In 2000, she received an Alexia Foundation grant to document a small village in the West African nation of Guinea Bissau.

[8] Vitale currently photographs wildlife and environmental stories in order to educate about global conservation issues.

She is a visual journalist working as a photographer for National Geographic, a documentary filmmaker, and a cinematographer.

[9] Her recent still photography focuses on wildlife conservation in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

As an ambassador for Nikon and a contract photographer with National Geographic magazine, she has documented wildlife and poaching in Africa, covered human-wildlife conflict, and concentrated on efforts to save the northern white rhino and reintroduce pandas to the wild.