# Victoria Cebotar

> Product Photographer | Creative Director | Visual Designer | Empowering Beauty & Wellness Brands to Shine through Artful, Strategic Visuals

Location: Greater Seattle Area, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/victoriacebotar

From early exposure to art history and painting classes, to delving into color theory, composition principles, and experimenting with photography, my lifelong fascination with the arts and creativity has shaped my identity as a creative professional. Graduating from the prestigious New York Institute of Photography and further honing my skills in digital visual arts at the General Assembly, I cultivated a deep understanding of my passions and unlocked my potential. While my career as a Visual Designer has been fulfilling, my unwavering love for product photography led me to create Swift Aperture, my own creative photography studio.

As the founder of Swift Aperture and Creative Director, I blend my passion for visual design with my expertise in commercial product photography. This transition empowered me to explore a higher level of creative freedom, drawing upon my experience in design and project management. My skill set extends beyond photography to include prop styling, set design, concept development, editorial design, and post-production, allowing me to offer a comprehensive approach to my clients' needs.

I take great pride in helping brands enhance their visual presence and connect with their target audience through strategically crafted product imagery. Whether you're seeking to boost conversions, improve brand awareness, or create impactful visual content, my goal is to support your brand's growth by providing high-quality, customized imagery that tells your story.

Explore how stunning, tailored product photography can elevate your brand and drive results. Let's discuss your photographic needs and how I can help you achieve your goals. Reach out via: www.swiftaperture.com/new-client-intake-form

If you'd like to see how Swift Aperture can elevate your brands' visual impact and captivate your target audience, explore my portfolio at www.swiftaperture.com/portfolio to see examples of my work.

For a friendly connection, follow Swift Aperture on Instagram and stay updated on our latest projects and insights: www.instagram.com/swiftaperture/. 

Investing in the timeless product photography created by Swift Aperture is a valuable step toward your business’s success and growth.

## Work Experience
### Creative Director | Product Photographer | Visual Designer @ Swift Aperture, LLC
Jan 2021 – Present | Greater Seattle Area
As the founder and creative lead at Swift Aperture, I help beauty, skincare, fragrance, and wellness brands make their products shine in the best possible way. I blend creative direction, photography, and visual design to craft compelling imagery tailored for high-impact marketing — from bold hero shots to detailed e-commerce visuals.

My background in visual design and project management allows me to approach every shoot holistically — aligning each creative decision with the brand’s marketing goals, while ensuring smooth execution from planning through post-production.

Creative Direction:

- Lead the full creative process — from concept development and copywriting to visual execution — across branded campaigns and advertising.
- Translate marketing strategies into visual storytelling that reflects each brand’s voice and goals.
- Establish and manage production timelines, workflows, and task schedules to ensure seamless delivery.

Product Photography:

- Develop moodboards, shot lists, and visual treatments tailored to each client’s brand identity.
- Set up lighting, camera gear, and styling to bring products to life — whether it’s a minimal, clean look or a high-concept storytelling composition.
- Conduct all pre-shoot tests and oversee every detail on shoot day to ensure the final images match the creative brief.

Visual Design:

- Design marketing materials across multiple platforms, keeping a consistent brand aesthetic.
- Oversee image correction, color grading, and advanced compositing for marketing-ready photos.
- Apply unique visual treatments to elevate raw images into scroll-stopping content designed for specific digital placements.

### UI/UX Visual Designer @ Valence
Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | Bellevue, Washington, United States
Led end-to-end digital design projects—from user research and wireframes to high-fidelity mockups and interactive prototypes. Created thoughtful, brand-aligned user experiences for both mobile and responsive web platforms.

Conducted user research, site mapping, card sorts, personas, and scenario development to guide UX strategy. Developed wireframes and interactive flows to support intuitive navigation and optimized user journeys.

On the visual side, crafted polished UI designs informed by competitive analysis, moodboards, and style guides. Focused on color theory, typography, layout hierarchy, and accessibility to create visually compelling, functional interfaces.

Presented design solutions to stakeholders, incorporated feedback across iterations, and ensured all deliverables met agency standards. Prototyped interactions (Adobe XD, Figma), supported developer hand-off, and upheld consistency across the product experience.

### UI/Visual Designer @ Unknown
Jan 2018 – Jan 2020 | Kirkland, Washington, United States
Designed engaging, interactive, and visually compelling digital experiences. Closely collaborated with developers, and successfully designed mobile apps, responsive websites, and creative visual projects. My approach blended aesthetics with usability, ensuring each project was both intuitive and impactful for users across all devices. 

Selected Projects:

Sunspot – Mobile App Design - Redesigned the entire app UI and improved the UX with interactions and parallax effects for a dynamic experience; developed low-fidelity wireframes and clickable prototypes using Adobe XD; designed both Light Mode and Dark Mode versions, creating assets like panoramic backgrounds for each.

