diff --git a/nova/endpoint/cloud.py b/nova/endpoint/cloud.py
index acba50b9..7e51cc83 100644
--- a/nova/endpoint/cloud.py
+++ b/nova/endpoint/cloud.py
@@ -518,14 +518,14 @@ class CloudController(object):
         kernel_id = image.get('kernelId', FLAGS.default_kernel)
         ramdisk_id = image.get('ramdiskId', FLAGS.default_ramdisk)
 
-        # make sure we have access to kernel and ramdisk
-        self._get_image(context, kernel_id)
-        self._get_image(context, ramdisk_id)
-
         # API parameters overrides of defaults
         kernel_id = kwargs.get('kernel_id', kernel_id)
         ramdisk_id = kwargs.get('ramdisk_id', ramdisk_id)
 
+        # make sure we have access to kernel and ramdisk
+        self._get_image(context, kernel_id)
+        self._get_image(context, ramdisk_id)
+
         logging.debug("Going to run instances...")
         reservation_id = utils.generate_uid('r')
         launch_time = time.strftime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ', time.gmtime())