originally created outside the context of the book or article (e.g., an artwork) and quotation marks for the title of an image original to the book or article (e.g., an infographic). Use plain text to describe an untitled image.

An example citation of an artwork from a book is shown below.

In Chicago author-date style , an in-text citation for an image consists of the author’s last name and the year the image was created.

These citations correspond to entries in your reference list. Reference list entries are similar to bibliography entries, except that the year comes immediately after the author’s name.

• Online image
• Museum artwork
• Image from a book

In Chicago style , when you don’t just refer to an image but actually include it in your (research) paper , the image should be formatted as a figure. Place the figure before or after the first paragraph where it is mentioned. Refer to figures by their numbers in the text (e.g., “see fig. 1”).

Below the figure, place a caption providing the figure number followed by a period (e.g., “Figure 1.”), a reference to the source (if you didn’t create the image yourself), and any relevant information to help the reader understand the image (if needed).

The caption is single-spaced and left-aligned, and followed by a blank line before the continuation of the main text.

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator .

In a Chicago footnote citation , when the author of a source is unknown (as is often the case with websites ), start the citation with the title in a full note. In short notes and bibliography entries, list the organization that published it as the author.

In Chicago author-date style , treat the organization as author in your in-text citations and reference list.

When an online source does not list a publication date, replace it with an access date in your Chicago footnotes and your bibliography :

If you are using author-date in-text citations , or if the source was not accessed online, replace the date with “n.d.”

In Chicago notes and bibliography style , the usual standard is to use a full note for the first citation of each source, and short notes for any subsequent citations of the same source.

However, your institution’s guidelines may differ from the standard rule. In some fields, you’re required to use a full note every time, whereas in some other fields you can use short notes every time, as long as all sources are listed in your bibliography . If you’re not sure, check with your instructor.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, December 05). How to Cite an Image in Chicago Style | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 1, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/chicago-style/image-citations/

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Extended Essay Resources: Finding and Citing Images

• Research Video Tutorials
• Video Tutorials
• In-text Citations
• Finding and Citing Images
• Plagiarism VS. Documentation
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Using Images in a Presentation

Is the image for decoration? If yes, follow below. No? Keep scrolling.

1. Royalty-free clipart does not require an attribution.

2. Public domain images don't require an attribution. However, it's considered good form to allow your audience to find your images. You should make an attribution in a caption beneath or adjacent to the image that states the title/name of the image, the author/creator (if you can find it), the source, and the license. Then h yperlink the title of the image and author to the source of the image. See the box below for more information on creating attributions.  For example:

Lightbulb by ColiN00B is licensed under Creative Commons CC0 

Photo by ColiN00B on Pixabay

Is the image for analysis or to support your argument? If yes, follow below.

1. In this case, you are using the image in an academic way so you should provide an MLA citation.  Remember, a URL is not a citation. You must provide a citation for an image in the same way that you make a citation for a book or a website. Use NoodleTools to help. You can list citations like this:

Creator’s Last name, First name. “Title of the digital image.”  Title of the website , First name Last name of any contributors, Version (if applicable), Number (if applicable), Publisher, Publication date, URL.

Vasquez, Gary A. Photograph of Coach K with Team USA.  NBC Olympics , USA Today Sports, 5 Aug. 2016, www.nbcolympics.com/news/rio-olympics-coach-ks-toughest-test-or-lasting-legacy.

2. You can put the citation as a caption beneath the image. You can also list it with your other references in your "Works Cited" list. 

Creative Commons and Royalty-Free Media

• 10 Websites with Free Stock Video Footage Free royalty free stock footage is hard to find but we have compiled a list of some of the better sites that are offering a selection of video clips available for download and use in personal and commercial projects.
• Compfight Locate the visual inspiration you need. Super fast!
• Creative Commons Search for images and videos with a Creative Commons re-use license on multiple websites.
• Flickr Commons Images with no known copyright restrictions from various cultural heritage institutions
• Getty Search Gateway The Getty Search Gateway allows users to search across several of the Getty repositories, including collections databases, library catalogs, collection inventories, and archival finding aids.
• Google Images Choose "Tools" > Choose "Usage Rights" > Choose "Labeled for reuse"
• Morguefile Morguefile is a free photo archive “for creatives, by creatives.”
• Open Clipart Free, public domain clip art.
• Pexels.com Pexels provides high quality and completely free stock photos licensed under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license.
• Photos for Class Search now to download properly attributed, Creative Commons photos for school!
• Pixabay Pixabay is a vibrant community of creatives, sharing copyright free images and videos. All contents are released under Creative Commons CC0, which makes them safe to use without asking for permission or giving credit to the artist - even for commercial purposes.
• Snappygoat.com Over 13,000,000 free public domain images.
• Tineye Have an image but not sure where it's from? Try this reverse image search.
• Unsplash Over 1,000,000 free (do-whatever-you-want) high-resolution photos brought to you by the world’s most generous community of photographers.
• Video Assets from Camtasia Royalty-free elements to enhance your videos in Camtasia
• Wikimedia Commons Over 40 million freely usable media files. Attributions provided. This is a great source for finding historical images, as well.

