diff --git a/src/Hyprpaper.cpp b/src/Hyprpaper.cpp
index 7cfd459..8923868 100644
--- a/src/Hyprpaper.cpp
+++ b/src/Hyprpaper.cpp
@@ -121,7 +121,13 @@ void CHyprpaper::preloadAllWallpapersFromConfig() {
             continue;
 
         m_mWallpaperTargets[wp] = CWallpaperTarget();
-        m_mWallpaperTargets[wp].create(wp);
+        if (std::filesystem::is_symlink(wp)) {
+            auto real_wp = std::filesystem::read_symlink(wp);
+            m_mWallpaperTargets[wp].create(real_wp);
+        } else {
+            m_mWallpaperTargets[wp].create(wp);
+        }
+
     }
 
     g_pConfigManager->m_dRequestedPreloads.clear();
@@ -597,4 +603,4 @@ void CHyprpaper::unlockSingleInstance() {
     const std::string XDG_RUNTIME_DIR = getenv("XDG_RUNTIME_DIR");
     const auto LOCKFILE = XDG_RUNTIME_DIR + "/hyprpaper.lock";
     unlink(LOCKFILE.c_str());
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}