APA 7th Referencing: Images, tables & figures

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On this guide images, tables and figures refer to static objects such as images, social media image posts, maps, artworks or photographs.

Basic format to reference images, tables and figures

The basics of a reference list entry for a photograph:

  • Primary contributor or contributors with their contribution identified in round brackets (e.g. the Photographer).
  • Year (in round brackets).
  • Title (in italics).
  • Description of work [in square brackets].
  • Publisher (e.g. the production company).
  • URL (where relevant).
  • The first line of each citation is left adjusted. Every subsequent line is indented 5-7 spaces.


Example:

Moralee, N. (2019, March 30). Laughter 'the best medicine'? [Photograph]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/neilmoralee
       /33643977688

Image of a reference example for a Images, tables & figures. Text for example directly above this image

Please note:

  • Some of the descriptions of medium are: [Painting], [Photograph], [Map]. These can be adapted to best suit the material you are citing, keeping in mind you should use the description that best enables your reader to locate the material
  • It is a good practice to reference any image so that the image source can be tracked regardless to whether or not a formal attribution is required in APA 7th style.

Reproducing tables and figures: Find more detailed advice for how to acknowledge and reference reproduced tables and figures on the Citing tables and figures section of this Guide.

Material Type           In-Text Example Reference List Example
Image from a book           Gertsakis’s work, Their Eyes Will Tell You, Everything and Nothing, 2017, in Millner and Moore (2018, p. 138)…
Millner, J., & Moore, C. (2018). Feminist perspectives on art: Contemporary outtakes. Routledge.

Image: Flickr and Creative Commons    

In-text: Reproducing image:

Note. From Laughter 'the Best Medicine'?, by N. Moralee, 2019, Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/neilmoralee/33643977688). CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The above citation is placed within the note under the reproduced image. The figure number and title are presented above the image. The Creative Commons license information is placed at the end of the citation within the note. See Citing tables and figures in this Guide for more information.

In-text: Referring to (but not reproducing) the image:

…with two older men sharing a laugh (Moralee, 2019).

Moralee, N. (2019, March 30). Laughter 'the best medicine'? [Photograph]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/neilmoralee/33643977688

Image from Copyright-free image website: Unsplash

In-text: Reproducing image: 

Note. From A Bird With a Long Tail Standing in the Woods, by G. Moore, 2022, Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/photos/i4kKW3wVnHs). Unsplash licence. 

The above citation is placed within the note under the reproduced image. The figure number and title are presented above the image.

Unsplash has their own licence, for clarity you can provide a link back to their licence statement. See Citing tables and figuresin this Guide for more information.

In-text: Referring to (but not reproducing) the image: 

...photograph of the elusive superb lyrebird (Moore, 2022).
Moore, G. (2022, May 28). A bird with a long tail standing in the woods  [Photograph]. Unsplash.  https://unsplash.com/photos/i4kKW3wVnHs 
Image in the Public Domain

In-text: Reproducing image: 

Note. From A Vase of Flowers, by M. Haverman, 1716, The Metropolitan Museum of Art  (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436634?&exhibitionId=0&oid=436634&pkgids=512). In the public domain.

The above citation is placed within the note under the reproduced image. The figure number and title are presented above the image.

This image is in the Public Domain, meaning that copyright has expired.

See Citing tables and figuresin this Guide for more information.

In-text: Referring to (but not reproducing) the image: 

….lush, detailed depiction of a varied bouquet (Haverman, 1716).
Haverman, M. (1716). A vase of flowers [Painting]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, United States.  https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436634?&exhibitionId=0&oid=436634&pkgids=512 
Instagram photo

(NASA Webb Telescope, 2022)

OR

NASA Webb Telescope (2022) showed,…
NASA Webb Telescope [@nasawebb]. (2022, December 22). We found “buried treasure,” and the Cosmic Cliffs mark the spot  [Photograph]. Instagram.  https://www.instagram.com/p/CmMXtU7up-R/img_index=1 

Image: From a Library database

In-text: Reproducing image:

Include a Note directly below the figure. The figure number and title appear directly above the image.

Note. From Renal Arteries, by A. M. Gilroy, B. R. Macpherson, and L. M. Ross, 2008, Thieme Teaching Assistant Anatomy. https://www.thiemeteachingassistant.com. Copyright 2008 by Thieme.

In text:  Referring to the reproduced image:

When citing a figure from your paper refer to the figure number

As shown in Figure 1 ……(Gilroy et al., 2008)

Figure 1 illustrates ….. (Gilroy et al., 2008)

 Gilroy, A. M., Macpherson, B. R., & Ross, L. M. (2008). Renal arteries [Diagram]. Thieme Teaching Assistant Anatomy. https://www.thiemeteachingassistant.com 

 

Images in the Teaching Assistant Anatomy database can only be retrieved from this database, therefore the name of the database (in italics) is included as the source of the article.
Artwork in a museum or on a museum website

Rembrandt's (1628) The Artist's Mother: Head and Bust, Three Quarters-Right is his first dated etching.

Note: When giving the title of a painting in your writing, use Title Case (this is different to the capitalisation in your reference list).

van Rijn, R. H. (1628). The artist's mother: Head and bust, three-quarters right [Painting]. The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Art exhibition (Rembrandt: True to Life, 2023)

Note:Where the curator is unknown, use the exhibition title in your In-text reference.

When giving the title of an exhibition in your writing, use Title Case (this is different to the capitalisation in your reference list).
Rembrandt: True to life [Exhibtion]. (2023)  National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/rembrandt-true-to-life/

 

Provide the curator(s) of the exhibition in the author element of the reference.

When the curator is unknown, move the title of the exhibition to the author position of the reference.
Map  (Urban Forest Visual, n.d.)

Urban Forest Visual. (n.d.). Explore the tree data [Map]. City of Melbourne. http://melbourneurbanforestvisual.com.au/#mapexplore

Table ..........................................  

 Provide a table number and title of the table above the table, and a Note directly below.

Eg:

Table 1

Title of the Table

Insert the Table

Note: From “The Risk of Being Researched: Re-Envisioning Educator Research Participation For High-Quality Early Childhood Education,” by M. Cooke, 2021, Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 46(4), p. 346 (https://doi.org/10.1177/18369391211046681). Copyright 2023 by Early Childhood Australia.

In-text

As shown in Table 1

OR

Please refer to Table 1

Cooke, M. (2021). This risk of being researched: Re-envisioning educator research participation for high-quality early childhood education. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 46(4), 342-354. https://doi.org/10.1177/18369391211046681

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