How to make attributions next to an image

• Creative Commons - Best practices for attribution You can use CC-licensed materials as long as you follow the license conditions. One condition of all CC licenses is attribution. Here are some good (and not so good) examples of attribution.

If you use images, such as photographs or clipart , in your presentation, you should also credit the source of the image. Do not reproduce images without permission. See the box "Finding Public Domain Images" in this guide to find sources for images that are "public use".

Use the acronym TASL to remember how to attribute images:

T - Title/Description

A - Author or creator

S - Source & date (Name of the website the image is from)

L - License or location (Creative Commons license or URL)

For example...

" Satellites See Unprecedented Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melt " by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is licensed under CC by 2.0

Title: Satellites See Unprecedented Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melt  Author: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Source: Flickr (linked in title)  License: CC by 2.0

Quick Guide

Citing images in mla.

• OWL Purdue - Images
• OWL Purdue - Tables and Figures The purpose of visual materials or other illustrations is to enhance the audience's understanding of information in the document and/or awareness of a topic. Writers can embed several types of visuals using most basic word processing software: diagrams, musical scores, photographs, or, for documents that will be read electronically, audio/video applications.
• OWL Purdue - Other types of sources Several sources have multiple means for citation, especially those that appear in varied formats: films, DVDs, T.V shows, music, published and unpublished interviews, interviews over e-mail; published and unpublished conference proceedings.

Public Domain Images

These images are in the public domain. They are free to use, but you must make an attribution or citation.

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How to Cite Images, Tables and Diagrams

The pages outlines examples of how to cite images, tables and diagrams using the Harvard Referencing method .

An image found online

In-text citations

Mention the image in the text and cite the author and date:

The cartoon by Frith (1968) describes ...

If the image has no named author, cite the full name and date of the image:

The map shows the Parish of Maroota during the 1840s (Map of the Parish of Maroota, County of Cumberland, District of Windsor 1840-1849)

List of References

Include information in the following order:

• author (if available)
• year produced (if available)
• title of image (or a description)
• Format and any details (if applicable)
• name and place of the sponsor of the source
• accessed day month year (the date you viewed/ downloaded the image)
• URL or Internet address (between pointed brackets).

Frith J 1968, From the rich man’s table, political cartoon by John Frith, Old Parliament House, Canberra, accessed 11 May 2007, <http: // www . oph.gov.au/frith/theherald-01.html>.

If there is no named author, put the image title first, followed by the date (if available):

Khafre pyramid from Khufu’s quarry 2007, digital photograph, Ancient Egypt Research Associates, accessed 2 August 2007, <http: // www . aeraweb.org/khufu_quarry.asp>.

Map of the Parish of Maroota, County of Cumberland, District of Windsor 1840-1849, digital image of cartographic material, National Library of Australia, accessed 13 April 2007, <http: // nla . gov.au/nla.map-f829>.  

Online images/diagrams used as figures

Figures include diagrams, graphs, sketches, photographs and maps. If you are writing a report or an assignment where you include a visual as a figure, unless you have created it yourself, you must include a reference to the original source.

Figures should be numbered and labelled with captions. Captions should be simple and descriptive and be followed by an in-text citation. Figure captions should be directly under the image.

Cite the author and year in the figure caption:

Figure 1: Bloom's Cognitive Domain (Benitez 2012)

If you refer to the Figure in the text, also include a citation:

As can be seen from Figure 1 (Benitez 2012)

Provide full citation information:

Benitez J 2012, Blooms Cognitve Domain, digital image, ALIEM, accessed 2 August 2015, <https: // www . aliem.com/blooms-digital-taxonomy/>.   

Online data in a table caption

In-text citation

If you reproduce or adapt table data found online you must include a citation. All tables should be numbered and table captions should be above the table.

  Table 2: Agricultural water use, by state 2004-05 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006)

If you refer to the table in text, include a citation:

As indicated in Table 2, a total of 11 146 502 ML was used (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006)

Include the name of the web page where the table data is found.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006, Water Use on Australian Farms , 2004-05, Cat. no. 4618.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, accessed 4 July 2007, <https: // www . abs.gov.au>.

FAQ and troubleshooting

Harvard referencing

• How to cite different sources
• How to cite references
• How to cite online/electronic sources
• Broadcast and other sources
• Citing images and tables
• FAQs and troubleshooting
• About this guide
• ^ More support

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MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web Publications)

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

The MLA Handbook highlights principles over prescriptive practices. Essentially, a writer will need to take note of primary elements in every source, such as author, title, etc. and then assort them in a general format. Thus, by using this methodology, a writer will be able to cite any source regardless of whether it’s included in this list.

