diff --git a/packages/fern-docs/ui/src/components/FernImage.tsx b/packages/fern-docs/ui/src/components/FernImage.tsx
index 5da5052ec9..b888b3f49f 100644
--- a/packages/fern-docs/ui/src/components/FernImage.tsx
+++ b/packages/fern-docs/ui/src/components/FernImage.tsx
@@ -47,6 +47,13 @@ export const FernImage = forwardRef<
         alt={props.alt}
         fetchPriority={props.priority ? "high" : undefined}
         loading={props.priority ? "eager" : undefined}
+        // on local dev, the preflight css for <img> tags is `max-width: 100%; height: auto;`
+        // which causes the image height to be ignored. we'll use the inline style prop to override this behavior:
+        style={{
+          width,
+          height,
+          ...props.style,
+        }}
       />
     );
   }
@@ -69,6 +76,13 @@ export const FernImage = forwardRef<
         pathname?.endsWith(".svg") ||
         props.unoptimized
       }
+      // on local dev, the preflight css for <img> tags is `max-width: 100%; height: auto;`
+      // which causes the image height to be ignored. we'll use the inline style prop to override this behavior:
+      style={{
+        width,
+        height,
+        ...props.style,
+      }}
     />
   );
 });