How to Cite an Image in APA, MLA and Chicago
To cite an image, give the creator, the date, the title (or a description if it has none), a label for the type of image, and where you found it. In APA 7th edition the format is Creator, A. A. (Year). Title of image [Description]. Source. URL. In MLA 9th edition it is Creator Last, First. Title of Image. Year. Website or Collection, URL. In Chicago (17th edition), images are often cited in a footnote or caption: Creator, Title, Year, medium, Collection, City. If you're placing the image inside your paper, you also need a caption or note that credits it. Here's how to handle each situation.
The examples use invented artists and images.
Two different situations
- You discuss an image in your writing but don't reproduce it. You cite it like any other source.
- You reproduce an image in your paper, slides or report. You cite it and also add a caption or figure note, and in published work you may need permission or a suitable licence.
Details to collect
- Creator: artist, photographer, illustrator or organisation
- Date created or published
- Title, if it has one
- Type: painting, photograph, illustration, map, infographic, chart
- Where it is: museum and city, or website name and URL
- Licence, if reproducing it (e.g. a Creative Commons licence)
APA 7th edition
Artwork in a museum
Ferreira, L. (1934). Harbour at dawn [Painting]. Northgate Museum of Art, Boston, MA, United States.
Add a URL if you viewed it on the museum's website.
Photograph online
Adeyemi, K. (2024). Market morning in the old town [Photograph]. Open Lens Archive. https://www.example.org/photos/market-morning
Image without a title
Describe the image in square brackets in place of the title:
Adeyemi, K. (2024). [Photograph of fishermen repairing nets on a pier]. Open Lens Archive. https://www.example.org/photos/12345
Infographic or chart from an organisation
Coastal Futures Network. (2025). Sea level change since 1900 [Infographic]. https://www.example.org/infographics/sea-level
APA in-text citations
- (Ferreira, 1934)
- Adeyemi's (2024) photograph shows...
Reproducing an image as a figure in APA
Number the figure, give it a title, and add a note under it crediting the source and licence:
Figure 1 Fishermen Repairing Nets [image] Note. From Market Morning in the Old Town, by K. Adeyemi, 2024, Open Lens Archive (https://www.example.org/photos/market-morning). CC BY 4.0.
Use "From" when reproducing the image unchanged and "Adapted from" if you modified it. Include the source in your reference list as well.
MLA 9th edition
Artwork in a museum
Ferreira, Lucia. Harbour at Dawn. 1934, Northgate Museum of Art, Boston.
Artwork viewed online
Ferreira, Lucia. Harbour at Dawn. 1934. Northgate Museum of Art, www.example.org/collection/harbour-at-dawn.
Photograph online
Adeyemi, Kemi. Market Morning in the Old Town. 2024. Open Lens Archive, www.example.org/photos/market-morning.
No title
Use a short description in plain text, no italics:
Adeyemi, Kemi. Photograph of fishermen repairing nets on a pier. Open Lens Archive, 2024, www.example.org/photos/12345.
No creator
Start with the title or description:
Map of the Northern Coastline. 1890. Old Maps Collection, www.example.org/maps/northern-coast.
MLA in-text citations and captions
- (Ferreira) or (Adeyemi)
- For a reproduced image, label it "Fig. 1" and give a caption below it. If the caption contains full source details, MLA allows you to skip the works cited entry; many instructors still want one, so check.
Fig. 1. Kemi Adeyemi, Market Morning in the Old Town, 2024, Open Lens Archive, www.example.org/photos/market-morning.
Chicago 17th edition
Chicago often handles artworks and photographs in notes or captions rather than the bibliography, but your instructor may want bibliography entries too.
Footnote for an artwork
- Lucia Ferreira, Harbour at Dawn, 1934, oil on canvas, Northgate Museum of Art, Boston.
Footnote for an online photograph
- Kemi Adeyemi, Market Morning in the Old Town, 2024, photograph, Open Lens Archive, https://www.example.org/photos/market-morning.
Bibliography (if required)
Adeyemi, Kemi. Market Morning in the Old Town. 2024. Photograph. Open Lens Archive. https://www.example.org/photos/market-morning.
Caption
Figure 1. Kemi Adeyemi, Market Morning in the Old Town, 2024. Open Lens Archive. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Quick comparison
| APA 7 | MLA 9 | Chicago 17 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title format | Italics, sentence case | Italics, title case | Italics, title case |
| Type label | [Painting], [Photograph] in brackets | Usually not needed | Medium in note: "oil on canvas," "photograph" |
| Untitled image | [Description in brackets] | Description in plain text | Description in plain text |
| Reproduced image | Figure number, title, note | Fig. 1 with caption | Figure caption with credit |
Stock photos, social media and AI images
Stock photos: cite the photographer if credited, otherwise the stock site or agency. Use the image title or a description. Check the licence: some stock licences don't require credit, but academic citation is about telling readers where it came from, which is still good practice.
Social media images: cite the account that posted it, using the format for social media posts in your style, and describe the image if there's no caption.
AI-generated images: styles generally treat these as output from the AI tool's developer. In APA, for example, the developer is the author, with a description of the image and the tool name. Disclose in your text that the image is AI-generated and include the prompt if useful. Our guide on citing ChatGPT covers the general pattern for AI tools.
Citation is not permission
Crediting an image tells readers where it came from. It doesn't give you the right to reproduce it. For class assignments, educational use is often treated more leniently, but for anything published, such as a blog, a journal article or a commercial report, use images you have permission or a licence to use. Public domain and openly licensed images are the simplest choice; follow the licence's attribution requirements exactly.
Inkwell's APA citation generator and MLA citation generator help format image references; add the bracketed description (APA) or check italics (MLA) by hand if the tool doesn't prompt for it. If your work also uses many sources, a bibliography generator keeps the list consistent.
FAQ
How do I cite an image from Google Images?
Don't cite Google Images itself; it's a search tool. Click through to the page where the image is hosted and cite the original creator and site.
Do I need to cite images in a presentation?
Yes. Add a short credit under the image on the slide and include a full entry on your references slide.
What if I can't find who created an image?
Use the organisation or website that published it. If there's truly no creator, start with the title or a description. If you can't identify the source at all, consider using a different image you can credit properly.
Should the image title be in italics?
In APA, MLA and Chicago, titled standalone images such as artworks and photographs are italicised. Descriptions used in place of a title are not.