How to Cite Images in Academic Papers: APA, MLA & Chicago Format Guide 2026

TL;DR — What You Need to Know

Before we dive in, here are the non-negotiable rules:

• Every image citation has two parts: an in-text or figure caption component AND a reference list entry (reference list in APA, Works Cited in MLA, Bibliography in Chicago). Miss one, and your paper is incomplete.
• The single most common formatting error: Students place figure labels and captions in the wrong spot. APA puts the figure number and title above the image, with the descriptive note below. MLA and Chicago place the label and caption below the image.
• Google Images is never a valid source. Trace the image to its actual origin (museum, archive, database, journal) before citing.
• AI-generated images can never have an AI as the author. The developer company (OpenAI, Midjourney Inc., Google) must be credited, never the tool itself.
• “From” vs “Adapted from”: Use “From” when reproducing an image exactly. Use “Adapted from” when you’ve modified it for your own purposes.

The Two-Part Citation Rule

Before we cover specific formats, let’s understand the framework every style follows.

Every image you use in your paper falls into one of two categories:

1. Referencing an image: You mention or discuss a figure in your text but don’t embed it. This requires an in-text citation and a reference list entry.
2. Reproducing (embedding) an image: You include the actual image in your paper. This requires THREE elements — a figure label (number and title), the image itself, and a figure note/caption (descriptive text with attribution).

Most students miss this distinction and end up citing an embedded image as if it only needs an in-text citation. That’s why your professor marks you down.

Let’s break down the exact format for each of the three major citation styles.

APA 7 Format for Citing Images

APA (American Psychological Association) 7th edition is the most common style in STEM fields, social sciences, and education.

In-Text Citation

When referencing an image in your text (not embedding it), use this format:

Parenthetical format: (Creator, Year)

Narrative format: Creator (Year)

For example:

(National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2024)

or

NASA (2024) shows the Martian surface in this photo.

In-Text Citation When No Creator Is Available

If an image has no identified creator, use the organization name or the title of the work:

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], 2023)

or if the organization is mentioned in the text:

NOAA (2023) provides this satellite image of the hurricane.

See our guide on citing sources without authors for more scenarios.

Figure Caption / Label Format

APA places the figure label and title ABOVE the image, and the descriptive note BELOW the image. This is the placement rule most students get wrong.

Figure Label: Figure 1. Title of the Figure

Figure Note: Description of the figure, source information, and copyright note if applicable.

Complete format (for reproducing an image in your paper):

Figure 1. Earthrise, Apollo 8 {line break}
From Earthrise, by William B. Emerson, 1988, NASA/JPL-Caltech. https://www.nasa.gov/

Reference List Entry

Online image format:

Creator Name. (Year). Title of image (Version) [Description] Source. URL

Example (online image):

NASA. (2024). Earth from orbit [Photograph]. https://www.nasa.gov/images/earth-orbit.jpg

Example (museum image):

Van Gogh, V. (1889). The Starry Night [Oil painting]. Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.

Example (chart or graph):

World Health Organization. (2023). Global health expenditure by region [Graph]. https://www.who.int/data/health-expenditure

The “From” vs. “Adapted From” Distinction

This rule is consistently missed by students using citation generators:

• “From”: Use when you reproduced the image exactly. Example: From Global climate data [Figure], 2022.
• “Adapted from”: Use when you modified part of an image for your own purposes. Example: Adapted from Student enrollment trends [Chart], 2020.

This distinction matters for academic integrity. If you changed colors, added labels, or cropped an image, you’re adapting it, not reproducing it.

MLA 9 Format for Citing Images

MLA (Modern Language Association) 9th edition is standard in humanities, arts, and literature.

In-Text Citation

Use the creator’s last name and the page or image number if available:

(Smith 5)

or

Smith shows how the Renaissance painter used chiarosc lighting (Fig. 3).

When no creator is available, use the title in italics:

(“Untitled Landscape”)

Works Cited Entry

MLA format for images in the Works Cited list:

Creator’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Image, Year. Name of Database, Website, or Archive (if applicable), URL.

