Floral Masks for Wedding Photography

Had to run into the UPS store the other day and the lady working the counter told me I had a pretty mask. I was wearing a mask with a floral print at the time. She then asked if I lost mine and had to borrow my wife's. I told her I bought the mask for myself, and things were real awkward after that. She apologized a few times for the comment and said there was nothing wrong with a man wearing a floral mask. I told her it was alright. She apologized more.

I bought the floral mask because I wanted something that looked a little nicer than a solid color mask for when I shoot weddings. The disposable masks are the best suited for the job, but they don't look the best. I wanted something that would pair well with a floral tie and dress shirt. Since then I've also bought disposable 3-ply surgical masks with floral prints, which I feel like are a bit of a middle ground between the style I want and the function I want.

Here's what I wrote about the floral mask in my mask review from last summer:

"This mask is my favorite that I tested. I’m ranking it under the 3 ply disposable mask though. I understand it’s my favorite largely because I like the way it looks and the fact that it’s reusable. If you’re just shooting a few weddings, then I think the superior functionality of the disposable mask trumps the superior form of this reusable mask. The cloth used in this mask is a synthetic blend. It feels cool to the touch and has a little bit of a shine to it. It has a good wire on top that is long enough to allow you to form the mask to fit your nose, but not over your cheek bones. Much like a floral tie, this mask provides a nice accent of color to what you’re wearing on a wedding day. I love it. I just wish I had a matching floral tie to wear with it and a matching pocket square.

This mask, and all the cloth masks to be honest, share a similar trait. That is that when you breath hard, the material sucks up your nose a little bit, or if you’re a mouth breather it sucks into your mouth. While I never felt out of breath with this mask, it was a bit uncomfortable. It gets worse when you sweat and the material gets wet. I recommend bringing two of these to an event so you can swap them out if one gets wet. It’ll be very helpful. Out of all the reusable masks I tried, this is the most comfortable and gave me the least trouble when wet.

The cloth, though cool and shiny, feels thick. This mask did muffle my voice a little bit, though not much. Also, the wire around the nose mostly kept the viewfinder of my DSLR from fogging up while inside, but it wasn’t as good as the disposable mask. The elastic of the ear bands felt great. I’ve worn this mask quite a bit and never had any trouble with irritation.

Pros: Reusable, professional looking and good looking, easy to breath while dry, good wire, nice elastic bands for ears, little viewfinder fog

Cons: Single use, muffles the voice, harder to breath while wet

Amazon link: Retro Floral Pattern Mask"

If you want to read the full article, you can find that on my website.

If you're wondering what sort of disposable floral masks there are out there, you can of course google it. There are a ton. These are the ones that I like and use though. My wife likes them too. I probably should have mentioned above that while I do like the floral masks and wear them frequently, that my wife also likes them and wears them frequently.

Thanks for reading. I am a full time wedding photographer with Van Elk & Co who also makes a comedy podcast about running a wedding photography business called the Wedding Photo Hangover.