Joe Fornabaio is a first-generation Italian-American photographer and photo editor based in New York City. His work is observational, intimate, and deeply humanistic. Joe is driven by a profound curiosity about people and an eye for the small, revealing moments that connect us. Whether capturing a quiet gesture or a flash of everyday humor, Joe’s images reflect the commonality of experience and the understated comedy woven into daily life. His perspective, shaped by his Brooklyn upbringing and close-knit Italian-American family, brings warmth, clarity, and a sense of recognition to everything he photographs.

A graduate of the School of Visual Arts, Joe began his career assisting top editorial and commercial photographers before going on to shoot for Time, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, among others. He was selected for USA Network’s “Character Project,” produced by the Aperture Foundation—a national portrait of American identity that toured the country and was published by Chronicle Books.

Today, Joe is a photo editor at The Wall Street Journal, where he helps shape the paper’s front page and international visual storytelling. He lives in Manhattan and continues to create personal work that celebrates character, place, and the beauty of everyday life.