Photo collage from the Van Elk & Co. blog, linked below.
One of my articles about COVID safety for wedding photographers was published on Petapixel! This article also had a summary written up about it on fStoppers by Mark Dunsmir. It originally debuted on the Van Elk & Co. blog though. Early in the pandemic we knew masks could help prevent the spread of COVID-19, but we didn’t have a lot of data on what masks we should wear. Here’s a sample of the article:
“1. Disposable 3 Ply Face Mask
By far my favorite mask.”
This mask is easily identifiable as a mask that’s being worn for medical reasons (like a global pandemic). It has a professional look to it, because we’re used to seeing so many professionals wear it. Nurses, doctors, dentists, and orthodontists all come to mind when I see this mask. Professionals who are trying to keep us safe while we’re in their offices, which is something I wouldn’t mind having my clients think too. This mask is also one of the most common masks out there. You’ve probably seen hundreds of people wearing these while shopping.
I liked this mask because it was by far the easiest mask to breathe in while shooting. As such, I felt cool the whole time I was shooting. The wire at the top of the mask goes across the entire top part of the mask, allowing you to sculpt the mask to fit your nose and cheek bones so not much air escapes upward (so your viewfinder doesn’t fog up). The elastic bands for the ear loops fit my head well and didn’t irritate my ears while wearing this mask.
So, as a wedding photographer who knew they needed to get back to work, and who wanted to stay safe while working, I decided to test a bunch of masks out. This was back when n95 masks were extremely hard to come by and civilians were being asked not to purchase them because people working in the medical fields, treating COVID patients, needed them. So, my recommendation based on what was easiest to work in and also what looked the best was the Disposable 3-ply face mask. The kind your doctor or dentist might have worn during a check-up pre-pandemic and hopefully is still wearing now during the ongoing pandemic. I didn’t realize at the time that extensive tests would come out a few weeks later letting people know the disposable 3-ply masks were the best ones to wear if you couldn’t get your hands on an n95 mask.
I also didn’t know that the bandana and neck gaiters would be the worst masks to wear. Somehow my rankings coincided with the medical community, for the most part, just because I was mostly looking at which masks fogged up my camera viewfinder the most. Apparently fogging up the viewfinder was a pretty good indicator that a mask wasn’t really working at keeping potentially hazardous particles contained. Click through one of the links above to Petapixel, fStoppers, or the Van Elk & Co. blog to read more and see the selfies in the collage at the top of the page in larger resolution (if you want to look at larger-resolution, goofy, mask selfies).