Example (online photograph):

Smith, Johnson. Sunset Over the Grand Canyon. 2023, www.smithphotography.com/grand-canyon.jpg.

Example (museum artwork):

Kahlo, Frida. Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Stinging Heron. 1940, Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City.

Example (chart or graph):

International Monetary Fund. World Economic Outlook 2024 [Graph]. 2024, www.imf.org/data/growth-chart.jpg.

Example (slide presentation):

Johnson, Rebecca. Introduction to Cognitive Psychology. PowerPoint presentation, 2024.

MLA Format for Figure Captions

MLA places the label and caption BELOW the image (unlike APA). The format is:

Figure 1. Title of Work. Credit line.

Example:

Figure 1. The Starry Night. Vincent van Gogh, 1889. Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Important MLA Note

MLA 9 no longer requires URLs in Works Cited entries unless your instructor specifically requires them. If your professor mandates URLs, add them in angle brackets:

Smith, Johnson. Sunset Over the Grand Canyon. 2023, www.smithphotography.com/grand-canyon.jpg.

See our guide on how to cite a website for more URL formatting details.

Chicago 17/18 Format for Citing Images

Chicago style (Notes-Bibliography) is common in history, art history, and some social sciences. It uses footnotes or endnotes instead of in-text citations.

Footnote Format

Chicago places the caption BELOW the image, similar to MLA.

Footnote example:

1. Creator’s Last Name, First Name, Title of Work, year, format, source.

Example (online photograph):

1. National Geographic Society, Mount Kilimanjaro, 2023, photograph, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/kilimanjaro.jpg.

Example (museum artwork):

1. Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace, 1940, oil on canvas, Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City.

Example (chart or graph):

1. World Bank, Global Poverty Rates 2023, 2023, infographic, https://www.worldbank.org/poverty-data.jpg.

Dimensions Requirement

Chicago is the only major style that requires artwork dimensions when known. Include them in the note:

1. Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889, oil on canvas, 73.7 × 92.1 cm, Museum of Modern Art, New York.

This is unique to Chicago and frequently omitted by students who confuse the styles.

Bibliography Entry

Bibliography format (for the end of your paper):

Creator’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Work, year, format, source.

Example (online image):

National Geographic Society. Mount Kilimanjaro, 2023, photograph, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/kilimanjaro.jpg.

Example (book illustration):

Kahlo, Frida. Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace, 1940, oil on canvas, Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City.

AI-Generated Image Citation

This is where students get stuck. All three major styles agree on one rule: AI cannot be an author. No style guide permits crediting ChatGPT, DALL-E, or Midjourney as the author. The developer company must be credited instead.

APA 7 Format for AI Images

APA treats the AI developer as the author. Format:

Developer Company. (Year). Description of image (Version) [AI-generated image] Source or URL.

Example:

OpenAI. (2024). Neural network visualization (Version 4) [AI-generated image]. https://platform.openai.com/images/neural-net.jpg.

Include the exact prompt if your instructor requires it. Some formats add a note about the prompt:

OpenAI. (2024). Neural network visualization [Image generated using “3D neural network with glowing nodes” prompt, Version 4]. https://platform.openai.com/images/neural-net.jpg.

MLA 9 Format for AI Images

MLA treats the AI-generated image as a work whose title is the prompt itself:

Creator (developer company). Description of AI image. Year.

Example:

OpenAI. “Neural network visualization” (2024).

MLA 9 (updated August 2025) treats the prompt as the title of the work. This is unique to MLA.

Chicago Format for AI Images

Chicago treats AI software as the creator with the developer company as the publisher:

1. Developer Company, Title of AI image, year, AI-generated image, URL.

Example:

1. Anthropic, “Abstract data visualization”, 2024, AI-generated image, https://www.anthropic.com/images/data-viz.jpg.

The Universal Rule for AI Images

No matter which style you use, three pieces of information are always required:

1. The developer company (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Midjourney Inc.)
2. The exact prompt used to generate the image
3. The tool version and generation date

All three style guides updated their AI guidance within the last year. Check your professor’s instructions carefully — some require the prompt to be included in the citation, while others do not.

For more detail on AI citation across different content types, see our guide on citing AI in academic papers.