However, this guide will highlight a few concerns when citing digital sources in MLA style.

Best Practices for Managing Online Sources

Because online information can change or disappear, it is always a good idea to keep personal copies of important electronic information whenever possible. Downloading or even printing key documents ensures you have a stable backup. You can also use the Bookmark function in your web browser in order to build an easy-to-access reference for all of your project's sources (though this will not help you if the information is changed or deleted).

It is also wise to keep a record of when you first consult with each online source. MLA uses the phrase, “Accessed” to denote which date you accessed the web page when available or necessary. It is not required to do so, but it is encouraged (especially when there is no copyright date listed on a website).

Important Note on the Use of URLs in MLA

Include a URL or web address to help readers locate your sources. Because web addresses are not static (i.e., they change often) and because documents sometimes appear in multiple places on the web (e.g., on multiple databases), MLA encourages the use of citing containers such as Youtube, JSTOR, Spotify, or Netflix in order to easily access and verify sources. However, MLA only requires the www. address, so eliminate all https:// when citing URLs.

Many scholarly journal articles found in databases include a DOI (digital object identifier). If a DOI is available, cite the DOI number instead of the URL.

Online newspapers and magazines sometimes include a “permalink,” which is a shortened, stable version of a URL. Look for a “share” or “cite this” button to see if a source includes a permalink. If you can find a permalink, use that instead of a URL.

Abbreviations Commonly Used with Electronic Sources

If page numbers are not available, use par. or pars. to denote paragraph numbers. Use these in place of the p. or pp. abbreviation. Par. would be used for a single paragraph, while pars. would be used for a span of two or more paragraphs.

Basic Style for Citations of Electronic Sources (Including Online Databases)

Here are some common features you should try to find before citing electronic sources in MLA style. Not every web page will provide all of the following information. However, collect as much of the following information as possible:

• Author and/or editor names (if available); last names first.
• "Article name in quotation marks."
• Title of the website, project, or book in italics.
• Any version numbers available, including editions (ed.), revisions, posting dates, volumes (vol.), or issue numbers (no.).
• Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date.
• Take note of any page numbers (p. or pp.) or paragraph numbers (par. or pars.).
• DOI (if available, precede it with "https://doi.org/"), otherwise a URL (without the https://) or permalink.
• Date you accessed the material (Date Accessed). While not required, saving this information it is highly recommended, especially when dealing with pages that change frequently or do not have a visible copyright date.

Use the following format:

Author. "Title." Title of container (self contained if book) , Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs and/or URL, DOI or permalink). 2 nd container’s title , Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable).

Citing an Entire Web Site

When citing an entire website, follow the same format as listed above, but include a compiler name if no single author is available.

Author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available), DOI (preferred), otherwise include a URL or permalink. Date of access (if applicable).

Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site . Version number, Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available), URL, DOI or permalink. Date of access (if applicable).

The Purdue OWL Family of Sites . The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Accessed 23 Apr. 2008.

Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory . Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/. Accessed 10 May 2006.

Course or Department Websites

Give the instructor name. Then list the title of the course (or the school catalog designation for the course) in italics. Give appropriate department and school names as well, following the course title.

Felluga, Dino. Survey of the Literature of England . Purdue U, Aug. 2006, web.ics.purdue.edu/~felluga/241/241/Home.html. Accessed 31 May 2007.

English Department . Purdue U, 20 Apr. 2009, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/. Accessed 31 May 2015.

A Page on a Web Site

For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known, followed by an indication of the specific page or article being referenced. Usually, the title of the page or article appears in a header at the top of the page. Follow this with the information covered above for entire Web sites. If the publisher is the same as the website name, only list it once.

Lundman, Susan. “How to Make Vegetarian Chili.”  eHow , www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html. Accessed 6 July 2015.

“ Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview. ”   WebMD , 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview.

Citations for e-books closely resemble those for physical books. Simply indicate that the book in question is an e-book by putting the term "e-book" in the "version" slot of the MLA template (i.e., after the author, the title of the source, the title of the container, and the names of any other contributors).

Silva, Paul J.  How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing. E-book, American Psychological Association, 2007.

If the e-book is formatted for a specific reader device or service, you can indicate this by treating this information the same way you would treat a physical book's edition number. Often, this will mean replacing "e-book" with "[App/Service] ed."

Machiavelli, Niccolo.  The Prince , translated by W. K. Marriott, Kindle ed., Library of Alexandria, 2018.

Note:  The MLA considers the term "e-book" to refer to publications formatted specifically for reading with an e-book reader device (e.g., a Kindle) or a corresponding web application. These e-books will not have URLs or DOIs. If you are citing book content from an ordinary webpage with a URL, use the "A Page on a Web Site" format above.

