APA (7th ed.) Citing Guide: Visual Works / Figures

Reference list entry:

Calder, A. (1928). Spring [Sculpture]. Solomon R. Guggengheim Museum, New York. https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/736

Note: Include the format, e.g. sculpture, painting, lithograph, in square brackets after the artwork title. If the art is untitled, describe the artwork in place of the title and put it in square brackets.

No in-text or reference entry is required. If the photo includes an identifiable person, you should obtain a signed release that allows you to use their photograph in your paper. 

see Publication Manual Section 7.3 and 12.17

Reference list entry:

Tawfiq, A. (2018). [Bike in front of a fence with a red maple leaf painted on it]  [Stock image]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/0ahqRV1sJJ4

Note: Include the format, e.g. stock image, clip art, in square brackets after the title. If the image is untitled, describe the image and put the description in square brackets.

Reference list entry:

Danny VB. (2012). Canada [Image]. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/ixpj3G

Note: Include the format, e.g. stock image, clip art, in square brackets after the title. If the image is untitled, describe the image and put the description in square brackets. Use the username/uploader as the author. If the username is presented in a first and last name format, record as "Lastname, Initial".

Check with your instructor if they would like you to cite them according to APA, Creative Commons or a combination. Also, note that narrative citations do not usually apply to images. Below are two examples. For more information, see the APA Style website, Creative Commons example.

Creative Commons image using APA citation

Reference list entry:

Stpe1981. (n.d.). Canadian Flag Special [Image]. Creative Commons. https://ccsearch.creativecommons.org/photos/8d468050-79c3-4fc7-8369-fc4f54906698

In-text citation:

Parenthetical citation: (Stpe1981, n.d.)

Creative Commons licensing credit:

"Canadian Flag Special" by Stpe1981 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Reference list entry:

Georgian College. (2014). Barrie campus [Photograph]. Georgian College. https://www.georgiancollege.ca/wp-content/uploads/Georgian-Barrie-campus-circle-Fall-2014-698x377.jpg

Reference list entry:

Educause Centre for Analysis and Research. (2016). 2016 Student and technology research study infographic [Infographic]. Educause.  https://elearninginfographics.com/2016-student-technology-research-study-infographic/

Note: When the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher in the reference list entry to avoid repetition.

Reference list entry:

Google. (n.d.). [Google Maps directions for driving from Georgian College Orillia campus to Georgian College Barrie campus]. Retrieved May 29, 2020, from https://goo.gl/maps/83tkaBb9eTwTsZu3A

Note: If a map is generated, like Google Maps, they will not have a title and you need to describe the map and put that in square brackets in the citation's title location.

Reference list entry:

Purdue OWL staff. (n.d.) APA formatting and style guide [PowerPoint slides]. PowerPoint Online. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/documents/20200513APAppt.pptx 

Reference list entry:

Hallahan, L. (2020, January 30). Week 4  [PowerPoint slides]. Blackboard. https://georgiancollege.sharepoint.com/SitePages/blackboard.aspx

Note: When using classroom slides from lectures or presentations that the audience you are writing for has access to, include the name of the site and login URL. The example is using content from Blackboard that students and faculty would have access to.

For all of the examples above, the in-text citation follows the same format unless noted with the example. Refer to the Publication Manual, Section 8.17 for explanation with multiple authors. If you are using an image (figure), they are treated differently for in-text citations, see Publication Manual Section 7.22 and the following sections. See Tables and Figures for more information.

Parenthetical citation format: (last name of author(s), year)

e.g. (Educause Centre for Analysis and Research, 2016)

e.g. (Hallahan, 2020)

Narrative citation format: include the author's or authors' names in the sentence, with the date in brackets

e.g. Educause Centre for Analysis and Research (2016) wrote...

e.g. Hallahan (2020) wrote...

More in-text citation information on this guide.