photo, image, and video credits

If you use a photo, image, or video from the NREL Image Gallery, an NREL staff member, or a paid or external source, you must provide appropriate credit. See the entries on captions and sources for more information, as well as the copyrighted material page on the publishing site.

For Publications

When the photo or image source is an NREL staff member or an NREL contract photographer, use the source's name along with the NREL affiliation. Present the credit in italics, and do not use a period at the end.

Use "by" for NREL sources ("from" is for external sources).

Illustration by Ray David, NREL

Photo by Pat Corkery, NREL

If the photo, image, or video is from the Image Gallery, you must also include the image number in the credit.

Illustration by Ray David, NREL 12345

Photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 54321

Use the following format if an NREL illustration contains material from an external source.

Illustration by Ray David, NREL 19500. Photos from Warren Gretz (NREL 10929) and Iberdola Renewables Inc. (NREL 15185)

If you use a photo or image from an external source (whether paid or free), use the source's name (if available) and affiliation. If there is an NREL image number, do not replace "NREL" with the source's affiliation; the image number is always an NREL reference.

Present the credit in italics, and do not use a period at the end.

Use "from" for all external sources (not "by" or "courtesy of").

Photo from John Williams, Western Area Power Administration

Illustration from SunPower Corp.

Photo from Kathy Boyer, Triangle Clean Cities Coalition, NREL 18520

Photo from Margaret Smith, DOE, NREL 18215

If the photo, image, or video is included in the Image Gallery, you must also include the image number in the credit.

Photo from Xcel Energy, NREL 12345

If the photo, image, or video is from Getty Images or a similar source, you must also include the number in the credit.

Photo from Getty Images 12345678

If a caption is used with the photo or image, the credit should immediately follow it.

A picture of three people drawing equations on a glass window representing analysis work at NREL. — NREL analysts develop models, tools, and reports that help provide insight and objective information on renewable energy technologies. Photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 16560

If the photo or image is used for illustrative purposes and does not include a caption, the credit should appear directly beneath the photo.

For NREL technical reports, use the “NREL_Figure_Caption” style for the caption itself, and then the “NREL_Figure_Note” for the in-text citation or other notes.

Photo of a sunset over the ocean and mountains — **Figure 1. Caption text**

*Image from Smith et al. (2022)*

For photo collages, pages with many photos with no captions, or full-page photos, credits can be placed on the same page or a different page, wherever they best fit the design.

For document covers, credits can be placed elsewhere in the document (typically inside the front cover). Reference the page containing the photos you are crediting.

If images are combined to create new graphics and the original images are still recognizable, the original images must be credited. For example, if two Getty Images photos are merged with NREL photos into a collage and used on a document cover, the credit should read: Cover images, clockwise from bottom: Getty Images 12345, Getty Images 67891, NREL 12345, NREL 67891

Microsoft stock images are available through PowerPoint. You may use them in NREL publications, but do not move images out of Microsoft Office for other uses (e.g., a webpage). In general, NREL photos from the Image Gallery are recommended first, Getty Images second, and PowerPoint stock images last.

To credit these Microsoft stock images, use: Photo from Microsoft stock images

To credit other images used in a PowerPoint presentation, follow the guidance above for publication photo credits, and ensure the credit is listed somewhere on the slide itself (typically the bottom right corner). Do not list the photo credit in the notes section of the slide or at the end of the deck.

For the Web

For photos, images, and video on the web, include the credit after the caption and italicize it.

Use "from" for external sources and "by" for NREL sources. Do not use "courtesy of."

The National Wind Technology Center at NREL is located south of Boulder, Colorado. Photo from Joe Smith

The National Wind Technology Center at NREL is located south of Boulder, Colorado. Photo by Jennifer Josey, NREL

Don't include image numbers in the credit. Instead, the photo image file name should include the image number so it can be easily located in the Image Gallery if needed.

Subject:

Publication Formatting