  The most widely used means of measuring the mass of black holes in Galactic
binaries - specifically the X-ray novae - involves both radial velocity
measurements of the secondary star, and photometric measurements of its
ellipsoidal variability. The latter is important in constraining the
inclination and mass ratio, and requires as direct a measure of the flux of the
secondary as possible. Up to now, such measurements have been preferentially
carried out in the NIR (1 -- 2.5$\mu m$), where the flux from the cooler
secondary is expected to dominate over that from the accretion disc. However,
here we present evidence of a significant non-stellar contribution to the NIR
flux in many of those quiescent X-ray novae that are thought to contain a black
hole primary. We discuss origins of this excess and the effect of such
contamination on Galactic black hole mass measurements.