An Image (Including a Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph)

Provide the artist's name, the work of art italicized, the date of creation, the institution and city where the work is housed. Follow this initial entry with the name of the Website in italics, and the date of access.

Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV . 1800. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Museo Nacional del Prado , www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-family-of-carlos-iv/f47898fc-aa1c-48f6-a779-71759e417e74. Accessed 22 May 2006.

Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine . 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive , www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klee/twittering_machine.jpg.html. Accessed May 2006.

If the work cited is available on the web only, then provide the name of the artist, the title of the work, and then follow the citation format for a website. If the work is posted via a username, use that username for the author.

Adams, Clifton R. “People Relax Beside a Swimming Pool at a Country Estate Near Phoenix, Arizona, 1928.” Found, National Geographic Creative, 2 June 2016, natgeofound.tumblr.com/.

An Article in a Web Magazine

Provide the author name, article name in quotation marks, title of the web magazine in italics, publisher name, publication date, URL, and the date of access.

Bernstein, Mark. “ 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web. ”   A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites , 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Accessed 4 May 2009.

An Article in an Online Scholarly Journal

For all online scholarly journals, provide the author(s) name(s), the name of the article in quotation marks, the title of the publication in italics, all volume and issue numbers, and the year of publication. Include a DOI if available, otherwise provide a URL or permalink to help readers locate the source.

Article in an Online-only Scholarly Journal

MLA requires a page range for articles that appear in Scholarly Journals. If the journal you are citing appears exclusively in an online format (i.e. there is no corresponding print publication) that does not make use of page numbers, indicate the URL or other location information.

Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May 2009.

Article in an Online Scholarly Journal That Also Appears in Print

Cite articles in online scholarly journals that also appear in print as you would a scholarly journal in print, including the page range of the article . Provide the URL and the date of access.

Wheelis, Mark. “ Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. ”   Emerging Infectious Diseases , vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 8 Feb. 2009.

An Article from an Online Database (or Other Electronic Subscription Service)

Cite online databases (e.g. LexisNexis, ProQuest, JSTOR, ScienceDirect) and other subscription services as containers. Thus, provide the title of the database italicized before the DOI or URL. If a DOI is not provided, use the URL instead. Provide the date of access if you wish.

Alonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. “ Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of Freshwater Invertebrates. ”   Environmental Toxicology, vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library , https://doi.org/10.1002/tox.20155. Accessed 26 May 2009.

Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical Journal, vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest , https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.

E-mail (including E-mail Interviews)

Give the author of the message, followed by the subject line in quotation marks. State to whom the message was sent with the phrase, “Received by” and the recipient’s name. Include the date the message was sent. Use standard capitalization.

Kunka, Andrew. “ Re: Modernist Literature. ”  Received by John Watts, 15 Nov. 2000.

Neyhart, David. “ Re: Online Tutoring. ” Received by Joe Barbato, 1 Dec. 2016.

A Listserv, Discussion Group, or Blog Posting

Cite web postings as you would a standard web entry. Provide the author of the work, the title of the posting in quotation marks, the web site name in italics, the publisher, and the posting date. Follow with the date of access. Include screen names as author names when author name is not known. If both names are known, place the author’s name in brackets.

Author or compiler name (if available). “Posting Title.” Name of Site , Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), URL. Date of access.

Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. “Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number of Rooms?” BoardGameGeek , 29 Sept. 2008, boardgamegeek.com/thread/343929/best-strategy-fenced-pastures-vs-max-number-rooms. Accessed 5 Apr. 2009.

Begin with the user's Twitter handle in place of the author’s name. Next, place the tweet in its entirety in quotations, inserting a period after the tweet within the quotations. Include the date and time of posting, using the reader's time zone; separate the date and time with a comma and end with a period. Include the date accessed if you deem necessary.

@tombrokaw. “ SC demonstrated why all the debates are the engines of this campaign. ”   Twitter, 22 Jan. 2012, 3:06 a.m., twitter.com/tombrokaw/status/160996868971704320.

@PurdueWLab. “ Spring break is around the corner, and all our locations will be open next week. ”   Twitter , 5 Mar. 2012, 12:58 p.m., twitter.com/PurdueWLab/status/176728308736737282.

A YouTube Video

Video and audio sources need to be documented using the same basic guidelines for citing print sources in MLA style. Include as much descriptive information as necessary to help readers understand the type and nature of the source you are citing. If the author’s name is the same as the uploader, only cite the author once. If the author is different from the uploader, cite the author’s name before the title.

McGonigal, Jane. “Gaming and Productivity.” YouTube , uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdzy9bWW3E.

“8 Hot Dog Gadgets put to the Test.” YouTube, uploaded by Crazy Russian Hacker, 6 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBlpjSEtELs.

