Pinkhassov began his interest in photography in his teens, and enrolled at the Moscow Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in 1969.

In 1979 his work was noticed outside of Russia for the first time, in a group exhibition of Soviet photographers held in Paris.

Previously, his work had mainly been seen in a number of Russian magazines, including L'artiste Sovetique.

His acceptance by the Magnum Photos agency in 1988 opened up his work to a wider audience.

He worked for the international media covering major events in Lithuania, Mongolia, Indonesia and Africa.