diff --git a/share/qtcreator/qml/qmlpuppet/qml2puppet/instances/qt5nodeinstanceserver.cpp b/share/qtcreator/qml/qmlpuppet/qml2puppet/instances/qt5nodeinstanceserver.cpp
index 462c1c78522..c7bf859daa2 100644
--- a/share/qtcreator/qml/qmlpuppet/qml2puppet/instances/qt5nodeinstanceserver.cpp
+++ b/share/qtcreator/qml/qmlpuppet/qml2puppet/instances/qt5nodeinstanceserver.cpp
@@ -400,7 +400,9 @@ QImage Qt5NodeInstanceServer::grabItem([[maybe_unused]] QQuickItem *item)
     if (!isLayerEnabled(pItem))
         pItem->refFromEffectItem(false);
 
-    ServerNodeInstance instance = instanceForObject(item);
+    ServerNodeInstance instance;
+    if (hasInstanceForObject(item))
+        instance = instanceForObject(item);
 
     const bool rootIs3DObject = rootIsRenderable3DObject();