Creative Commons and Copyright

Creative Commons (CC) licenses are increasingly common for educational materials. Remember: CC licensing does not remove the requirement for academic citation.

Even if a CC license says “no attribution required” for public distribution, your academic paper requires formal attribution. Citation and copyright compliance are two different systems. The academic citation rules I cover above apply regardless of the image’s licensing status.

When you include images from Creative Commons-licensed sources, add the license type to the caption:

Figure 1. Venn Diagram of Learning Styles. Adapted from Education Resources, 2022. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Here are the errors professors mark most frequently. Avoiding these will save you at least 2-3 points off your formatting grade.

1. Citing Google Images Directly

Google Images is a search engine, not a source. Your citation must trace the image to its actual origin — the museum, database, journal, or website where it was published. Never cite an image with “Google Images” as the source.

2. Wrong Placement for Figure Labels

This is the single most common error across all styles:

• APA: Label and title go above the image; note goes below.
• MLA: Label and caption go below the image.
• Chicago: Caption goes below the image.

If your professor uses APA, placing the label below the image is incorrect.

3. Missing Format Tags

Every image needs a format descriptor in brackets:

• [Photograph]
• [Painting]
• [Graph]
• [Chart]
• [Map]
• [Infographic]
• [PowerPoint slides] or [Slides]
• [AI-generated image]

Many students skip this because their citation generator didn’t include it. Add it yourself.

4. Wrong Title Capitalization

APA uses sentence case (only the first word capitalized). MLA uses title case (major words capitalized). Chicago follows its own style notes. Don’t mix them.

5. Confusing Screenshots and Screenshots

A screenshot of a website or document is a distinct image category. It requires its own format with the screenshot descriptor:

(Creator, Year) [Screenshot]

6. Using the Wrong Citation Style for Your Field

• APA: STEM, social sciences, education
• MLA: Humanities, arts, literature
• Chicago: History, art history, some social sciences

When in doubt, check your professor’s assignment guide or course syllabus. Do not guess.

Cross-Style Comparison Table

Use this table as a quick reference when formatting your citations.

Summary and Next Steps

Here’s the quick recap of the three styles and how to choose the right one:

Your next steps:

1. Check your professor’s preferred style before you start formatting. Do not guess.
2. Use the comparison table above as your checklist. Every citation needs a creator, title, date, format, and source.
3. Trace images to their real source — never cite Google Images.
4. Remember the two-part rule: Every image has an in-text component AND a reference list entry (when referencing) or figure label + caption (when embedding).
5. When in doubt, consult your discipline’s style guide. Most university libraries host online versions.

Citing images might feel overwhelming at first — especially when you’re three hours away from a deadline with a professor who cares about formatting details. But once you understand the two-part citation rule and memorize the placement differences (APA above, MLA/Chicago below), formatting images becomes mechanical, not complicated.

The cross-style table above is your shortcut. Keep it open while you write. And if an image has no creator, no date, or uses AI — you now have the exact format for every scenario.

Related Resources

• How to Cite Sources Without Authors — When image creators are unknown
• How to Cite a Website — Online image sources
• How to Cite AI in Academic Papers — AI content citation across styles

FAQ

How do I cite an image in APA 7?

Use the format: (Creator, Year) for in-text citations. For reference list entries: Creator. (Year). Title [Format]. Source. The figure label goes above the image and the note goes below.

How do I cite an image in MLA 9?

Use (Creator page) for in-text citations. For Works Cited: Creator. Title. Year. Source. MLA no longer requires URLs unless your instructor mandates them. The figure label goes below the image.

How do I cite an image in Chicago style?

Use a footnote number: Creator, Title, year, format, source. Chicago requires artwork dimensions when known and uses the Notes-Bibliography system. The caption goes below the image.

Can AI be the author of an image in a citation?

No. All three major styles (APA, MLA, Chicago) agree that AI cannot be an author. Credit the developer company (OpenAI, Midjourney Inc., etc.) instead. Always include the exact prompt, tool version, and generation date.

How do I cite an image with no author?

Use the title of the work or the organization name as the author. See our guide on citing sources without authors for complete scenarios.