He studied professional photography at a photo studio ran by photographer Ryutaro Kono in Kyoto city.
With an investment from his wife's family, in 1934 he established Noboru Hiroi Photography Studio in the Karasuma district in Kyoto.
[1] For his photographs, Ueki used a Vestan camera which had been popular in Japan in the beginning of the Showa Era (1926-1989).
[2] This boom in spurred the growth of organizations that promoted photography as a fine art and not just a hobby or commercial activity.
Ueki produced these kinds of portraits but also experimented with more avant-garde work using hand coloring techniques where he would paint directly onto his photographs.