Photographer Holly Lepere was born and raised in Duncanville, Texas, a small town outside Dallas. As a sophomore, she took beginning photography, processing and printing film in the high school darkroom as she shot campus events for the yearbook with her Canon AE-1.
She took that camera to the University of Texas at Austin and eventually to Santa Barbara’s now-shuttered Brooks Institute of Photography. At Brooks, she added a 4×5 film camera but, overall, her quiver remained small, she remembers. “Sometimes limitations in gear force creativity and, I think, learning to work with what I had was valuable early in my career.”
In the following Q&A, Lepere discusses her education, career, and new book, Private Homes of Santa Barbara (Gibbs Smith, 2026), available on October 27.
What led you to Brooks? Photography was my favorite subject at UT Austin, but the program was very small at the time, so I decided to find the best photography school in the country. My father was in advertising and arranged interviews with several photographers who worked on his agency’s campaigns. Through those conversations, I learned that the top choices were Brooks Institute, ArtCenter in Los Angeles, and RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) in upstate New York. Of course, I chose Santa Barbara!
What else about your time at Brooks? Brooks was a very small school when I attended, with only about 300 students. All of my teachers were wonderful. Bob Smith was particularly encouraging. Even after I moved away, I would call him, and in his wonderful Southern drawl, he would remind me, “Girl-child, you are a survivor. You can do this!” Brooks gave me the confidence and commitment to pursue photography professionally.
What happened next? After I graduated, I went to N.Y.C. armed with a list of Brooks grads working there. After two years of assisting, I struck freelance gold when I got steady work with a photographer who exclusively photographed for Blair, one of America’s oldest mail-order catalog companies. We traveled all over the country photographing models on location, shooting everything to size for print on an 8×10 camera. Everything was shot on transparency film, so the color and exposure had to be perfect. I relied on both a light meter and a color meter, sometimes needing to color-correct the lights with gels to match ambient indoor light. It was incredibly challenging compared to today’s digital landscape, but it taught me to really see and understand light, color, and exposure.
Artwork by Erica Deeman reinforces House of Honey’s layered, art-forward aesthetic. | Photo: Holly Lepere 
A custom Bahamian Beach wall covering in gilded silver by de Gournay sets the tone in Jeffrey Alan Marks’s library, paired with an English sofa upholstered in the designer’s fabrics. | Photo: Holly Lepere
What sparked your interest in the photography showcased in your new book? Before I knew what kind of photographer I wanted to become, I spent most Sundays in bookstores poring over photography books. One afternoon at Barnes & Noble, a circular table stacked with beautiful coffee-table garden books caught my eye. I remember thinking, “I want to make a garden book someday.” That little moment was a glimpse of my future.
When did you launch your own business? Going from assistant to photographer felt like a big leap. I took a break from assisting and took a solo trip around the world. When I returned, I got a job in Dallas shooting advertising for JCPenney. After three years of that, I was ready to come back to Santa Barbara and start my own business in the most beautiful place I’d ever been. In 2001, I bought my first digital camera, audited a Photoshop class at Brooks, and took a business class through Women’s Economic Ventures taught by Dawn Close. Dawn’s business partner was Margie Grace, who had just started her landscape design business. Grace Design became my first client.
Almost 20 years later, Dawn told me she wanted to publish a book of Margie’s work. I remembered that flash of inspiration in the bookstore years earlier. Together, Dawn, Margie, and I realized that dream with Private Gardens of Santa Barbara (Gibbs Smith, 2020).
Picture windows frame the shifting seascape in this entry, where clean architectural lines echo the horizon. Architecture by Design Arc. | Photo: Holly Lepere 
Vintage gates from Mexico define a pool-bath vestibule designed for guests coming in from the pool with bare feet and wet swimsuits. Interior design by Rita Chan Interiors. | Photo: Holly Lepere 
A formal loggia pairs neutral putty and charcoal tones with a limestone fireplace, while arches frame views of the surrounding oaks. Architecture by Don Nulty. Interior design by Christina Rottman Designs. | Photo: Holly Lepere
And it also set the stage for your new book. At the end of 2024, Amy Davidson from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art told me that the museum store was selling out of the Private Gardens book every month. She asked if I would do another book in the series. Gibbs Smith agreed to my vision of creating a series that celebrates the talented design community in Santa Barbara.
With Private Homes of Santa Barbara, I photographed different types of homes in a variety of photographic styles. It was an opportunity to showcase the work of my architecture and interior design clients, as well as landscapes. It was also important to me that the architects, designers, and builders each have a voice in the book. A residential home is the result of tremendous collaboration, and I wanted that reflected in the book through their project narratives.
Anything you’d like to add? A portion of the book proceeds will support Amor, a nonprofit that builds homes for families in need. You can read more about them at amor.org.
Private Homes of Santa Barbara is available at several local bookshops and at leperestudio.com.
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