Skip to Main Content
It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

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

APA 7th Edition

This guide is representative of the 7th edition Publication Manual of APA and focuses on a student paper structure.

APA examples are not exhaustive and focus on referencing and citations. Assistance from your professor and/or Writing Centre is suggested for clarification.

Users are responsible for interpretation of APA style guidelines and to seek further assistance when necessary.

Effective September 2020.

What are Visual Works?

Visual Works:

  • visual component only
  • various formats such as artwork, stock images, photographs, PowerPoint slides, maps
  • authors may include artists, photographers, instructors

For additional examples, see Publication Manual Section 10.14 

Because figures are treated differently for in-text citations, see Publication Manual Section 7.22 and the following sections. For formatting, see Tables and Figures formatting on this guide.

Artwork or Sculpture in a Museum or Museum Website

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.

Image Taken or Created by Yourself

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

Clip Art or Stock Image

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.

Image From Flickr

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".

Image With Creative Commons license

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

Photograph From a Website

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

Infographic

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.

Map (Google example)

Reference list entry:

Google. (n.d.). [Google Maps directions from 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.

PowerPoint Slides (publicly available)

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 

Lecture Notes on PowerPoint Slides

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.

In-Text Citation

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.