[2] Around the end of the Taisho Era (1912-1926), Kobayashi's career as a photographer began to gain steam.
[2] In the 1930’s he began to publish his photographic works and editorials in a photography magazine called The Photo Times.
He was influenced by the modern art movement and his works slowly became even more avant-garde using more experimental techniques like photomontage and x-ray film.
[3] His transition during this period is a testament to the synergistic influence and intellectual inquiry that these photography magazines had on the photographers who were active them.
In 1948, he decides to join the Bijutsu Bunka Kyokai ("Fine Art and Culture Association") which was a society of avant-garde artists.
In this organization, he became the head of the photography section and submitted his works in exhibitions that the association held in Kyoto as well as Tokyo.
Through working with the Bijutsu Bunka Kyokai, Kobayashi became aquatinted with avant-garde painters such as Gentarō Komaki, Nobuya Abe, Noboru Kitawaki, and others.