Skip to Main Content
homepage
Contact Us Library Hours

APA Style Guide: 7th Edition

Creating References for Images

When we reference images in our work, we follow the guidelines that are set for each different source type.

It is important to remember that copyright restrictions may apply when reproducing (i.e., copying) images in our work. We encourage you to consult the NIC Library & Learning Commons Copyright Guide for more detailed information.

Print Books & Journal Articles

When referencing images from print books or journal articles, we cite the item rather than the image itself. Listed below are a few examples, but make use of the various formats for books and journal articles elsewhere in this guide.

TEMPLATE:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work in italics and sentence case: Capitalize first letter of subtitle (Edition information, if available). Publisher.
 

EXAMPLE:

Payne, A. H. (1845). Payne’s Royal Dresden Gallery: Being a selection of subjects engraved after pictures, by the great masters (Vol. 1). A. H. Payne & W. French.

 

Goethe, J. W. (1877). Faust: A tragedy (A. Kreling, Trans.). F. Bruckmann.

 

TEMPLATE:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work in sentence case: Capitalize first letter of subtitle. Title of Journal in Mixed Case and Italics, volume number in italics(issue number in brackets), first page–last page.

 

EXAMPLE:

Barrel, D. (1911). Boregas and Tanakas II: A mountain sheep hunt in lower California. Forest and Stream, 76(12), 448–451.

Books

(Author, Year of publication)

(Payne, 1845)

(Goethe, 1877)

Journals

(Author, Year of publication)

(Barrel, 1911)

E-books & E-journal Articles

When referencing images from e-books or e-journal articles, we cite the item rather than the image itself. Listed below are a few examples, but make use of the various formats for e-books and e-journal articles elsewhere in this guide.

TEMPLATE:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of book in sentence case and italics: Capitalize the first word of the subtitle (Edition information, if available). Publisher.

 

EXAMPLE:

Forbes, E. (1890). Thirty years after: An artist's story of the great war. Digital Scanning, Inc.

 

Drake, S. A. (1894). The making of the great west: 1512–1883. Digital Scanning, Inc.

 

TEMPLATE:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of article in sentence case: Capitalize the first word of the subtitle. Title of Journal in Mixed Case and Italics, volume number(issue number in brackets), first page–last page. https://doi.org/xxxx

 

EXAMPLE:

Serlin, I. A. (2020). Dance/movement therapy: A whole person approach to working with trauma and building resilience. American Journal of Dance Therapy, 42(2), 176–193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10465-020-09335-6

 

Chisolm, S., & Hauptfleisch, T. (2021). Dances in the Park: The pre-history of the Maynardville Open Air Theatre. Shakespeare in Southern Africa, 34, 23–34. https://doi.org/10.4314/sisa.v34i1.3

 

E-books

(Author, Year of publication)

(Forbes, 1890)

(Drake, 1894)

E-journals

(Author, Year of publication)

(Serlin, 2020)

(Chisolm & Hauptfleisch, 2021)

Databases

When referencing digital images from databases that could be found in multiple locations (i.e. Artstor; Points to the Past), it is not necessary to specify the database in the citation [APA 9.30]. Make use of the following citation formats.

TEMPLATE:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work in italics and sentence case: Capitalize first letter of subtitle [Format]. Database URL
 

EXAMPLE:

 

*n.b. When the author/creator of a work is unknown, move the title of the work to the lead position in the citation.

 

However, when referencing either original proprietary images or images that are not available elsewhere (i.e. Medical ART (SMART) Imagebase), the database should be specified [APA 9.30]. Make use of the following citation format.

 

TEMPLATE:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work in italics and sentence case: Capitalize first letter of subtitle [Format]. Database name. Database URL
 

EXAMPLE:

Nucleus Medical Media. (2020). Carpal tunnel syndrome [Digital image]. Smart Imagebase. https://ebsco.smartimagebase.com/carpal-tunnel-syndrome/view-item?ItemID=3794

(Author, Year of publication)

(Elwell, 1848)

(Thomas Edison, 1889)

(Nucleus Medical Media, 2020)

Museums & Archives

If referencing digital images from museum and/or archive collections that could not be found elsewhere [10.14], make use of the following citation format.

TEMPLATE:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work in italics and sentence case: Capitalize first letter of subtitle [Format]. Museum, City, Country. Website URL

 

EXAMPLE:

Maynard, R. (1882). BC legislative assembly in front of legislative buildings [Photograph]. British Columbia Archives, Victoria, Canada. https://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/bc-legislative-assembly-in-front-of-legislative-buildings 

(Author, Year of publication)

(Maynard, 1882)

Websites

When referencing digital images from websites (i.e. stock images; clipart; photographs) [APA 10.14; 10.16], make use of the following citation format.

TEMPLATE:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work in italics and sentence case: Capitalize first letter of subtitle [Format]. Website name. Website URL

 

EXAMPLE:

Pixabay. (2016). Black short coat medium dog on floor [Photograph]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/dog-snout-puppy-royalty-free-97082/

 

*n.b. In the event that the image is not titled, provide a short description in square brackets.

Mak. (n.d.). [Calligraphy shop] [Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/SO-cbD2z1yQ

(Author, Year of publication)

(Pixabay, 2016)

(Mak, n.d.)