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Referencing: Images & List of Figures

What is a List of Figures?

A List of Figures is a complete list of all images and diagrams you reproduce in your written work. 

As with any other material, you must credit the source from which any images you use in your work originated. The List of Figures is where you display all referencing information about images you have reproduced in your work. This is similar to your reference list/bibliography, but is only for images you use.

All images you use in your work need to be included in your List of Figures —this includes artworks, photographs, infographics, graphs, maps, logos, diagrams, charts and tables. It also includes any images you may have created yourself. Figures should not just be used for decoration, they are there to serve a purpose in your work. 

Image from a Book

References to images found in a printed book should be made up of the following elements:

  • Creator's Family Name, Initial(s)
  • Year of publication (in brackets)
  • Title or description of image (in italics)
  • [medium of image]
  • In:
  • Author's family name, Initial(s) - (if different to Creator)
  • Title of book (in italics)
  • Place of publication:
  • Publisher
  • Page number(s) of image.

Example:
Burne-Jones, E. (1880). The golden stairs. [oil on canvas]. In: Wood, C. (1981). The Pre-Raphaelites. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. p.121.

Image from a Magazine/Journal

References should consist of the following elements:

  • Creator’s Family Name, Initial(s)
  • Year of publication (in brackets)
  • Title or description of image (in italics)
  • [medium of image].
  • In:
  • Author’s Family Name, Initial(s) - (if different to Creator)
  • Title of Article.
  • Title of Journal/Magazine (in italics)
  • Volume and Issue Number, or Month
  • Page number of image (if applicable)

If accessed online, also include the following:

  • Available from: Web Address
  • [Accessed: Date]

Examples:
Sobierajski, S. and Jeffree, W. (2017). Brand identity for AIGA conference. [illustration]. In: Tucker, E. (2018). A one-way ticket to Tokyo, please. Creative Review. Vol.38 No.4. p.65
or
Walker, T. (2016). Model holding feather. [photograph]. In: Boy/Girl/Boy. Vogue Italia. July. Available from: https://www.vogue.it/moda/cover-fashion-stories/2016/07/14/boygirlboy. [Accessed 16 October 2019].

Image from a Museum/Gallery

References should consist of the following elements:

  • Creator’s Family Name, Initial(s)
  • Year of publication (in brackets)
  • Title or description of image (in italics)
  • [medium of image]
  • Location of collection
  • Name of Institution

If accessed online, also include the following:

  • Available from: Web Address
  • [Accessed: Date]

Example:
Beaton, C. (1944). China 1944: a mother resting her head on her sick child's pillow in the Canadian Mission Hospital. [photograph]. London: Imperial War Museum Collection.
or
Warhol, A. (1967). Marilyn Monroe. [screenprint on paper]. London: V&A. Available from: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O72303/marilyn-monroe-marilyn-print-warhol-andy/. [Accessed 24th March 2022].

Image from Social Media

Use this format for images published on social media platforms. For images that have been reposted from an original source, wherever practicable try to reference the original. References should consist of the following elements:

  • Author's Family Name, Initial(s)
    or screen-name where this is not known
  • Year of post (in brackets)
  • Title or excerpt of post
  • Title of platform (in italics)
  • [online image]
  • Day and Month of Post
  • Available from: Web Address
  • [Accessed: Date]

Example:
Nef, H. (2017). Space princess defends the Uffizi from aliens (house Medici 2078). Instagram. [online image]. 6 June. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BGVJHgiCyyG/?taken-by=harinef. [Accessed 14 December 2018]

Image from a Website

Care should be taken when sourcing images online, as many websites repost images with key referencing data missing. Wherever possible, use the original source. References should consist of the following elements:

  • Creator’s Family Name, Initial(s)
  • Year of publication (in brackets)
  • Title or description of image (in italics)
  • [medium of image].
  • Available from: Website URL.
  • [Accessed date]

Examples:
Glaser, M. (1966). Dylan. [online image]. Available from: https://www.moma.org/ collection/ works/8108. [Accessed 12 August 2018].
or
Wong, A. (2019). Pierpaolo Piccioli takes his bow. [online image]. Available from: https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/valentino-couture-china. [Accessed 8 November 2018].

AI Generated Images

The full image generated using AI should be included in your work (e.g. essay, presentation, process book), and treated like any other image used in academic work. It should be captioned and referenced in the List of Figures.

The figure reference should be made up of the following elements:

  • Name of AI organisation (or tool/platform where this is unavailable).
  • Year work was generated.
  • Full text prompt used to generate the image.
  • Name of tool/platform (if different from above).
  • [Generative AI].
  • URL of platform.
  • Date generated.

