Iwamiya recognized his talent and from 1958 encouraged the young Inoue to roam the streets of Kamagasaki in Nishinari-ku, Osaka, permitting him to develop his private work in the studio darkroom.
In Tokyo, during May 1960, he held his first solo exhibition, "The Hundred Faces of Kamagasaki", which was awarded Newcomer Prize by Camera Geijutsu magazine.
Moriyama credits Inoue with setting him on the road to photography and as being highly influential in developing his photographic style.
Following his work in Kamagasaki, Inoue photographed ethnic Koreans emigrating from Japan to North Korea and the festivals and city of Kyoto, among other subjects.
He was engaged in photographing daily life on the Amami Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture when he met an accidental death in Tokunoshima in 1988.