A Comment on a Website or Article

List the username as the author. Use the phrase, Comment on, before the title. Use quotation marks around the article title. Name the publisher, date, time (listed on near the comment), and the URL.

Not Omniscient Enough. Comment on “ Flight Attendant Tells Passenger to ‘Shut Up’ After Argument Over Pasta. ”  ABC News, 9 Jun 2016, 4:00 p.m., abcnews.go.com/US/flight-attendant-tells-passenger-shut-argument-pasta/story?id=39704050.

How to Cite Google Images

Create citations for free.

Website Book Journal Image

They say a picture tells a thousand words—so photographs can serve an important purpose in essays or presentations you’re working on. Google Images, which contains images from thousands of websites at the click of a button, is one of the easiest places to find photos on the Internet. So knowing how to cite an image found on Google Images is pretty helpful.

While you might know how to cite a thousand-word-long journal article, citing an image might seem more difficult, especially if you’ve obtained that image from an online source. Luckily, citing a picture you’ve found on Google Images isn’t all that different from citing a website you found after doing a quick Google search.

Say you’re working on a biographical paper or PowerPoint presentation about President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and you want your title page or opening slide to contain a photograph of the former president, who has the distinction of being the only president to serve more than two terms throughout much of World War II, and who led the country out of the Great Depression.

Google Images has you covered on the picture—the site has pages and pages of images, including this neat one of FDR sitting at his desk in the Oval Office—and if you want to cite the photo in MLA format , APA format , or Chicago style, we’ve got you covered on that.

Copyright Considerations

Before continuing, you should understand that many of the images found through Google and other search engines are copyright protected. This means that you are not allowed to make money from the use of these images. For example, it is illegal to make and sell t-shirts that display this image of Franklin D. Roosevelt. However, according to Chapter 1, Section 107, of the Copyright Law , you are allowed to use images for research and classroom purposes.

Information Needed for the Citation

After finding the image that you’d like to use, to the right of the image, click the button that says, “Visit page.” This is where you’ll find the information you need to cite the image.

Here’s the specific information you’ll need to locate when citing an image you found on Google Images:

• Full name of the image’s creator, such as the name of the photographer or illustrator (if available)
• Formal title of the image (if available) or a description of the image
• Name of the website where the image lives (Do not use Google as the name of the website!)
• Publisher of the website where the image was found on
• Date this information was published on their site

*Please note that if putting these citations in a printed paper, the lines should be double-spaced and indented.

How to cite an image from Google Images in MLA 9:  

Last name, First name of creator. “Title” or description of the image. Title of the Website , Publisher, Date of publication, URL or DOI.

• In MLA, if the image has a title, place it in quotation marks and use title case: capitalize the first letter of each important word and pronoun. If the image does not have an official title, create a simple description and use sentence case: only capitalize the first letter in the description and the first letter of any pronoun.
• Only include the name of the publisher if it is different than the name of the author and title of the site.
• For URLs or DOIs, copy them exactly as shown in the address bar or link from your browser.

How to cite the example image in MLA 9:

Photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt at his desk. The Washington Post , 25 Apr. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/04/25/the-white-house-boo-boo-in-counting-roosevelts-executive-orders/?utm_term=.06cac0ac12e5.

If you need help with in-text and parenthetical citations, CitationMachine.net, can help. Our MLA citation generator is simple and easy to use!

How to cite an image from Google Images in APA:

Image creator’s Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year published). Title of image [Photograph, Cartoon, Painting, etc.]. Website Name. URL.

The reference list entry for the image consists of its author, year of publication, title, description in brackets, and source (usually the name of the website and the URL).

• In APA, if the image does not have a formal title, describe the image and place the description in brackets.
• In APA, do not place a period at the end of the URL

  How to cite the example image in APA:

US National Trust. (2017). Franklin D. Roosevelt at his desk [Photograph] . Google Images. https://www.google.com/images/the-white-house-boo-boo-in-counting-roosevelts-executive-orders/?utm_term=.06cac0ac12e5

How to cite an image from Google Images in Chicago:

Last name, First name Middle initial of creator of image. “Title of image” or Description. Digital Image. Title of Website. Month Day, Year Published. Accessed date. URL.

• If the image does not have an official title, create a description. Do not place the description in quotation marks.
• Only include the date the image was accessed if there is no publication date!

How to cite the example image in Chicago:

Franklin D. Roosevelt at his desk. Digital Image. The Washington Post. April 25, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/04/25/the-white-house-boo-boo-in-counting-roosevelts-executive-orders/?utm_term=.8d30c188c74c.

Works Cited

  “Chapter 1: Subject Matter and Scope of Copyright.” Copyright Law of the United States , p. 19, www.copyright.gov/title17/chapter1.pdf.