The organisation that created the model or the name of the tool itself should be treated as the ‘author’ of the work. Images produced by these technologies are not the product of human authorship, and should not be credited as your own work. The text prompt used to create the image should be used as the ‘title’ of the work.

Different AI tools/platforms (e.g. Dall-E, Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, etc.) may require slightly different referencing details, based on the information they provide.

Examples:

Figure 2: OpenAI. (2023). ‘Pointillist painting of a sheep in a sunny field of blue flowers’ prompt. DALL-E 2. [Generative AI]. Available from: labs.openai.com. [Accessed 10 May 2023].


 

 

Figure 3: Midjourney. (2023). ‘Tiny cute adorable ginger tabby kitten studio light’ prompt. [Generative AI]. Available from: https://www.midjourney.com/. [Accessed 19 May 2023].

 

 

Screenshot from a Film/Video

Use this format for screenshots/screen captures/screengrabs for films watched on DVD/Blu-Ray or viewed through a streaming service or video-sharing platform. References may differ for other mediums, such as television or video games. Consult the main Referencing Guide for advice on these formats and adapt your reference accordingly.

References should consist of the following elements:

  • Director's Family Name, Initial(s)
  • Year of publication (in brackets)
  • Title of Film or Video (in italics)
  • [screenshot].
  • Place of Production (if known).
  • Production organisation (if known).

If accessed online, also include the following:

  • Available from: Web Address
  • [Accessed: Date]

Examples:
Donen, S. (1957). Funny Face. [screenshot]. Hollywood: Paramount Pictures.
or
The British Library. (2014). Lucy Tammam: Designer. [screenshot]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnQmKNlku9E. [Accessed 12 January 2020].

Your own Image

When referencing images you have created, such as photographs you have taken, you need to give yourself as the author. References should be made up as the following elements:

  • Your Family Name, Initial(s)
  • Year of creation (in brackets)
  • Title or description of image (in italics)
  • [medium of image].
  • In possession of: the author.

Example:
Smith, J. (2019). Data collected from survey statistics. [pie chart]. In possession of: the author.

Captioning Figures

All figures need to be given a running number (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2 , Figure 3), and this should match its corresponding entry in your List of Figures. Number each figure consecutively. You only have one List of Figures—all artwork, photographs, graphs, tables, etc., should be numbered in the same way.

Include the figure number directly below the figure itself, followed by a short caption relating to the image, if appropriate. Captions are not included in your word count. If used, captions should be brief, appropriate and descriptive, explaining the image and its relevance to your text.

Figure 5: This is a caption - it can be used to describe the image or explain its relevance to your writing

Figure 5:  Illustration has been used in magazines to depict their ideal consumers.

Figures should be displayed close to where they are most relevant to your writing, and should usually be mentioned directly. You can refer to each one by the figure number like an in-text citation, e.g. (Figure 1).

Example List of Figures

This is an example of how a List of Figures should be displayed:

List of Figures
Figure 1: One of the best-known paintings by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones.
Burne-Jones, E. (1880). The golden stairs. [oil on canvas]. In: Wood, C. (1981). The Pre-Raphaelites. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. p.121.
 
Figure 2: Milton Glaser’s famous portrait of Bob Dylan.
Glaser, M. (1966). Dylan. [online image]. Available from: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/ 8108. [Accessed 12 August 2019].
 
Figure 3: China 1944 by Cecil Beaton
Beaton, C. (1944). China 1944: a mother resting her head on her sick child's pillow in the Canadian Mission Hospital. [photograph]. London: Imperial War Museum Collection.
 
Figure 4: Detail of lantern performance at Arts by the Sea Festival
Smith, J. (2018). Lucid Lanterns performance, Bournemouth Lower Gardens. [photograph]. In possession of: the author.

 

Each figure is numbered in the order that it appears in your work, with a caption relating to the image where appropriate. Underneath the caption, you give the full reference for the image. This reference will vary depending on how you accessed the image —whether in a book, online, in a gallery, or if you created it yourself.

For dissertations or theses, you should also give the page number of your work where you reproduce the image, as you would in a table of contents. 

Need Help?

For artworks, images in library databases and images published in books, you should have all the information you need to provide a full reference. Images found online can present challenges, and are often missing important details needed for referencing. Check the website you found the image on first, to see if there is any further information, or links to where the image originally came from.

If you still need help with referencing images or putting together your List of Figures, contact your Subject Librarian.