diff --git a/src/dump_image.cpp b/src/dump_image.cpp
index 51c77158eb..05a7486c50 100644
--- a/src/dump_image.cpp
+++ b/src/dump_image.cpp
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ DumpImage::DumpImage(LAMMPS *lmp, int narg, char **arg) :
   // force binary flag on to avoid corrupted output on Windows
 
   binary = 1;
+  multifile_override = 0;
 
   // set filetype based on filename suffix
 
@@ -389,7 +390,7 @@ DumpImage::~DumpImage()
 
 void DumpImage::init_style()
 {
-  if (multifile == 0)
+  if (multifile == 0 && !multifile_override)
     error->all(FLERR,"Dump image requires one snapshot per file");
   if (sort_flag) error->all(FLERR,"Dump image cannot perform sorting");
 
diff --git a/src/dump_image.h b/src/dump_image.h
index 9c42c584c1..9cdcb0e062 100644
--- a/src/dump_image.h
+++ b/src/dump_image.h
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ namespace LAMMPS_NS {
 
 class DumpImage : public DumpCustom {
  public:
+  int multifile_override;          // used by write_dump command
+
   DumpImage(class LAMMPS *, int, char**);
   virtual ~DumpImage();
   int pack_comm(int, int *, double *, int, int *);