The Wonders of The Cosmos – Responsive Web - Designed a 4-page immersive website with interactive menu animations and engaging UI/UX; created mobile versions and prototypes for web and mobile.

American Cocktail Club – Responsive Web - Designed 5 pages (Home, Join Now, Shop, Current Box, Past Boxes) and implemented them in Webflow with functional CMS for managing 12 product pages.

Starmoment – Responsive Web - Redesigned a single long-scroll landing page featuring a full-screen hero slider, parallax effects, and animations.

ReWearPoint – Responsive Web - Redesigned 3 pages (Home, Service, Shop) with a focus on product grid design for desktop and mobile.

Beat.box – Responsive Web - Designed a single long-scroll landing page with user interactions; created a font-based logo and showcased designs in desktop and mobile mockups for a student project.

Pictorial Fusion – Visual Design - Experimented with double exposure to create imaginative compositions of landscapes and surreal creatures.

Travel Snippets – Visual Design - Designed a series of travel posters for destinations like Las Vegas, LA, Vancouver, and more.

Fun Type – Typographic Treatments - Developed creative signage using typographic manipulations to explore various visual possibilities through type.

### Graphic Designer @ Angry Lychee LLC
Jan 2018 – Jan 2018 | Kirkland, WA
As a Graphic Designer at Felik.ai, I played a pivotal role in creating a responsive single-scroll landing page that effectively showcased the brand's product features and drove customer engagement. Working closely with developers, I designed an impactful and user-friendly experience that contributed to a significant increase in sales.

Key Achievements & Responsibilities:

- Designed a responsive landing page with a hero video, incorporating CSS breakpoints for Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile to ensure a seamless user experience across devices.
- Doubled sales revenue compared to Amazon Prime within the first 6 months by optimizing the page for conversions and engagement.
- Collaborated with the development team to cost-effectively implement the design within the constraints of WordPress, X-Theme, Cornerstone, and LayerSlider.
- Created graphical assets for the web, including images, vectors, and other design elements, to enhance the landing page's visual appeal.
- Designed the look and feel of the custom shopping cart integration via Shopify JS, aligning with the overall brand aesthetics and user flow.
- Developed 3 animated sliders to highlight product features and media mentions, elevating the page's interactivity and engagement.

This role allowed me to combine creative design skills with technical problem-solving, ensuring the project was both visually compelling and functionally efficient, contributing to improved user engagement and sales growth.

### Project Manager @ Microsoft
Jan 2016 – Jan 2018 | Redmond, Washington, United States
Managed key projects such as Connect(); 2017, Visual Studio 2017 Launch Event, and Microsoft Build 2017 & 2018. Responsible for defining project scope, goals, and deliverables in collaboration with stakeholders.

- Facilitated the creation of project plans by identifying workstreams, resource allocation, and timelines for successful execution.
- Monitored progress across multiple projects, identifying and mitigating risks while escalating issues to senior leadership when needed.
- Coordinated cross-functional teams and ensured effective communication between stakeholders to meet tight deadlines and exceed expectations.
- Tracked and reported on the status of deliverables, ensuring that all projects stayed on track and within scope, budget, and timeline.

### Jr. Project Manager @ Microsoft
Jan 2015 – Jan 2016 | Redmond, Washington, United States
Supported marketing efforts for major events such as Build// 2016, Evolve, OSCON, .NET Conf, WPC, and Connect(); 2016, working with multiple virtual teams (v-teams) across various functions.

- Collaborated with cross-functional v-teams to support the execution of large-scale events, ensuring alignment and timely completion of marketing initiatives.
- Facilitated weekly stand-ups and meetings to bring consistency and clarity to marketing processes and ensured smooth communication between teams.
- Monitored and tracked progress of marketing deliverables for events, identifying opportunities for process improvement and ensuring all tasks were on schedule.
- Contributed to resource allocation, helping teams prioritize key marketing tasks and responsibilities based on project timelines.

### Project Manager @ Red Door Collaborative | Microsoft
Jan 2015 – Jan 2018 | Redmond
Worked under the division of Microsoft’s Cloud, App, Dev & Data, managing project scope and timelines, goals, and deliverables for multiple large-scale events. Planned and executed workstreams, monitored progress, and mitigated risks. Collaborated with cross-functional teams on marketing initiatives. Streamlined communication and processes across teams via meetings and stand-ups.


## Education
### Professional Photography
The New York Institute of Photography
Jan 2010 – Jan 2011

### Associate in Arts
College of The Albemarle
Jan 2012 – Jan 2015

### Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations, Political and Administrative Science
Moldova State University
Jan 2003 – Jan 2007

### User Experience Design in Visual Design
General Assembly
Jan 2019 – Jan 2019


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/victoriacebotar
- Portfolio: https://www.swiftaperture.com
- Behance: https://www.behance.net/victoriacebotar

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Source: https://flows.cv/victoriacebotar
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/victoriacebotar/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-03-30