Use the following template or our MLA Citation Generator to cite an online image or video. For help with other source types, like books, PDFs, or websites, check out our other guides. To have your reference list or bibliography automatically made for you, try our free citation generator.

Reference list

Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.

Template:

Photographer/Illustrator Surname, Photographer/Illustrator Forename. Image description. "Title of Article or Web Page," by Author Forename Surname, date published. Publication or Website Name, URL.

Example:

Green, Bill. Photograph of tourists on a walking tour. "Tourism on the Rebound in Frederick County," by Erika Riley, 9 June 2021. The Frederick News-Post, www.fredericknewspost.com/news/economy_and_business/tourism/tourism-on-the-rebound-in-frederick-county/article_645f3ad5-a63c-5fca-8c78-640a851e8e8f.html.

In-text citation

Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.

Template:

(Photographer/Illustrator Surname)

Example:

The image showed a group of tourists on a walking tour of downtown Frederick, Maryland (Green).

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How do I format an in-text citation for an online image or video in MLA style?

According to MLA, format an in-text citation for an image found online by using the artist’s last name. However, if the online image appears in a website article reproducing that image, cite that article author’s last name, so readers can find the corresponding reference entry on your works cited page, which includes the artist’s details. Do not include the year for the image’s original creation.

Image Format

(Artist Last Name/Website Article Author’s Last Name)

Image Example

(Ram)

When citing a video, include either the video’s container title (e.g., a television series) or the video creator’s last name (e.g., the video’s uploader, a film director, a recording artist, etc.).  Use the corresponding first element in the works cited list.  If you’re citing a particular time or time span of the video, also include a timestamp (with hours, minutes, and seconds). If you’re not citing a particular portion of the video, omit the time stamp portion.

Format

Parenthetical:

(Video Creator Last Name, Time stamp)

(Film Director’s Last Name, Time stamp)

(Recording Artist’s Last Name, Time stamp)

Citation in Prose:

Last Name (Time stamp)

Examples

Parenthetical:

(Screen Junkies, 06:23-07:45)

(Spielberg, 01:02:03-04)

(Adele, 10:11:12-13)

Citation in Prose:

Screen Junkies (06:23-07:45)

Spielberg (01:02:03-04)

Adele (10:11:12-13)

How do I format a works cited entry for an online image or video in MLA style?

To cite an online video in the MLA style, start with the Last Name, First Name of the author, presenter, director, or information available for the type of video being cited. Follow this with the title of the video within quotation marks, followed by the website name in italics, uploaded by [Name], date, and URL (without https://).

Example

Newsome, Jerremy. “Beginners Course Landing Page 2021.” YouTube, uploaded by Real Life Trading, 30 Oct. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHubIvg3GCY.

 

To cite an online image in the MLA style, start with the Last Name, First Name of the image artist or creator, the title of the image within quotation marks, followed by the name of the website in italics, date of publication on the website, and URL (without https://).

Example

Rosati, Girolamo. “The Holy Temple, 1533.” The J. Paul Getty Museum Collections, 2015, www.getty.edu/art/collection/.