ツ Christina

Christina Ragusin - Principal Photographer of Lilybelle Photography

Useless facts about me:

~ I’m a Leo and I’m a very proud lioness.
~ My own wedding to my wonderful/sexy/amazing husband was June 14th, 2003. Outside, daisies, and yellow- all my favorites. And our song is “Yellow” by Coldplay. <3
~ We have two beautiful daughters, Ava Isabella (5) and Lily Inara (18m)
~ I have a 9 year old Rottwieler named Samson. He’s my other baby.
~ I am a geek. My Star Wars obsession and online video games can attest to this.
~ I am extremely sarcastic. Almost to a fault.
~ I make the best spaghetti and meatball sauce you’ll ever taste.
~ I hate doing laundry and the dishes gross me out.
~ Love my Canon cameras & lenses, my PC, and my Moto Droid.
~ I wanted to be a firefighter in college. I took a photography class as an elective. That was it.
~ I have a renewed obsession with TV shows. No reality stuff. My favorites are Supernatural, Dexter, True Blood, Castle, & Glee. My all time favorite show is Firefly. Can’t stop the signal.
~ I’m terrified of thunderstorms and chalkboards.
~ I am 50% Cuban, the rest is a mix of English and Irish.
~ I am in love with Han Solo.
~ I am a brown belt in Hapkido. Seriously, don’t mess with this.
~ Yes, I am a proud, self taught photographer and photoshopper
~ My favorite authors are Nora Roberts, Kim Harrison, and John Grisham. Eclectic, I know.
~ I always accept tips in the form of sushi.
~ Mornings and I do not get along.
~ I am a born again Christian. I promise I won’t beat you with my bible, unless you ask me to.

My Photography Background:

I have an insatiable need to capture the moments that we live for. Those moments that make us squeal with laughter, or give us butterflies in our bellies. The moments that make our hearts wrench and tears well up in our eyes with happiness, or even sadness. The moments that remind us how time flies, and how we need to savor each and every one. I want those moments. I want them in front of my camera, so I can hold them forever. So I can look back and remember, and pass those moments on to generations.

Photography is rooted deep in my family history. My grandfather worked for Eastman Kodak here in Chicago when he came over from England in 1920. Since then, the bug has been passed throughout my family. It hit me when I was in college, taking a photography class as an elective. I changed my major after that class. I’ve worked for several portrait studios and a photo lab, but nothing seemed to stick with me. I married my wonderful husband in 2003 and we had our first daughter, Ava Isabella in 2005. After taking her birth announcement picture, I decided to start my own business. I initially named the company after her, Bella Photography Studio. After having my second daughter, Lily Inara in 2009, and seeing that “Bella Photography” just might be the most popular business name of all time, I decided to change the name in 2010 to LilyBelle Photography.

I have an insane passion for photography and for my work. If you would like to see what kind of moments I can capture for you, please contact me. I’d love to hear from you!

~ Christina Ragusin