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Google Images is an aggregator or search engine for images. It is not a repository of images by itself. Since Google Images is not the original source for the images found there, you cannot cite or mention “Google Images” as the source of your images.

Instead of citing “Google Images,” you must cite the original source of the image. For any image found from Google Images, find the original source of the image by clicking the “Visit page” button. Then, the image should be cited using the following details (if available) as per your class style (APA, MLA, or Chicago):

• Full name of the image’s original creator
• Formal name of the image or description of the image
• Original website source (not Google Images)
• Website’s publisher
• Date of publication of the image

It is easy to search for relevant images using an online search engine like Google Images, but the issue of copyright has to be addressed when using images found online.

Most images are copyright protected. Copyrighted images belong to the original illustrator, agency, or organization that designed and created them. You cannot use these images for your business needs without the permission of the creator. However, you can use these images for your research and class needs, as long you provide a citation to the source of these images.

Cite the original source of the image (not “Google Images”) per your class style (APA, MLA, or Chicago) using the below details:

• Do Not Sell My Personal Info

•  ⋅ 
• Content Creation

The Essential Guide To Using Images Legally Online

Are you using images legally online? Learn how to avoid copyright infringement and protect yourself from legal consequences with this guide.

The information in this article is not intended to and does not constitute legal advice. Only your attorney or your organization’s counsel can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation.

Images are an essential component of online content – and it’s obvious why. Images aren’t just pretty—they’re powerful marketing tools that help you stand out.

They pique your audience’s attention, enhance your messaging, and significantly enhance the appeal and effectiveness of your content.

Whether you’re creating a social media post, a webpage, an ebook, a blog post, or something else, adding visuals goes a long way in improving the overall user experience.

However, you can’t just pull images off the internet and use them – and it’s your responsibility to determine if and how you can use the image without breaking the law.

If you violate copyright law – even accidentally – you can face serious consequences. Many online platforms, such as Google and YouTube , have copyright policies that streamline copyright claims and enforcement actions. Often, a minor violation will result in receiving a DMCA notice and the content being removed or demonetized. However, if a violation is egregious or impactful enough, you could face heavier consequences such as hefty fines, court trials, and, in extreme cases, even jail time.

In this article, we’ll explore how you can navigate these murky waters to ensure that you’re using images impactfully and legally online.

What Is Copyright Law?

Copyright law is complex and dynamic, and it requires a careful approach to using images online – especially in the wake of tech advancements like generative AI .

Every image – whether you find it on Google, social media, or a stock photo site – gains copyright as soon as it’s created, and it’s up to you to discern whether or not you have the legal right to use it.

Copyright is designed to protect the creative works of authors, photographers, artists, and other creators. It gives them the exclusive rights to use, distribute, and modify their creations.

Without such laws, creators would have few defenses against individuals and corporations alike simply stealing their work and using it for whatever purposes they desire.

And while the foundational principle of copyright remains unchanged, the landscape around these laws is always evolving.

A recent example of this is the CASE Act of 2020 , which created a small claims solution to make it easier for creatives to make copyright complaints without the need for long, expensive legal battles.

This goes to show how important it is to understand and respect copyright law, as its goal is to balance the interests of creators with the need for the public to have access to creative works.

What Is Fair Use?

Another thing you should be familiar with if using images online is the fair use doctrine.

The doctrine of fair use is a legal principle in U.S. copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted work without requiring permission in certain cases and circumstances. Some of these cases include commentary, criticism, news reporting, or educational purposes.

“Transformative” use of an image can also constitute fair use – which means altering the original visual in such a way that it takes on a new meaning, message, or expression and can include parody.

A search engine showing an image you searched for is an example of fair use.

Teachers and news organizations also have certain protections under fair use for how they use copyrighted material.

Fair use is very nuanced, but the main factors involved in determining whether something is fair use are:

• The purpose and character of the use : Do you want to use the image for commercial or non-commercial purposes? Are you a non-profit organization, a customer packaged goods (CPG) brand, or a journalistic organization?
• The nature of the copyrighted work : Is it a photograph or an art piece?
• The amount and substantiality of the portion used : Are you using a small piece of the work or all of it? Is what you’re using considered the “heart” of the image or whatever it represents?
• The effect of the use on the potential market: By using this image, are you potentially negatively impacting the market value of the original?

Given all of these factors, you should carefully consider whether fair use might apply to an image you would like to use online.

Fair use is not guaranteed protection and you may want to consult your general counsel before relying on it. If a policy for using copyrighted works doesn’t already exist in your organization (for example, editorial guidelines for a news organization) and the stakes of using a copyrighted work don’t necessitate the expense of consulting a lawyer, then you should not use content you don’t have explicit rights to.

General Guidelines For Using Images Online

As we’ve already established, anybody using images online has a responsibility to abide by copyright laws in order to avoid legal issues.

