diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/assets/lib/fs/options.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/assets/lib/fs/options.ts
index 3ccc107d3700d..548fa4bda42ee 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/assets/lib/fs/options.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/assets/lib/fs/options.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ export interface CopyOptions {
    * A strategy for how to handle symlinks.
    *
    * @default Never
+   * @deprecated use `followSymlinks` instead
    */
   readonly follow?: FollowMode;
 
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecr-assets/lib/image-asset.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecr-assets/lib/image-asset.ts
index 8f99d5081f514..67d7b263973f8 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecr-assets/lib/image-asset.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ecr-assets/lib/image-asset.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 import * as fs from 'fs';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import * as ecr from '@aws-cdk/aws-ecr';
-import { Annotations, FeatureFlags, IgnoreMode, Stack, Token } from '@aws-cdk/core';
+import { Annotations, AssetStaging, FeatureFlags, FileFingerprintOptions, IgnoreMode, Stack, SymlinkFollowMode, Token } from '@aws-cdk/core';
 import * as cxapi from '@aws-cdk/cx-api';
 import { Construct } from 'constructs';
 
 // keep this import separate from other imports to reduce chance for merge conflicts with v2-main
 // eslint-disable-next-line
-import { FingerprintOptions, IAsset, Staging } from '@aws-cdk/assets';
+import { FingerprintOptions, FollowMode, IAsset } from '@aws-cdk/assets';
 // keep this import separate from other imports to reduce chance for merge conflicts with v2-main
 // eslint-disable-next-line no-duplicate-imports, import/order
 import { Construct as CoreConstruct } from '@aws-cdk/core';
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import { Construct as CoreConstruct } from '@aws-cdk/core';
 /**
  * Options for DockerImageAsset
  */
-export interface DockerImageAssetOptions extends FingerprintOptions {
+export interface DockerImageAssetOptions extends FingerprintOptions, FileFingerprintOptions {
   /**
    * ECR repository name
    *
@@ -156,8 +156,9 @@ export class DockerImageAsset extends CoreConstruct implements IAsset {
     // deletion of the ECR repository the app used).
     extraHash.version = '1.21.0';
 
-    const staging = new Staging(this, 'Staging', {
+    const staging = new AssetStaging(this, 'Staging', {
       ...props,
+      follow: props.followSymlinks ?? toSymlinkFollow(props.follow),
       exclude,
       ignoreMode,
       sourcePath: dir,
@@ -200,3 +201,13 @@ function validateBuildArgs(buildArgs?: { [key: string]: string }) {
     }
   }
 }
+
+function toSymlinkFollow(follow?: FollowMode): SymlinkFollowMode | undefined {
+  switch (follow) {
+    case undefined: return undefined;
+    case FollowMode.NEVER: return SymlinkFollowMode.NEVER;
+    case FollowMode.ALWAYS: return SymlinkFollowMode.ALWAYS;
+    case FollowMode.BLOCK_EXTERNAL: return SymlinkFollowMode.BLOCK_EXTERNAL;
+    case FollowMode.EXTERNAL: return SymlinkFollowMode.EXTERNAL;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-s3-assets/lib/asset.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-s3-assets/lib/asset.ts
index aa99ab67e40a3..0777602e788f6 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-s3-assets/lib/asset.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-s3-assets/lib/asset.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import { CopyOptions } from '@aws-cdk/assets';
 // eslint-disable-next-line no-duplicate-imports, import/order
 import { Construct as CoreConstruct } from '@aws-cdk/core';
 
-export interface AssetOptions extends CopyOptions, cdk.AssetOptions {
+export interface AssetOptions extends CopyOptions, cdk.FileCopyOptions, cdk.AssetOptions {
   /**
    * A list of principals that should be able to read this asset from S3.
    * You can use `asset.grantRead(principal)` to grant read permissions later.
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ export class Asset extends CoreConstruct implements cdk.IAsset {
     const staging = new cdk.AssetStaging(this, 'Stage', {
       ...props,
       sourcePath: path.resolve(props.path),
-      follow: toSymlinkFollow(props.follow),
+      follow: props.followSymlinks ?? toSymlinkFollow(props.follow),
       assetHash: props.assetHash ?? props.sourceHash,
     });
 
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/core/lib/fs/options.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/core/lib/fs/options.ts
index 3ea836a24e831..baf73bd7ffd30 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/core/lib/fs/options.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/core/lib/fs/options.ts
@@ -56,19 +56,9 @@ export enum IgnoreMode {
    * context flag is set.
    */
   DOCKER = 'docker'
-};
-
-/**
- * Obtains applied when copying directories into the staging location.
- */
-export interface CopyOptions {
-  /**
-   * A strategy for how to handle symlinks.
-   *
-   * @default SymlinkFollowMode.NEVER
-   */
-  readonly follow?: SymlinkFollowMode;
+}
 
+interface FileOptions {
   /**
    * Glob patterns to exclude from the copy.
    *
@@ -85,9 +75,30 @@ export interface CopyOptions {
 }
 
 /**
- * Options related to calculating source hash.
+ * Options applied when copying directories
+ */
+export interface CopyOptions extends FileOptions {
+  /**
+   * A strategy for how to handle symlinks.
+   *
+   * @default SymlinkFollowMode.NEVER
+   */
+  readonly follow?: SymlinkFollowMode;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Options applied when copying directories into the staging location.
  */
-export interface FingerprintOptions extends CopyOptions {
+export interface FileCopyOptions extends FileOptions {
+  /**
+   * A strategy for how to handle symlinks.
+   *
+   * @default SymlinkFollowMode.NEVER
+   */
+  readonly followSymlinks?: SymlinkFollowMode;
+}
+
+interface ExtraHashOptions {
   /**
    * Extra information to encode into the fingerprint (e.g. build instructions
    * and other inputs)
@@ -96,3 +107,15 @@ export interface FingerprintOptions extends CopyOptions {
    */
   readonly extraHash?: string;
 }
+
+/**
+ * Options related to calculating source hash.
+ */
+export interface FingerprintOptions extends CopyOptions, ExtraHashOptions {
+}
+
+/**
+ * Options related to calculating source hash.
+ */
+export interface FileFingerprintOptions extends FileCopyOptions, ExtraHashOptions {
+}