How to Cite an Image in APA, MLA, and Chicago

Learning how to cite an image is a small skill that saves you from a big problem: accidental plagiarism. Whether you are pulling a photo from a website, referencing a painting in a museum, or labeling a figure in your paper, this guide shows you the exact format for APA 7th, MLA 9th, and Chicago (17th edition) with clear, copy-ready examples.

What counts as “an image,” and what you need before you cite

An image can be a photograph, painting, drawing, map, chart, infographic, screenshot, or any other visual work. The style differs, but every citation answers the same basic questions.

• Who made it? The creator (photographer, artist, designer, or organization).
• What is it called? The title, or a short description if there is no title.
• When was it made or posted? The year, or a full date for online images.
• Where did you find it? The website, museum, archive, or publication.

Gather these four pieces first. If one is missing, do not invent it: each style has a rule for what to leave out or replace, and we cover those below.

How to cite an image in APA (7th edition)

APA treats an image like any other work: author, date, title (italicized, with a description of the format in brackets), and the source. For a photograph or other artwork found online, the format is:

Creator, A. A. (Year). Title of work [Format]. Site Name. URL

Online image (photograph or digital image)

Museum work (painting or sculpture)

For a work viewed in a museum, replace the website with the museum name and its location. Keep the format description in brackets.

An image used as a figure in your paper

If you reproduce an image inside your own document, APA asks you to add a figure number, a title, and a note crediting the source. The note appears below the image.

• Figure 1
• Sunrise Over the Harbor
• Note. From Sunrise over the harbor [Photograph], by J. Smith, 2021, Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/example/123456789). CC BY 2.0.

You still include the full reference-list entry as well. For a deeper walk-through of formatting rules, see our APA format guide, or build the entry automatically with the APA citation generator.

How to cite an image in MLA (9th edition)

MLA uses the same “container” logic as the rest of the style. You list the creator, the title (italicized for a standalone artwork, or in quotation marks if it is part of a larger work), and then where you found it.

Creator. Title of Work. Year, Website or Museum, Location/URL.

Online image

Museum work

For an artwork seen in person, name the institution and the city. Add the medium only if it is useful to your reader.

An image reproduced as a figure

MLA labels reproduced images with “Fig.” and a number, followed by a caption. If your caption gives full source details, you do not need a separate works-cited entry; if it gives only partial details, include the full entry on your Works Cited page.

• Fig. 1. Jane Smith, Sunrise over the Harbor, 2021, Flickr, www.flickr.com/photos/example/123456789.

Refer to the figure in your text as “see fig. 1.” For the wider rules, our MLA format guide and the MLA citation generator will help.

How to cite an image in Chicago (17th edition)

Chicago offers two systems. Notes-Bibliography uses footnotes plus a bibliography and is common in the humanities. Author-Date uses parenthetical citations plus a reference list and is common in the sciences. Pick the one your instructor requires.

Notes-Bibliography: online image

The note and the bibliography entry differ in punctuation and in the order of the author’s name.

Notes-Bibliography: museum work

Author-Date: online image

In the Author-Date system, the year moves directly after the creator’s name, and your in-text citation is a short parenthetical.

Chicago and its student-focused cousin Turabian share these rules. See the Chicago style guide for more, use the Chicago citation generator to format entries, or check the Turabian citation generator if your school requires that variant.

Common problems and how to solve them

The image has no title

Write a short, plain description in place of the title. In APA, put the description and format together in square brackets and do not italicize them, for example [Photograph of a city skyline at night]. In MLA and Chicago, give a brief description without quotation marks or italics, such as Photograph of a city skyline at night. Do not invent a creative title; describe only what the image shows.

The image has no author or date

If there is no creator, begin with the title. If there is no date, use “n.d.” in APA and Chicago, and simply omit the date in MLA when none is available. Never copy a date from elsewhere on the page unless it clearly belongs to the image.

You found the image on a search engine or social media

Always cite the original source, not the search results page. Click through to the site that actually hosts the image, identify the real creator, and cite that page. A screenshot of someone else’s post still requires you to credit the original poster.

Should you also get permission?

Citing and getting permission are different things. A citation gives credit; permission (or a Creative Commons license) gives you the legal right to reproduce the image. For a class paper, a citation is usually enough. For anything you publish, check the license. To understand why this matters, read about how to avoid plagiarism.

Quick comparison across styles

The same online photograph looks slightly different in each style. Notice where the date sits, how the source is named, and what punctuation separates the parts.

• APA: Creator, A. A. (Year). Title [Format]. Site Name. URL
• MLA: Creator. Title. Year, Site, URL.
• Chicago (NB note): First Last, Title, Year, format, Site, URL.

If you cite many sources, picking the right style first saves time. Our overview of citation styles explained can help you decide, and the free citation generator formats any source for you in seconds.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to cite an image I created myself?

If you took the photo or made the chart, you do not cite it as an outside source. In APA, label it as your own figure with a number and title. In MLA and Chicago, a caption that identifies it as your own work is enough. You only need a full citation when the image came from someone else.

How do I cite an image with no author or title?

Start with whatever information you do have. If there is no author, begin the entry with the title or a short description. If there is no title, write a brief description of the image in its place (not italicized). For a missing date, use “n.d.” in APA and Chicago, and omit the date in MLA. Always link to the original source rather than a search results page.

What is the difference between citing an image and citing a figure?

A citation is the full entry in your reference list, works-cited list, or bibliography. A figure is the image itself when you place it inside your paper, with a label such as “Figure 1” or “Fig. 1” and a caption that credits the source. In most cases you provide both: a caption under the image and a full entry in your list of sources.

Can I cite an image from social media?

Yes. Treat the post as the container. Cite the account or person who posted it as the creator, use the post date, and link directly to the post. Do not cite a screenshot or a search engine thumbnail as if it were the source. For related guidance, see how to cite a website.