A convective mass (heat) transfer measurement technique based on the reflective properties of drying surfaces has been established and validated. The convection surface is covered with an absorbent paper and wetted with a volatile liquid. The drying rate is determined from measurements of changes in the intensity of reflected or transmitted portion of a light beam using a light emitter / detector system. The paper needs to be calibrated before using it in mass transfer measurements. Various convective flow systems have been tested for calibration of the paper. In the view of the present findings and the analysis of results of previous studies using this technique, a better way of carrying out the technique has been proposed. The technique has been validated by circumferential mass transfer measurements around circular cylinders in a uniform crossflow. The close agreement of the present data with those from the literature prove that the present technique could offer an alternative to existing heat and mass transfer measurement methods.