How to Insert Images in LaTeX with \includegraphics and graphicx

To insert an image in LaTeX, load graphicx and use \includegraphics{...}. Then set width, height, scaling, trimming, captions, labels, and placement with the figure environment.

Quick answer: add \usepackage{graphicx} to the preamble, then write \includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{image-file}. Use trim=... , clip to crop whitespace and figure when you need captions and labels.Related topics: Figure positioning | Tabular environment | Package management

Common image tasks

If you need…	Use
Insert one image	`\includegraphics{image}`
Set width relative to the page	`\includegraphics[width=0.7\textwidth]{image}`
Keep the aspect ratio	`\includegraphics[width=5cm,keepaspectratio]{image}`
Crop whitespace	`\includegraphics[trim=1cm 0.5cm 1cm 0.5cm,clip]{image}`
Add caption and label	wrap the image in `\begin{figure}...\end{figure}`
Put two images side by side	use two `\includegraphics` commands with widths like `0.45\textwidth`

Quick Start

quick-image.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{graphicx}

\begin{document}

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.7\textwidth]{example-image}
  \caption{Example image}
  \label{fig:example}
\end{figure}

\end{document}

Basic Image Insertion

Simple Image Include

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\begin{document}

% Basic image insertion
\includegraphics{example-image}

% With file extension
\includegraphics{photo.jpg}

% From subfolder
\includegraphics{images/diagram.png}

% With full path (use forward slashes)
\includegraphics{/Users/name/pictures/graph.pdf}

\end{document}

Supported Image Formats

Compiler	Formats Supported
pdfLaTeX	PDF, PNG, JPG/JPEG
XeLaTeX	PDF, PNG, JPG/JPEG, EPS*
LuaLaTeX	PDF, PNG, JPG/JPEG, EPS*
LaTeX (DVI)	EPS, PS

*EPS requires additional configuration

Best practices for formats:

PDF: Vector graphics, diagrams, plots
PNG: Screenshots, images with transparency
JPG: Photographs, images without transparency

Scaling Images

Width and Height Control

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\begin{document}

% Scale by width
\includegraphics[width=5cm]{image}
\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{image}
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth]{image}

% Scale by height
\includegraphics[height=3cm]{image}
\includegraphics[height=0.25\textheight]{image}

% Scale by both (may distort)
\includegraphics[width=5cm,height=3cm]{image}

% Keep aspect ratio with one dimension
\includegraphics[width=5cm,keepaspectratio]{image}

% Scale factor
\includegraphics[scale=0.5]{image}  % 50% of original
\includegraphics[scale=1.2]{image}  % 120% of original

\end{document}

Common Width References

% Page dimensions
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{image}      % Full text width
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth]{image}    % Column width
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{image}      % Current line width
\includegraphics[width=\paperwidth]{image}     % Full paper width

% Relative sizes
\includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{image}   % Half text width
\includegraphics[width=0.33\columnwidth]{image} % Third of column

% Using calc package
\usepackage{calc}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth-2cm]{image}  % Text width minus 2cm

Figure Environment

Basic Figure

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\begin{document}

\begin{figure}[h]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.6\textwidth]{example-image}
  \caption{A sample figure with caption}
  \label{fig:sample}
\end{figure}

As shown in Figure \ref{fig:sample}, the image demonstrates...

% Alternative with short caption for list of figures
\begin{figure}[h]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{graph}
  \caption[Short caption]{Long descriptive caption that appears below the figure}
  \label{fig:graph}
\end{figure}

\end{document}

Figure Placement Options

Option	Meaning	Priority
`h`	Here (approximately)	Low
`t`	Top of page	Medium
`b`	Bottom of page	Medium
`p`	Page of floats	Low
`H`	HERE (exactly)*	Forced
`!`	Override LaTeX’s rules	Modifier

*Requires \usepackage{float}

% Preferred placement order
\begin{figure}[htbp]  % Try here, then top, bottom, finally float page

% Force placement
\usepackage{float}
\begin{figure}[H]  % Place exactly here

% Override LaTeX's aesthetic rules
\begin{figure}[!h]  % Try harder to place here

Multiple Images

Side by Side Images

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\begin{document}

% Method 1: Simple side by side
\begin{figure}[h]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{image1}
  \hfill
  \includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{image2}
  \caption{Two images side by side}
\end{figure}

% Method 2: With individual captions (subcaption package)
\usepackage{subcaption}
\begin{figure}[h]
  \centering
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.45\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{image1}
    \caption{First subcaption}
    \label{fig:sub1}
  \end{subfigure}
  \hfill
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.45\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{image2}
    \caption{Second subcaption}
    \label{fig:sub2}
  \end{subfigure}
  \caption{Main figure caption}
  \label{fig:main}
\end{figure}

\end{document}

Grid of Images

\usepackage{subcaption}

\begin{figure}[h]
  \centering
  % First row
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.3\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{img1}
    \caption{Image 1}
  \end{subfigure}
  \hfill
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.3\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{img2}
    \caption{Image 2}
  \end{subfigure}
  \hfill
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.3\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{img3}
    \caption{Image 3}
  \end{subfigure}
  
  % Second row
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.3\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{img4}
    \caption{Image 4}
  \end{subfigure}
  \hfill
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.3\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{img5}
    \caption{Image 5}
  \end{subfigure}
  \hfill
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.3\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{img6}
    \caption{Image 6}
  \end{subfigure}
  
