Locating and Using Images for Presentations and Coursework

Resources for finding images online, citing images, and describing images through alt-text. A section on AI & images is included.

Copyright, Public Domain, and Fair Use

from Cornell University Library from Purdue University from the Visual Communication Guy

Attribution

Attribution: the act of attributing something, especially the ascribing of a work (as of literature or art) to a particular author or artist.
When you have given proper attribution, it means you have given the information necessary for people to know who the creator of the work is.

The majority of images you find are under copyright and cannot be used without permission from the creator. There are exceptions with Fair Use, but this Libguide is intended to help you locate images you can use with attribution.


***Please read about public domain. These images aren't under copyright, but it's still good practice to include attribution if the information is available.

Citation General Guidelines

Include as much of the information below when citing images in a paper and formal presentations. Apply the appropriate citation style (see below for APA, MLA examples).

Citing Images in MLA, APA, Chicago, and IEEE

MLA: Citing images in-text, incorporating images into the text of your paper, works cited
APA 6th ed.: Citing images in-text and reference list
Chicago 17th ed.: Citing images footnotes and endnotes and bibliography
from Simon Fraser University

from the SAIT Reg Erhardt Library from the Rochester Institute of Technology Library

Citing Images in Your PPT

Currently, citing images in PPT is a bit of the Wild West. If details aren't provided by an instructor, there are a number of ways to cite. What's most important is that if the image is not a free stock image, you give credit to the author for the work. Here are some options:

1. Some sites, such as Creative Commons and Wikimedia, include the citation information with the image. Use that citation when available. Copy the citation and add under the image. For example, an image of a lake from Creative Commons has this citation next to it: "lake" by barnyz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

2. Include a marker, such as Image 1. or Figure 1., and in the reference section, include full citation information with the corresponding number

3. Include a complete citation (whatever the required format, such as APA) below the image

4. Below the image, include the link to the online image location

5. Hyperlink the title of the image with the online image location