diff --git a/packages/astro-imagetools/api/utils/getProcessedImage.js b/packages/astro-imagetools/api/utils/getProcessedImage.js
index d592d6f1..db867986 100644
--- a/packages/astro-imagetools/api/utils/getProcessedImage.js
+++ b/packages/astro-imagetools/api/utils/getProcessedImage.js
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
   supportedImageTypes,
 } from "../../utils/runtimeChecks.js";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "url";
+import { getSrcPath } from './getSrcPath.js';
 
 const { getImageDetails } = await (sharp
   ? import("./imagetools.js")
@@ -93,7 +94,7 @@ export default async (src, transformConfigs) => {
   const path = src.replace(/\\/g, `/`);
 
   const { image, imageWidth, imageHeight, imageFormat } = await getImageDetails(
-    `./${src}`,
+    getSrcPath(src),
     width,
     height,
     aspect
diff --git a/packages/astro-imagetools/api/utils/getSrcPath.js b/packages/astro-imagetools/api/utils/getSrcPath.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bf26c7f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/astro-imagetools/api/utils/getSrcPath.js
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+import fs from 'fs';
+import path from 'path';
+import { cwd } from "../../utils/runtimeChecks.js";
+import printWarning from "../../utils/printWarning.js";
+
+// To strip off params when checking for file on disk.
+const paramPattern = /\?.*/
+
+/**
+ * getSrcPath allows the use of `src` attributes relative to either the /public folder or project root.
+ * 
+ * It first checks to see if the src is a file relative to the cwd (project root).  
+ * If the file isn't found, it will look in the /public folder.
+ * Finally, if it still can't be found, the original input will be returned.
+ */
+export function getSrcPath(src) {
+  // If this is already resolved to a file, return it.
+  if (fs.existsSync(src.replace(paramPattern, ''))) return src;
+
+  const rootPath = path.join(cwd, src);
+  const rootTest = rootPath.replace(paramPattern, '')
+  if (fs.existsSync(rootTest)) return rootPath;
+
+  const publicPath = path.join(cwd, 'public', src);
+  const publicTest = publicPath.replace(paramPattern, '')
+  if (fs.existsSync(publicTest)) return publicPath;
+
+  // Fallback
+  printWarning({message: `"${src}" could not not be found at \n${rootTest} \n\tor \n${publicTest}`});
+  return src;
+}
diff --git a/packages/astro-imagetools/api/utils/getSrcset.js b/packages/astro-imagetools/api/utils/getSrcset.js
index 0d9141b3..07967e76 100644
--- a/packages/astro-imagetools/api/utils/getSrcset.js
+++ b/packages/astro-imagetools/api/utils/getSrcset.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 // @ts-check
-import { cwd } from "../../utils/runtimeChecks.js";
+import { getSrcPath } from './getSrcPath';
 
 export default async function getSrcset(src, breakpoints, format, options) {
   options = {
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ export default async function getSrcset(src, breakpoints, format, options) {
   const id = `${src}?${params.slice(1)}`;
 
   if (process.env.npm_lifecycle_event !== "dev") {
-    const fullPath = cwd + id;
+    const fullPath = getSrcPath(id);
 
     const { default: load } = await import("../../plugin/hooks/load.js");
 
diff --git a/packages/astro-imagetools/plugin/hooks/load.js b/packages/astro-imagetools/plugin/hooks/load.js
index 6a71b149..22731934 100644
--- a/packages/astro-imagetools/plugin/hooks/load.js
+++ b/packages/astro-imagetools/plugin/hooks/load.js
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 // @ts-check
 import path from "path";
 import objectHash from "object-hash";
+import { getSrcPath } from "../../api/utils/getSrcPath.js";
 import { getCachedBuffer } from "../utils/cache.js";
 import { getAssetPath, getConfigOptions } from "../utils/shared.js";
 import { cwd, sharp, supportedImageTypes } from "../../utils/runtimeChecks.js";
@@ -31,7 +32,7 @@ export default async function load(id) {
 
     const { environment, projectBase, assetFileNames } = astroViteConfigs;
 
-    const src = id.startsWith(cwd) ? id : cwd + id;
+    const src = getSrcPath(id);
 
     const config = Object.fromEntries(searchParams);