diff --git a/mediapipe/calculators/tensor/image_to_tensor_converter_frame_buffer.cc b/mediapipe/calculators/tensor/image_to_tensor_converter_frame_buffer.cc
index 093f50d76..6f6f6f11c 100644
--- a/mediapipe/calculators/tensor/image_to_tensor_converter_frame_buffer.cc
+++ b/mediapipe/calculators/tensor/image_to_tensor_converter_frame_buffer.cc
@@ -95,7 +95,8 @@ absl::Status FrameBufferProcessor::Convert(const mediapipe::Image& input,
               static_cast<int>(range_max) == 255);
   }
 
-  auto input_frame = input.GetGpuBuffer().GetReadView<FrameBuffer>();
+  auto input_frame =
+      input.GetGpuBuffer(/*upload_to_gpu=*/false).GetReadView<FrameBuffer>();
   const auto& output_shape = output_tensor.shape();
   MP_RETURN_IF_ERROR(ValidateTensorShape(output_shape));
   FrameBuffer::Dimension output_dimension{/*width=*/output_shape.dims[2],
diff --git a/mediapipe/framework/formats/image.h b/mediapipe/framework/formats/image.h
index ffb6362f3..936a3554e 100644
--- a/mediapipe/framework/formats/image.h
+++ b/mediapipe/framework/formats/image.h
@@ -113,11 +113,11 @@ class Image {
 #endif  // MEDIAPIPE_GPU_BUFFER_USE_CV_PIXEL_BUFFER
 #endif  // !MEDIAPIPE_DISABLE_GPU
 
-  // Get a GPU view. Automatically uploads from CPU if needed.
-  const mediapipe::GpuBuffer GetGpuBuffer() const {
-#if !MEDIAPIPE_DISABLE_GPU
-    if (use_gpu_ == false) ConvertToGpu();
-#endif  // !MEDIAPIPE_DISABLE_GPU
+  // Provides access to the underlying GpuBuffer storage.
+  // Automatically uploads from CPU to GPU if needed and requested through the
+  // `upload_to_gpu` argument.
+  const mediapipe::GpuBuffer GetGpuBuffer(bool upload_to_gpu = true) const {
+    if (!use_gpu_ && upload_to_gpu) ConvertToGpu();
     return gpu_buffer_;
   }