diff --git a/modules/blox/layouts/_partials/functions/get_featured_image.html b/modules/blox/layouts/_partials/functions/get_featured_image.html
index 11d71df9..a48d832f 100644
--- a/modules/blox/layouts/_partials/functions/get_featured_image.html
+++ b/modules/blox/layouts/_partials/functions/get_featured_image.html
@@ -13,10 +13,8 @@
 {{ $resource := (.Resources.ByType "image").GetMatch "*featured*" }}
 {{ if not (reflect.IsResource $resource) }}
   {{/* Otherwise fall back the image file specified in front matter */}}
-  {{ $filename := "" }}
-  {{ if and .Params.image (reflect.IsMap .Params.image) }}
-    {{ $filename = .Params.image.filename }}
-  {{ end }}
+  {{ $image_params := partial "functions/get_page_image_params.html" . }}
+  {{ $filename := $image_params.filename | default "" }}
   {{/* Search in page folder */}}
   {{ $resource = (.Resources.ByType "image").GetMatch $filename }}
   {{/* Otherwise in `assets/media/` folder */}}
diff --git a/modules/blox/layouts/_partials/functions/get_page_image_params.html b/modules/blox/layouts/_partials/functions/get_page_image_params.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a845da40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/blox/layouts/_partials/functions/get_page_image_params.html
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+{{/* Return the page's `image` frontmatter as a map, or an empty map if unset.
+     Warns if `image` is set but not an object. */}}
+{{ $img := .Params.image }}
+{{ $result := dict }}
+{{ if $img }}
+  {{ if reflect.IsMap $img }}
+    {{ $result = $img }}
+  {{ else }}
+    {{ warnf "page %q: `image` frontmatter must be an object, e.g.\n  image:\n    filename: cover.jpg\nGot: %v" .Path $img }}
+  {{ end }}
+{{ end }}
+{{ return $result }}
diff --git a/modules/blox/layouts/_partials/views/card.html b/modules/blox/layouts/_partials/views/card.html
index 46e8ac12..1e2c7871 100644
--- a/modules/blox/layouts/_partials/views/card.html
+++ b/modules/blox/layouts/_partials/views/card.html
@@ -8,10 +8,8 @@
 {{ end }}
 
 {{ $resource := partial "functions/get_featured_image.html" $item }}
-{{ $anchor := "Center" }}
-{{ if and $item.Params.image (reflect.IsMap $item.Params.image) }}
-  {{ $anchor = $item.Params.image.focal_point | default "Center" }}
-{{ end }}
+{{ $image_params := partial "functions/get_page_image_params.html" $item }}
+{{ $anchor := $image_params.focal_point | default "Center" }}
 {{ $fill_image := .config.fill_image | default true }}
 {{ $showDate := .config.show_date | default true }}
 {{ $showReadTime := .config.show_read_time | default true }}
diff --git a/modules/blox/layouts/events/page.html b/modules/blox/layouts/events/page.html
index 3c4fee7f..a57193ee 100644
--- a/modules/blox/layouts/events/page.html
+++ b/modules/blox/layouts/events/page.html
@@ -141,11 +141,7 @@
       {{ else }}
         {{/* Fallback to featured image if no slides */}}
         {{ $featured := partial "functions/get_featured_image.html" . }}
-        {{/* Safely extract image parameters - handle case where image is not a map */}}
-        {{ $image_params := dict }}
-        {{ if and .Params.image (reflect.IsMap .Params.image) }}
-          {{ $image_params = .Params.image }}
-        {{ end }}
+        {{ $image_params := partial "functions/get_page_image_params.html" . }}
         {{ if and $featured (not $image_params.preview_only) }}
         {{/* Fit image within max size. */}}
         {{ $image := $featured }}
diff --git a/modules/blox/layouts/single.html b/modules/blox/layouts/single.html
index e5410d84..c7d9b787 100644
--- a/modules/blox/layouts/single.html
+++ b/modules/blox/layouts/single.html
@@ -147,11 +147,7 @@
 
 
       {{ $featured := partial "functions/get_featured_image.html" . }}
-      {{/* Safely extract image parameters - handle case where image is not a map */}}
-      {{ $image_params := dict }}
-      {{ if and .Params.image (reflect.IsMap .Params.image) }}
-        {{ $image_params = .Params.image }}
-      {{ end }}
+      {{ $image_params := partial "functions/get_page_image_params.html" . }}
       {{/* Featured image layout */}}
       {{ if and $featured (not $image_params.preview_only) }}
       {{/* Fit image within max size. */}}