Citing an image such as a picture, photograph or clip art can be slightly different than citing a figure or table from a website. You must always check the copyright status of any image you use. Use of many images is only granted if you pay to use the image and if you are given permission..
When searching for images to use in your work, it is a good idea to use an image that is not copyrighted, in the public domain or has a Creative Commons license. Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization permitting the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legitimate means. You can use CC-licensed materials as long as you follow the license conditions. See https://creativecommons.org for more information about creative commons and a search engine for content available to reuse. Depending on the license, you may need to acknowledge the image creator and the license with which they've allowed you to use the image.
To attribute sources that you reuse under a Creative Commons license, you generally must at least include:
Creative Commons Licences. (Source: JoKalliauer, 2015). CC BY-SA 3.0.
Figure 2. Irish Soda Bread. (Ponce, 2016). CC BY 1.0.
Figure 2 shows the cross made in a typical Irish soda bread.
Ponce, A. (2016) Irish soda bread. Available at: https://pixabay.com/photos/bread-irish-soda-bread-loaf-crusty-1386753/ (Accessed: 17 June 2024).
Be careful when using Google Images as many of the images there are subject to copyright restrictions and are not free to use. All images on the Internet are governed by copyright law and it is your responsibility to find the copyright permissions for each image you use. To obtain images with Creative Commons licenses, proceed as follows:
Click on 'Tools' once you are in the Google Images search bar.
Type in your search term and then click on ‘Tools’ and ‘Usage Rights’.
Select ‘Creative Commons Licenses’. These steps will filter out as many copyrighted images as possible.
When you find an image you might use, go to the source website for the image.
Look on the source page for information about the copyright license for that image and any author who may need to be cited.
If the image is copyrighted by Creative Commons, you may use it. If copyrighted by any other author, you may not use it.
Create a copyright statement and references list citation for the image.
Figure 1. Galway Bay sunset. (Zhang, 2017). CC BY 3.0.
Reference:
Zhang, C. (2017) Sunset over Galway Bay. Available at: https://imaggeo.egu.eu/view/4842/ (Accessed: 17 June 2022).
The following are all sources of copyright free or reusable images (some with attribution recommended) -