diff --git a/bookwyrm/settings.py b/bookwyrm/settings.py
index 23b442ad0..cbd83ecaf 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/settings.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/settings.py
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ LOCALE_PATHS = [
 LANGUAGE_COOKIE_NAME = env.str("LANGUAGE_COOKIE_NAME", "django_language")
 
 STATIC_ROOT = env("STATIC_ROOT_ABS", os.path.join(BASE_DIR, env("STATIC_ROOT", "static")))
-MEDIA_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, env("MEDIA_ROOT", "images"))
+MEDIA_ROOT = env("MEDIA_ROOT_ABS", os.path.join(BASE_DIR, env("MEDIA_ROOT", "images")))
 
 DEFAULT_AUTO_FIELD = "django.db.models.AutoField"