ORANGE PARK – Dana Heisler is looking to make businesses better in Clay County using her photography skills.

Heisler is an award-winning photographer that owns a photography studio in Orange Park. Like many businesses around the county, her business is now an at-home workplace because of the coronavirus, but it’s not stopping her from making business owners in the area shine. She believes there’s beauty to be seen in everything and wants to use her lens to show share the beauty she sees.

“I see so much beauty in the world and I love to share what I see with other people,” Heisler said. “I’ll have someone come in and say they’re photogenic and they’ll leave in tears after the session because they realize how beautiful they are through my photos.”

Heisler has been in Clay County for 14 years and has been a photographer professionally since 2004, although her time behind a camera goes as far back to the age of 14 when her aunt gave her first camera. She immediately fell in love with it and used her passion and love of photography to guide her forward on a path to a full-time career.

She said she’s peer-taught and has learned the craft of photography through professional organizations on local, state and national levels and under the guidance of multiple mentors. One of her favorite ways of learning more is through competitions.

“I don’t necessarily compete to win awards although it doesn’t hurt when that happens but I do it to learn,” Heisler said. “To have my images put up against others and learn and get better all of the time...you can’t beat that.”

Her photography studio, Heisler Studios, specializes in capturing headshots and other business-related photography.

“I specialize in making headshots more approachable and in doing so, help enable the business person to better reach their next client,” Heisler said. “It’s important to have a headshot that’s approachable and friendly, but still professional. We apply this to all of our clients, be it a picture of a person or a picture of a product.”

Heisler is a Clay Chamber of Commerce member and she meets what she calls amazing business owners there. It drives her to help more people in business. Before the coronavirus pandemic, she had planned to open a co-working space which would provide professional workspaces to clients who weren’t ready to lease a building, but are still in need of a work environment.

“It was again about helping other business owners in Clay County,” Heisler said.

She still has plans to make this co-work space business happen one day but until a coronavirus vaccine is created, she’s unsure of when that “one day” will come.

“It’ll happen one day and that’s because I love helping people,” Heisler said. “My work is as much about a portrait as it is about being able to relate to others and help them shine.”