How to cite an image, photo or artwork in APA 7

There are two different questions. The first is whether you need to cite the image at all. The second is which format fits it.

Do you need a citation?

• An image you reproduce in your paper. If the license requires credit, such as many Creative Commons licenses, you need an attribution in the figure note and a reference-list entry.
• A license that says no credit is needed. Then no reference, in-text citation or attribution is needed. The image still gets a figure number and title.
• An image you only discuss. If you describe an artwork or a photograph in your text, cite it like any other source.

Format for artwork and photographs

Artist, A. A. (Year). Title of the work [Photograph]. Museum or Site Name. URL

Lindgren, K. (2019). Harbor at dusk [Photograph]. Northern Frame Gallery. https://example.org/harbor-at-dusk

• Artist. The person who made it, as the author.
• Description. In square brackets after the title: [Photograph], [Painting], [Sculpture], [Digital art] and so on.
• Source. The museum, gallery or website that holds it, then the URL if it’s online.

Format for a stock or web image

The elements are the same: author, year, italic title, a bracketed description, and the source (usually the site name and the URL). APA’s example for a photo on a photo-sharing site names the organization that posted it as the author.

The figure note

When you reproduce an image, the figure’s own note carries the credit: the title, the author, the date, the site, the URL and the license name. APA says this copyright attribution takes the place of an in-text citation. The figure title is in italic title case.

Check before you submit

• The type matters, not how you found it. APA chooses the format by what kind of work it is, not by where you retrieved it.
• Look for the license. The site that hosts the image usually says what credit it requires.
• Don’t put an image from a published article in your paper without permission. Reproducing it can need the publisher’s permission as well as a citation.