In theory,you don't need to cite and reference a photograph that you have taken yourself. However, the reader won't know if it's your photo, or someone else's photo, so, to err on the side of caution, we recommend that you do cite and reference any photograph.
You definitely need to cite and reference a photograph that is a source of information, for example: a photograph of archive material, a photo of a poster, or a photograph of work of art in a museum or gallery which you are referring to in your work.
How to cite and reference photographs
You will need to add a caption below the photography, e.g.:
Figure 1: Image of theSiachen Glacier (Smith, 2024).
Our 'How to reference images' guides give further guidance on how to add captions and reference your images. These Guides can be found attached to this FAQ and on the Refencing Guide.
Cite Them Right suggests that you need the following information to reference a photographin theHarvard style:
Citation order:
- Photographer
- Year (in round brackets)
- Title of photograph (in italics)
- [Photograph]
- Place of publication: Publisher (if available)
So your reference would be:
Surname, Initial. (Year)Title of photograph[Photograph].Place of publication: Publisher (if available).
If you haven't shared your photograph anywhere online and it hasn't been published in anyway, then remove that section from the reference e.g.
Surname, Initial. (Year)Title of photograph[Photograph].
There's further guidance on Cite Them Right for how to reference other online images:
- Photographs from the Internet (Harvard)
- Photographs in online collections (Harvard)
- Instagram (Harvard)
Creative Commons
You may wish to add a Creative Commons licence to it (usually CC-BY) if your work is going to be made public so that other people know what they can do with it. This is good practice – see Creative Commonsfor more info.
If your photo is already in the public domain (on the Internet or a social media platform),and you’re just referring to it rather than actually including it, then cite and reference it as if it were any other resource, with yourself as photographer.
