She was raised in the suburb of Moonee Ponds[2] and educated at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School (1902–06), where one of her teachers was the painter Frederick McCubbin, but she received no formal training in photography.
[2] The following year, she set herself up as a freelance photographer who toured rural areas of the state of Victoria, making portraits of families, especially children.
[3] It was in this period that Hollick developed a reputation for skillful use of both natural and studio lighting and for stylish compositions, often setting her subjects against plain backgrounds.
[2][3] For example, she took several pictures of the British aviator Amy Johnson on her 1930 world tour, including the official Australian portrait.
[2] For most of the 1920s, Hollick was one of Melbourne's two leading photographers, along with Pegg Clarke,[6] and she exhibited her work both locally and internationally.