Want to use an image you found online in your academic writing? Read our guide below and find out how to cite an online image using Harvard referencing, including the in-text citations and reference list entry.
To cite an image found online in Harvard referencing, you need to give the creator’s surname and the year of creation in the in-text citations:
This picture depicts George V and Nicholas II in Berlin (Sandau, 1913).
If you name the creator in the main text, though, you only need to include the date in brackets. For example:
Sandau’s (1913) photograph depicts George V and Nicholas II in Berlin.
You won’t always be able to find the creator or date for images you find online, though. In these cases, you’ll need to adapt the citation accordingly:
This might work in practice as follows:
Rasputin was known for his piercing gaze (Detail of Rasputin, n.d.).
Here, for instance, we give a description of the photo you can see below. And the reader would then use this description to look up the photo in the reference list, where you’ll provide full source information.
The reference list format for an online image in Harvard referencing is:
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Creator surname, Initial. (year) Title of image, Collection (if applicable) [Online]. Available at URL (Accessed date).
So, for our first example above, the full reference would be:
Sandau, E. (1913) Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia (1868-1968), and King George V (1865-1936), Royal Collection Trust [Online]. Available at https://www.mountainsandmegapixels.com/?lightbox=dataItem-kas62h851 (Accessed March 4, 2019).
As with citations, though, you’ll need to adapt the reference if you don’t have the creator’s name or year of production. The key points here are:
Thus, we would reference the second example above as follows:
Detail of Rasputin (n.d.) [Online]. Available at http://www.referenced.co.uk/ten-historical-figures-who-died-unusual-deaths/ (Accessed May 8, 2020).
Harvard referencing is a style, not a system. Consequently, the exact format used for citations and references may vary. We’ve used the guidelines set out in the Open University’s guide to Harvard referencing [PDF], but make sure to check your school’s style guide if you have one.
Whatever style of referencing you use, though, clarity and consistency are key. So, to make sure your academic writing is always error free, why not ask Proofed’s referencing experts to check your citations are all in order?
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