To cite a picture in APA style (7th edition), you need to include the following elements in your reference list entry:
- Creator's last name and initials
- Year of creation (or "n.d." if no date)
- Title of the image in italics (or a description if untitled, in brackets)
- Medium or format in brackets (e.g., [Photograph], [Painting], [Digital image])
- Source where you accessed the image (website name, museum/gallery name, and URL if online)
Reference List Format for an Online Image
Last name, Initials. (Year). Title of image [Format]. Website name. URL
Example:
Thompson, M. (2020). Canyon wren [Photograph]. Flickr.
https://flic.kr/p/2icfzq4
Reference List Format for an Image from a Museum or Gallery
Last name, Initials. (Year). Title of image [Format]. Museum/Gallery name, Location.
Example:
van Gogh, V. (1889). The starry night [Painting]. Museum of Modern Art, New
York City, NY, United States.
In-Text Citation
Use the creator's last name and year:
(Last name, Year)
Example: (van Gogh, 1889)
Including Images Within Your Paper
- Label images as figures (e.g., Figure 1) with a descriptive title above the image.
- Below the image, include a note with copyright information and the source.
- Figures you did not create yourself should be cited both in the list of figures and in the reference list.
Handling Missing Information
- If no title: use a description in brackets.
- If no date: use (n.d.) and include the retrieval date.
- If no creator: start the citation with the image title or description.
This guidance is based on APA 7th edition standards for citing images, as detailed by sources such as Scribbr and Grammarly