As part of this, you should understand that even if images online seem “free,” they might have hidden restrictions based on how they’re used, where they’re shared, and the purpose of using them.

When using images online – especially for commercial/marketing purposes – you should always:

• Obtain proper licenses or permissions where required . As part of this, make sure to get signed releases for any images using trademarks, logos, identifiable people, or other private entities.
• Respect any terms of use associated with said images.
• Be careful when making fair use determinations . If you’re unsure, seek legal advice.
• When in doubt, seek permission directly from the copyright owner . This is the safest way to use an image, and we would recommend taking this path whenever possible.

And, of course, ensure you stay informed on the latest developments in copyright law, especially as it pertains to your own activity.

Now, let’s get more specific on the types of images you can use online, and best practices for how to put them to use (or not).

1. Public Domain Images (a.k.a. ‘No Copyright’ Images)

Images in the public domain are free to use without any copyright restrictions.

This is because one of the following things is true:

• The copyright has expired.
• The work never had a copyright, to begin with.
• The copyright holder released the work into the public domain, thereby waiving their right to copyright.
• The image is a U.S. work published before January 1, 1929.

That last bullet is why you’ll often hear about certain works “entering the public domain” each year.

Generally, public domain images don’t require citation or permissions, making them a very useful resource when you’re looking for easy-to-use visuals.

But be careful; make sure you verify that the image is indeed in the public domain before using it.

Copyright-free images will have the Public Domain Mark 1.0 or the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Mark, and you can obtain them on sites like Wikimedia Commons and Flickr Commons .

2. Creative Commons Images

Another great (and free) source of visuals is images with Creative Commons licenses.

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that provides licenses allowing creators to make their works available to the public while retaining some control over their use.

This means, images under Creative Commons licenses are available for use, but with specific conditions based on the license type.

While some licenses allow for commercial use and even modifications to the original image, others do not – and often, you’re required to provide attribution for the original creator.

There are six different types of Creative Commons licenses that range in terms of how permissive they are and their requirements – but for marketing purposes, they essentially fall into two categories:

• Those that allow commercial use.
• Those that don’t.

Commercial use is defined as use that is “primarily intended for commercial advantage or monetary compensation.”

That compensation, however, can be direct or indirect. So, if you’re using an image in a blog post or on a webpage affiliated with a for-profit company, the use is considered commercial. This would also apply to social media content.

To that end, we would recommend only using Creative Commons photos that are allowed for commercial use – especially if you work for a for-profit company.

Beyond that, photos with a CC license can have other stipulations you must adhere to, including:

• Attribution : This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the creator’s work as long as they credit the creator for the original creation.
• Attribution-ShareAlike : This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon the creator’s work as long as they credit the creator and license their new creations under the identical terms.
• Attribution-No Derivatives : This license allows for the redistribution of an image as long as the image remains unchanged and is credited to the creator.

As you search through the Creative Commons website, you can filter your search to find images that can be used commercially and/or modified.

3. Stock Photos

Stock photos have long been a favored image resource for marketers, and it’s not hard to see why. They’re a high-quality, convenient solution that often caters to commercial use cases.

Stock photo websites give you access to a massive offering of professional quality images that address almost any need or situation you can think of.

Creators can partner with stock photo companies to license their works to anyone willing to pay their licensing fee.

Buying a license for a stock photo (or paying for a subscription to the stock photo service itself) gives you free rein to use the photo in any way prescribed by the licensing agreement .

That last part is important. Stock photos still come with stipulations, and there are different licenses that apply to different images. These include, among others:

• Royalty-Free (RF) – The most common license type, this gives you the ability to use the photo multiple times across different platforms with just one initial purchase.
• Rights-Managed (RM) – With this license, you get more specific usage rights based on the duration, geography, and how you’re distributing the image. Typically more expensive than RF, but it can be possible to secure exclusivity, meaning you’re the only one who can use that image in that way for a specific period.
• Editorial Use – This license applies to images that are intended solely for journalistic or newsworthy purposes – not commercial use . So, while a writer could use this photo for a newsletter or a blog, a brand could not use it for a Facebook ad, or a corporate homepage. This is typically reserved for images that feature recognizable products or brands, celebrities, events, etc.

Stock photos are a great option for using images online – just be sure to always read the licensing agreement thoroughly.

4. Your Own Images

As far as using images legally online, this is always going to be your best option.

Creating your own images is a straightforward and simple way to avoid copyright infringement and ensure you’re not upsetting any creators out there.

If you’re the photographer, then there’s no danger of violating any copyright – because you own it. You have the flexibility to use the image as you wish, alter it, and distribute it anywhere, for as long as you like.

Plus, the photos will be entirely original, which can go a long way in engaging your audience and setting you apart from the crowd.

