How to Cite an Image or Photo in Chicago Style

Chicago Image Citation: General Format & Examples

If you are familiar with writing a research paper in the Chicago style, you already know that you may use two types of citations:

• Footnote method: involves using superscript numbers in your text to indicate a citation, which is then listed at the bottom of the page in Chicago style footnotes.
• Author-date style: requires citing sources in parentheses within the text, including the author's last name and publication year.

In the Chicago notes-and-bibliography system, it is recommended to refer to the image only in notes and not include this citation in your reference list. However, you need to mention this picture or photo in a bibliography if it is significant for your research (for example, the whole work is about this image or if your university requires it). Let’s learn how to make it properly. 

To cite images in Chicago style paper, you need to identify the creator’s name, image title, date of creation, and source of this image. Arrange this information based on formatting rules from the Chicago manual. 

Look at the general format for citing an image in Chicago style for the first option with full and short notes.

Chicago Image Citation Format

The basic structure for full and short notes and a bibliography is relatively easy and straightforward. Let’s cite an image in Chicago to look at how to apply this format.

Chicago Image Citation Example

In Chicago author-date style, if you cite the image in your research, you will include only the name and the year of image creation. For example, your Chicago in-text citation will look like this:

This short citation refers to your reference list, which is similar to a bibliography, but the creation date will be indicated right after the author’s name. For example, this is how citing a picture in Chicago style author-date system will look in general:

Author-Date Format

In practice, our author-date image citation in Chicago style will be formatted this way:

>> Learn more: How to Cite a Website in Chicago

How to Cite an Image From a Print Source in Chicago Style?

Let’s look more precisely at how to deal with picture citation if it was published in a hard copy. Is this type of photo citation more complicated than the citation of an online source? In fact, it is not too difficult, but you also need to integrate some details about a journal or a book where the image is displayed. Here we will discuss how to cite an image from a book or journal and what to consider in each case.

Chicago Image Citation From a Book

When you need to figure out how to cite an image in Chicago style from a book, you must also have all the book's data, including its author, book title, year and place of publication, and a page where the cited picture was reproduced. 

If you are using full and short notes, here is how to cite images from a book in Chicago style.

Let’s look at how to cite a picture from a book in Chicago style in a real example.

>> Read more: How to Cite a Book in Chicago Style

Chicago Image or Picture Citation From a Journal Article

Little changes need to be made if an artwork is presented in a journal article, not a book. You need to add information about the journal volume and issue number as well as the article page where the image was found. Indicate a DOI or URL if the article is published in an online journal. 

Here is the simple scheme for citing pictures from articles.

Let’s look at actual examples of citing pictures in Chicago style from an article in a scientific journal.

>> Learn more: How to Cite a Journal Article Chicago

How to Cite a Work of Art in Chicago Style?

The following case for discussion is how to deal with the artworks you want to refer to in your term paper or another project. What additional information do you need to cite a work of art in Chicago style? In a nutshell, you need to provide a detailed location of a place where you saw an artwork. Here you will have two options. You may see an exact picture, sculpture, or artifact in a museum or gallery or find it online. Let’s look at templates for each case.

Citing an Artwork From a Museum or Gallery in Chicago

It is possible that you will need to refer in your research to artwork you found in a museum collection or in a gallery. 

To cite artwork in Chicago style accurately, clarify its creator, title, year and institution where you saw the work. 

Here is a template of a Chicago style citation for an artwork.

Looks quite simple. Let’s look at the real example and pretend you need to cite Claude Monet's oil painting Poppies, established in Paris.

Citing an Artwork From a Museum or Gallery Website

Another possible case you may face is citing artwork from a museum website. Use an official website if you did not see the work but want to refer to it in your paper. Just add an URL to the webpage where a picture is displayed and retrieval date. Let’s clarify the template for such citations.

For example, you need to cite another Monet work, but it is located in New York, and you only saw it on the MET museum website. Here is what this artwork citation will look like.

Citing an Artwork From a Book in Chicago

Another discussion is how to cite artwork if you found it printed in a book. Chicago style guide clarifies this type of citation as similar to citing images from books and magazines. You need information about the publisher and a page where your artwork is located. Let’s see what the template for such a citation will look like.

Next, we will cite a printed oil painting that we found in a museum-printed book. Here is what it will look like.

How to Cite Online Images in Chicago Style?

We already briefly discussed Chicago image citation from a website, but let’s clarify how we refer to no-art objects. For example, if you found a photo or picture on social media, in a blog or forum. What to include in your bibliography, full and short notes?

Chicago Image or Photo Citation From an Online Library

If you need to cite a picture from an online library, indicate the name of this library instead of the website name. In this case, you need to find the exact source and location of the picture. For instance, some news articles can use images from an open online library. And you need to cite this library, not a news page that refers to this picture. 

Let’s look at the scheme of citing images from online libraries.

Let's use this formula for citing a photograph from the free online library Unsplash.

Chicago Image Citation From an Image Sharing

One more tricky case you may face is how to cite an image from an image sharing website. When discussing image-sharing websites, we mean social media and open sources. It is possible you won’t know the publication date or the author. However, you need to indicate the source and include an URL in your bibliography and full note. 

Here is the formula you can apply to your image citation in case of image sharing source.

For example, you want to cite a picture from Flickr in your project.

Captions for Images in Chicago Style

We already discussed how to refer to any type of images you may need in your capstone paper. The next thing to look at is inserting a picture into your work. If you are writing Chicago style paper with images, add all your citation in a capture under the picture instead of including them in a footnote. 

However, there are no strict rules for formatting this capture. But we outlined some advice on what to consider in your caption:

1. Your caption should be right under the image.
2. Start with Figure number.
3. You may include a detailed explainer on the figure.
4. Leave one blank line between the caption and your text.
5. A caption should be single pace.

Here is the formula for creating your own captions.

Bottom Line on How to Cite an Image or Photo

As you can understand from this blog, citing various types of images in Chicago style is not rocket science. However, you need to follow some rules defined by the Manual. First, you must clarify what type of citations you will use - in-text citation (author-date method) or footnote method (full, short notes, and bibliography). 

Also, some minor differences exist by citing an image from a museum, museum website, or online library. You may also need to cite an image from social media, create a capture or refer to a photo without the author's name or creation date. But in this blog, you can find formulas and examples for each possible citation type in Chicago. Make your research easy with our guide!