Lane's work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution and some of her photographs are part of the permanent collection at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

After her father returned to Italy, her mother was left struggling to pay the bills and was forced to put her into the care of a wealthier family for a time.

[3] After a brief marriage to a World War II veteran, she moved to New York, keeping her married name.

From 1959 to 1962, Lane was affiliated with the Harvard University News Office, exposing herself to working with current events.

He was so impressed with her devotion and dedication that he hired her and eventually helped make her become known as the official photographer of the women's movement.

[6] It was during her time working at the National Observer, a New York weekly newspaper, that Lane was given her big break.

[2] After leaving the National Observer in 1977, Lane became independent, not tying herself down to a certain publication, however, she took assignments from Time, Life and the Associated Press.

She was one of the few photographers to document the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, considered the beginning the gay rights movement in the United States.