Andre’s baptism was held on a Sunday morning at St Nikola Macedonian Orthodox Church on Angove Street in North Perth, one of two churches of the same name in the area, easy to mix up if you’re not familiar with the local Macedonian community. The ceremony started around 10am and ran for close to an hour, which is typical for an Orthodox baptism given how much more ritual is involved compared to other Christian traditions.
What struck me most was how central the godmother’s role was throughout. In Orthodox baptism the godparent holds the child for almost the entire ceremony, takes part in the anointing with oil, and stays close through the triple immersion and the procession around the font afterwards. It’s a far more hands-on role than I’m used to seeing in Catholic baptisms, and it gave me a lot to work with from a photography point of view, since the godmother and baby were genuinely the visual centre of the room the whole time.
With around 20 to 30 family and friends in attendance, the church had an intimate feel without ever being empty. I focused on getting close during the key ritual moments, the anointing, the immersion, the white garment afterwards, while still capturing the wider family reactions from a few steps back.
Andre’s first birthday happened to fall around the same time, so the family combined the two celebrations into one reception afterwards. It made for a relaxed, genuinely joyful afternoon, and a nice contrast to the formality of the church service earlier that morning.
If you’re planning an Orthodox baptism in Perth, whether Macedonian, Greek, Serbian, or Russian Orthodox, and want a photographer who understands the structure of the ceremony rather than guessing as it unfolds, take a look at our christening and baptism photography page or get in touch directly.