  \caption{Grid of six images}
\end{figure}

Image Transformations

Rotation and Flipping

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\begin{document}

% Rotate image
\includegraphics[angle=90]{image}              % 90 degrees
\includegraphics[angle=-45]{image}             % -45 degrees
\includegraphics[angle=180]{image}             % Upside down

% Rotate and scale
\includegraphics[angle=45,width=5cm]{image}

% Origin of rotation
\includegraphics[angle=90,origin=c]{image}     % Center (default)
\includegraphics[angle=90,origin=tl]{image}    % Top left
\includegraphics[angle=90,origin=br]{image}    % Bottom right

% Reflection (negative scaling)
\includegraphics[width=5cm]{image}             % Normal
\includegraphics[width=-5cm]{image}            % Horizontal flip
\includegraphics[width=5cm,height=-3cm]{image} % Vertical flip

\end{document}

Clipping and Trimming

% Trim: left bottom right top
\includegraphics[trim=1cm 2cm 1cm 2cm,clip]{image}

% Trim and scale
\includegraphics[trim=1cm 1cm 1cm 1cm,clip,width=5cm]{image}

% Viewport (absolute coordinates)
\includegraphics[viewport=20 20 200 200,clip]{image}

% Show only part of image
\includegraphics[trim=0 0 0 50mm,clip,width=\textwidth]{panorama}

Advanced Techniques

Wrapping Text Around Images

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{wrapfig}
\begin{document}

\begin{wrapfigure}{r}{0.4\textwidth}
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.38\textwidth]{image}
  \caption{A wrapped figure}
\end{wrapfigure}

This text wraps around the figure. The figure is positioned on the 
right side of the page, and the text flows around it naturally. 
This is useful for smaller images that don't need the full width 
of the page. Continue with more text to see the wrapping effect...

% Options: r (right), l (left), i (inner), o (outer)
\begin{wrapfigure}{l}{0.3\textwidth}
  \vspace{-20pt}  % Adjust vertical position
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.28\textwidth]{small-image}
  \vspace{-20pt}
  \caption{Left aligned}
  \vspace{-10pt}
\end{wrapfigure}

\end{document}

Image Paths

% Set graphics path
\graphicspath{{images/}{figures/}{../pics/}}

% Now you can use just the filename
\includegraphics{photo}  % Searches in all specified paths

% Multiple paths with subdirectories
\graphicspath{
  {./images/}
  {./figures/photos/}
  {./figures/diagrams/}
  {../common/images/}
}

Draft Mode

% Show boxes instead of images (faster compilation)
\usepackage[draft]{graphicx}

% Or document-wide
\documentclass[draft]{article}

% Override draft mode for specific image
\includegraphics[draft=false,width=5cm]{important-image}

Image Formats and Conversion

Working with Different Formats

% Let LaTeX determine format
\DeclareGraphicsExtensions{.pdf,.png,.jpg,.jpeg}
\includegraphics{image}  % Finds image.pdf, image.png, etc.

% Force specific format
\includegraphics[ext=.png]{image}

% EPS to PDF conversion (pdfLaTeX)
\usepackage{epstopdf}
\includegraphics{diagram.eps}  % Automatically converted

Best Practices

Image guidelines:

Resolution: Use 300 DPI for print, 96-150 DPI for screen
File size: Optimize images before including them
Formats: Use vector (PDF) for diagrams, raster (PNG/JPG) for photos
Naming: Avoid spaces and special characters in filenames
Organization: Keep images in a dedicated folder
Captions: Always include descriptive captions
References: Label all figures for cross-referencing

Troubleshooting

Common image problems:

Image not found: Check path and filename (case-sensitive)
Wrong format: Ensure format is supported by your compiler
Distorted image: Use only width OR height, not both
Image too large: Scale relative to \textwidth
Bad placement: Use [htbp] for flexible positioning
Missing package: Add \usepackage{graphicx}

Quick Reference

Essential Commands

Command	Purpose	Example
`\includegraphics{}`	Insert image	`\includegraphics{pic}`
`width=`	Set width	`width=5cm`
`height=`	Set height	`height=3cm`
`scale=`	Scale factor	`scale=0.5`
`angle=`	Rotate	`angle=90`
`\caption{}`	Add caption	`\caption{Description}`
`\label{}`	Add reference	`\label{fig:name}`

Figure Template

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{filename}
  \caption{Descriptive caption}
  \label{fig:reference-name}
\end{figure}

Next: Master Figure positioning to control exactly where your images appear, or learn about Creating tables for structured data presentation.

Documentation Index

​Common image tasks

​Quick Start

​Basic Image Insertion

​Simple Image Include

​Supported Image Formats

​Scaling Images

​Width and Height Control

​Common Width References

​Figure Environment

​Basic Figure

​Figure Placement Options

​Multiple Images

​Side by Side Images

​Grid of Images

​Image Transformations

​Rotation and Flipping

​Clipping and Trimming

​Advanced Techniques

​Wrapping Text Around Images

​Image Paths

​Draft Mode

​Image Formats and Conversion

​Working with Different Formats

​Best Practices

​Troubleshooting

​Quick Reference

​Essential Commands

​Figure Template

Common image tasks

Quick Start

Basic Image Insertion

Simple Image Include

Supported Image Formats

Scaling Images

Width and Height Control

Common Width References

Figure Environment

Basic Figure

Figure Placement Options

Multiple Images

Side by Side Images

Grid of Images

Image Transformations

Rotation and Flipping

Clipping and Trimming

Advanced Techniques

Wrapping Text Around Images

Image Paths

Draft Mode

Image Formats and Conversion

Working with Different Formats

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Quick Reference

Essential Commands

Figure Template