How to Credit an Image: Copy-Paste Examples for Every License

You found a picture you’re allowed to use. Now what do you write under it?

The answer depends on one thing: the license. Some pictures need no credit at all. Some need four specific parts. Some need a credit and come with a rule about changes. Below is a copy-paste credit line for each common case, where to put it on a blog, a video, slides or a product, and the free sheet I use to get credit lines written for me.

TL;DR

Find the license first. It decides whether you need a credit and what goes in it.
Creative Commons credits have four parts: title, author, source, license (TASL).
Public domain and CC0 need no credit. Unsplash and Pexels don’t require one but like it.
Changed the picture? Say so. For CC BY-SA, your changed version gets the same license.

Who this is for

Blogger: a caption or credits line that keeps you inside the license.
YouTuber: a credits block for the description.
Teacher and student: the difference between a license credit and a school citation.
Presenter: credits that don’t clutter every slide.
Small business owner: credits for your website, newsletter and social posts.

Step 1: find the license

Every credit starts here. Look on the page where you got the picture:

Wikimedia Commons: each file page has a Licensing box. Every file has its own license.
Flickr: under the photo, “Some rights reserved” links to the license.
Unsplash and Pexels: one site-wide license for everything.
Stock sites you paid for: your license agreement.
A photographer or a friend: whatever you agreed with them. Get it in writing.

No license anywhere? Then you don’t have permission. A credit doesn’t fix that.

Copy-paste credit lines, by license

CC BY (any version)

Credit required. Use all four TASL parts: Title, Author, Source, License.

“Title of the Picture” by Author Name, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On a web page, link the title to the source page and the license name to the license (for CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

CC BY-SA (any version)

Same credit as CC BY:

“Red Panda” by Bernard Landgraf, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The SA (share alike) part only matters if you change the picture. Your changed version has to be shared under CC BY-SA too. Putting the picture as is in your blog post doesn’t make your whole post CC BY-SA.

Public domain

No credit required. A credit is still kind and helps readers find the source:

“The Botanical Magazine, Plate 106” by William Curtis, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CC0

No credit required. Same optional line:

“Thunbergia bicolor botanical illustration” by Fiverr: @meow777, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Unsplash or Pexels

Not required, but both ask for it:

Photo by Author Name on Unsplash

Stock photos you paid for

Usually no credit needed for commercial use. Editorial-only images often need one in a set format, like:

Photo: Author Name / Getty Images

Check your license. It says.

A photographer you hired or know

Whatever you agreed. A common one:

Photo by Author Name (theirwebsite.com)

If you changed it

Cropped, recolored, put text on it? Say so. CC 4.0 licenses require it, and it’s good practice for older ones:

Cropped from “Red Panda” by Bernard Landgraf, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What the licenses mean (short version)

Public domain: Credit needed: No; Use for business: Yes; If you change it: Do what you like
CC0: Credit needed: No; Use for business: Yes; If you change it: Do what you like
CC BY: Credit needed: Yes; Use for business: Yes; If you change it: Note your changes
CC BY-SA: Credit needed: Yes; Use for business: Yes; If you change it: Note your changes, share your version under CC BY-SA
CC BY-NC: Credit needed: Yes; Use for business: No; If you change it: Not for business at all
CC BY-ND: Credit needed: Yes; Use for business: Yes; If you change it: You can’t share a changed version

Wikimedia Commons doesn’t host NC or ND files, so everything there can be used for business.

Where to put the credit

The CC licenses say “reasonable to the medium”. In practice:

Blog post: a caption under the image, or a “Photo credits” line at the bottom.
YouTube or podcast: the description, one line per file.
Slides: small text on the slide, or a credits slide at the end.
Book or PDF: a credits page.
Social post: the caption. No room? Link to a page with the credits.
Products like mugs and shirts: there’s no good place. That’s why product makers stick to public domain and CC0.

Citing for school: a citation isn’t a credit

Your teacher wants a citation. The license wants a credit. In a school paper, give both when the picture needs one.

APA 7:

Landgraf, B. (2004). Red panda [Photograph]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_Panda.JPG

MLA 9:

Landgraf, Bernard. “Red Panda.” Wikimedia Commons, 20 Mar. 2004, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_Panda.JPG.

The quick way: get every credit line written for you

One credit is easy. Twenty-five for a long post or a video full of B-roll is a chore. I built Free Image Finder, a free Google Sheet, so I don’t write them by hand.

Make your copy and click 🖼️ Free Image Finder > Quick setup.
Search on the Search tab. Want no credits at all? Set License to Public domain & CC0.
Every result on the Results tab has a LICENSE, a CREDIT NEEDED (Yes or No) and a ready CREDIT LINE.
Tick Save on the pictures you use.
On the Export tab, copy CREDIT LINES (for video descriptions, slides and books) or CREDITS FOR A WEBSITE (HTML) (paste at the bottom of a blog post).

Already have a list of Commons files? Paste the file names or links into the File lookup tab. Each row gets its license, author and credit line.

The HTML credits link the file page but not the license. Add the license link if you want to follow the CC recommendation to the letter.

Common pitfalls

“Source: Google Images”: Google isn’t the source. Find the page the picture actually lives on, and its license.
“Image: Wikimedia Commons” and nothing else: the author and license are the parts the license asks for.
Assuming a site has one license: Commons and Flickr license file by file.
Crediting the uploader instead of the author: on Commons they’re sometimes different. Use the Author field.
Forgetting to say you changed it: a crop or a filter counts.
Linking the raw JPG instead of the file page: the source link should go to the page that shows the license.
Thinking a credit makes it OK: a credit doesn’t give you permission. The license does.

Learn the Google Sheets formulas in this post

TEXTJOIN formula: join all your credit lines into one block for a video description.
HYPERLINK formula: make a clickable credit right in the sheet.
FILTER formula: list only the files where CREDIT NEEDED is Yes.

Better Sheets has hundreds more tutorials like these. If you want to get better at Google Sheets, join Better Sheets.

FAQ

How do you credit an image?

Write the title, the author, a link to the source and the license: “Title” by Author, License, via Source. Link the title and the license on a web page.

What is a good photo credit example?

“Red Panda” by Bernard Landgraf, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. For Unsplash: Photo by Author Name on Unsplash.

Do I need to credit public domain images?

No. A credit is optional for public domain and CC0, but it helps readers find the source.

How do I attribute a Creative Commons image?

Use TASL: title, author, source and license, with links where you can. Note any changes you made.

How do I credit a Wikimedia Commons image?

“Title” by Author, License, via Wikimedia Commons, with a link to the file page. The “Use this file” link on the file page also gives you an attribution line.

Where do I put an image credit on a blog?

Right under the image as a caption, or in a “Photo credits” line at the end of the post.

Can I use an image if I give credit?

Only if the license allows it. A credit is something the license asks for. It doesn’t replace permission.

Get the sheet

Free Image Finder is free. Every picture comes with its license and credit line already written. See everything it does on the tool page. Want pictures with no credit at all? Read CC0 vs public domain vs CC BY-SA.