Don’t have a fancy camera on hand? Don’t worry. Thanks to advances in smartphone camera technology and accessible photo editing apps and software, you can easily create high-quality photography without spending a bunch of money on a DSLR.

To make your pictures look professional, make sure to consider lighting and background framing.

Alternatively, you could hire outside help like a photographer or designer – just make sure the contract grants you exclusive rights to ownership, use, and distribution of the photos.

And don’t forget to get signed releases from any individuals who might appear in your images.

5. Social Media Images (Only W ith Permission)

If you’re looking for compelling visual content , chances are you’re looking at social media. With a wealth of imagery to choose from, social media presents tempting opportunities for marketers looking to spiff up their brand messaging.

But beware: Images posted on social media platforms are copyrighted by the original creator who uploaded them – and they require permission from that owner to be legally used.

It’s vital to act responsibly and secure explicit consent from creators if you plan to use their content.

Giving credit to the original owner via a tag or comment is also best practice – and while some consider that to be enough, I recommend always seeking explicit permission first, especially as a brand.

If you use social media content without permission, it could result in legal action – and the legal fees and final judgment could be crippling.

Always err on the side of caution, and research the terms and conditions of the platform you’re using.

Let’s say you have a customer who posted an amazing image of your product on Instagram, and you’d like to use it – sending a simple direct message (or leaving a comment) asking for permission is quick and easy and will protect you – and chances are you’ll get a yes.

It’s worth noting that using native tools to reshare images in-platform is typically okay. That means that you can go ahead and retweet something, or share a photo to your Instagram Story that tagged your brand, just make sure to credit the creator.

Similarly, remixes and duets on platforms like TikTok are more flexible, as the creator implicitly gives permission for their content to be adapted when they enable those features.

But remain mindful of the content itself, the terms of the platform, and the intentions of the original creator.

6. AI-Generated Images

Due to the meteoric rise of generative AI over the past few years, there’s been a surge in AI-generated images.

Now, you can use tools like DALL-E, Midjourney , and ChatGPT to create visual content using only a simple prompt – and this brings up a lot of questions (and debates) around the legality, copyright, and authorship of AI-created content.

There’s no crystal clear answer for you here. This is an issue that is actively evolving, and regulations and policies are certain to keep developing.

[Editor’s note:] SEJ does not recommend publishing content outputs from generative AI models, including images. Some platforms may offer liability protection, such as Shutterstock , which trains a specific model on proprietary images. But always read the fine print, understand how the models are trained, and consult a legal professional.

The internet loves GIFs .

But while GIFs abound throughout online content, that doesn’t mean their use is legal. In reality, it’s a confusing landscape without clear guidelines.

For one thing, it can be argued that GIFs fall under the doctrine of fair use, which I covered above.

You could claim GIFs are used for commentary, criticism, or parody.

You could also argue that GIFs are a “transformative” use of the original work, as a brief, looping clip of something is not representative of the entire piece of content – and, therefore, doesn’t undermine the value of the work as a whole.

Still, this does not constitute blanket permission.

Technically, if you wanted to be operating entirely without risk, you would need written releases from the copyright holder of the original work and the people who appear in the GIF. That sounds like a lot of effort for something that will probably amount to a dead end.

You could get away with it, but why risk it?

Our official recommendation is to simply avoid using GIFs. That way, you can avoid the possibility of getting slapped with a cease and desist order – or worse.

That said, if you insist on using GIFs, here are a few quick tips:

• Create your own GIFs from content you own or have permission to use . With some simple design work, or help from online tools, you can convert your existing content into custom GIFs that you can use to your heart’s content. This is the only way I would confidently recommend leveraging GIFs in your marketing.
• Understand copyright law and fair use . Before deciding to use a GIF, consider the four factors of fair use – purpose and character of the use, nature of the copyrighted work, amount and substantiality of the portion used, and the effect of the use on the potential market for the copyrighted work.
• Source from reputable platforms . Some platforms like Giphy have existing licensing agreements with content creators and copyright owners, making their GIF libraries generally safe to use. However, you should still review each platform’s terms of use and licensing agreements before making the call.

Proceed at your own risk.

Images are an essential part of online content.

As such, marketers will inevitably need to use them in their digital marketing efforts – and it’s important to understand how to do so legally and responsibly.

By keeping yourself informed on the latest legal developments, developing an understanding of copyright licenses, and practicing due diligence before leveraging images online, you can create compelling and engaging visual content without the risk.

More resources: 

• 41 Places To Find Free Images Online That You Will Actually Want To Use
• 11 Best Image Search Engines For Visual Content
• Content Marketing: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To What Works

Featured Image: VectorMine/Shutterstock

Kristi Kellogg is proud to work as the senior SEO content strategist at Condé Nast (her literal dream job). At ...

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