diff --git a/pix2pix.py b/pix2pix.py
index 8cc727b2d54af0c5805547db8f497493f83aa1bb..a556bbdcf0e67b42c5ede6a21e9b6c9553b49fff 100644
--- a/pix2pix.py
+++ b/pix2pix.py
@@ -199,12 +199,18 @@ def lab_to_rgb(lab):
 
 
 def load_examples():
+    if not os.path.exists(a.input_dir):
+        raise Exception("input_dir does not exist")
+
     input_paths = glob.glob(os.path.join(a.input_dir, "*.jpg"))
     decode = tf.image.decode_jpeg
     if len(input_paths) == 0:
         input_paths = glob.glob(os.path.join(a.input_dir, "*.png"))
         decode = tf.image.decode_png
 
+    if len(input_paths) == 0:
+        raise Exception("input_dir contains no image files")
+
     def get_name(path):
         name, _ = os.path.splitext(os.path.basename(path))
         return name