Resume

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ERIKASWEETING

832-247-8131         erika.sweeting@gmail.com      www.erikagudmundsen.com

SKILLS SUMMARY

Technical: Experience with many content management systems, including WordPress, Teamsite and Escenic. Extensive experience with all of Adobe Creative Suite (Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Indesign, InCopy), extensive HTML, CSS and JavaScript coding, Microsoft Suite, Sound Slides Pro, PhotoMechanic, Adobe Lightroom, Final Cut Pro, Garageband, Brightcove and map mashups. High level of proficiency for both PC and MAC operating systems, but emphasis and preference for Mac. Exceptional ability to edit and manage photographs, design documents, and construct web pages.

Writing: strong background in news writing, plus ample experience with a wide variety of documents (brochures, web writing, reports, research papers, letters, presentations). Experience editing; familiar with MLA and AP styles.

Photography: Six years photography experience, work with a Nikon D70, SB-800, Nikkor 18-70 mm lens. Have extensive experience with studio lighting as well as shooting on location. Ability to process and edit both digitally and traditional dark room format.


EDUCATION

Stanford University
Masters of Arts Communication, Graduate program in Journalism
June 2008
Effectively learned to interview, investigate, report and write news stories on foreign issues, long format literary journalism, human rights issues, and local government. Developed a well-rounded knowledge of digital media and translating print media into an online format.

The University of Texas
B.J. in Journalism and B.A. in Plan II Honors (Liberal Arts)
May 2007
Specialization: Photojournalism
Learned basic aspects of journalism including editing, visual design, editing, reporting, writing, interviewing. Also gained a strong knowledge of technical photography, photo stories, captions, cropping, editing, and visual design. Through the honors program developed extensive writing skills, particularly while writing a 90 page senior thesis on beauty and the American culture. Won the 2007 Model Thesis Award for this work.

La Sorbonne
Semester abroad program
Jan.-June 2006
Spent six months living and studying in Paris. Reached near fluency with the French language while studying history, culture, and art.

EXPERIENCE

Austin American-Statesman
Austin, TX
Nov. 2008 - present
Online content producer, statesman.com

  • Updating and editing the website, including adding stories, creating online photo galleries, embedding video, covering breaking news online, writing headlines and cutlines, and daily operations
  • Mass emails for breaking news, Longhorns sports, and weekly style newsletters. Covered news quickly and efficiently, often beating local and national competition.
  • Originally hand-coded in BBedit, uploaded via Fetch to CMS Teamsite. Involved extensive use of HTML and CSS and some javascript.
  • Recently migrated to Escenic CMS, a web-based, self-contained publishing system.
  • Created and managed the popular Statesman Dog Show contest including interactive photo galleries, user uploaded video, and a Twitter following of 600+.

Austin American-Statesman
Austin, TX
Aug. 2008 - Oct. 2008
Editorial Assistant, Business desk

  • Compile information and write about commercial real estate deals, mortgage and money rates, stocks and dividends, corporate hirings and firings, and upcoming business events.
  • Shoot and edit a weekly “Tech Monday Minute” video
  • Assist with story research

Istanford.com
Palo Alto, CA
Sept. 2007 - June 2008
Staff writer/reporter

  • Reported and wrote news and features articles about local government, public issues, human rights, and foreign issues for graduate student news site.
  • Helped research and develop improvements to the website

Blink Twice Photography/Erika Dawn Photography
Palo Alto, CA and Austin, TX
Sept. 2006 - present
Self-employed photographer

  • Photograph weddings, engagements, bridals, seniors, families, pregnancy, babies, and headshots
  • Design and produce albums, photoshop editing, prepare final prints
  • Designed and built www.blinktwicephotography.com via WordPress

Ron Parks Photography
Austin, TX
June 2006 – Sept. 2007
Wedding photographer and office manager

  • Photograph weddings, engagements, and bridal portraits
  • Design and produce wedding albums, frames, and other finished products
  • Manage daily studio work flow, customer service, orders management, and Photoshop editing
  • Participate in city-wide bridal fairs and shows multiple times a year

Charla Wood Photography
Austin, TX
June – August 2005
Photography intern

  • Assisted on photo shoots, including lighting, dark room development, and digital Photoshop editing
  • Assisted with daily studio management, including marketing, customer relations, and filing
  • Assistant coordinator for a large-scale charity exhibition

Jumping Off Bridges
Austin, TX
July/Aug. 2005
Assistant still photographer

  • Assistant still photographer on the set of an award-winning independent film; photos were used for publicity purposes (website and press releases)

The Undecided
Austin, TX
Sept. 2006 – May 2007
Director of Photography

  • Photograph student events, campus life, and news stories for the monthly newspaper of the honors program
  • Assign staff photographers to stories and coordinate with writers to secure images to accompany their stories
  • Edit all photos, coordinate with designers on page layout and general design for publication

The Cactus Yearbook
Austin, TX
Aug. 2005 – May 2006
Staff photographer

  • Photograph student activities and groups, sports events, and campus life for the UT yearbook

Alpha Xi Delta
Austin, TX
Jan. – Dec. 2005
Social manager

  • Contact and negotiate with businesses, venues, and third party vendors to negotiate prices and draft contracts