diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e89d263b1a..5ecad58fa2 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+## 0.21.9
+
+### Enhancements
+- **Replace deprecated `process_metadata` + `add_metadata` decorators in `partition_image` with unified `apply_metadata`**: Aligns image partitioner with the modern decorator pattern already used by `partition_pdf` and `partition_docx`, consolidating metadata post-processing into a single decorator.
+
 ## 0.21.8
 
 ### Enhancements
diff --git a/unstructured/__version__.py b/unstructured/__version__.py
index d30cdc8731..eefbafb78f 100644
--- a/unstructured/__version__.py
+++ b/unstructured/__version__.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-__version__ = "0.21.8"  # pragma: no cover
+__version__ = "0.21.9"  # pragma: no cover
diff --git a/unstructured/partition/image.py b/unstructured/partition/image.py
index 055e6b0c17..a51c23e49e 100644
--- a/unstructured/partition/image.py
+++ b/unstructured/partition/image.py
@@ -3,16 +3,16 @@
 from typing import IO, Any, Optional
 
 from unstructured.chunking import add_chunking_strategy
-from unstructured.documents.elements import Element, process_metadata
-from unstructured.file_utils.filetype import add_metadata
+from unstructured.documents.elements import Element
+from unstructured.file_utils.model import FileType
 from unstructured.partition.common.common import exactly_one
 from unstructured.partition.common.lang import check_language_args
+from unstructured.partition.common.metadata import apply_metadata
 from unstructured.partition.pdf import partition_pdf_or_image
 from unstructured.partition.utils.constants import PartitionStrategy
 
 
-@process_metadata()  # TODO(shreya): update to use `apply_metadata` decorator
-@add_metadata
+@apply_metadata(FileType.IMAGE)
 @add_chunking_strategy
 def partition_image(
     filename: Optional[str] = None,