From 1994 until 1998 Joe McNally was LIFE magazine's staff photographer, the first one in 23 years. His most well known series is the "Faces of Ground Zero ... Portraits of the Heroes of September 11th", a collection of 246 giant Polaroid portraits shot in the Moby C Studio near Ground Zero in a three-week period shortly after 9/11. A large group of these life-size (9' x 4') photos were exhibited in seven cities in 2002, seen by almost a million people. The exhibit and the book, printed by LIFE, helped raise approximately $2 million for the 9/11-relief effort.

Some of McNally's other photographic series include, "The Future of Flying," a 32-page cover story for National Geographic, published in December 2003, commemorating the centennial observance of the Wright Brothers' flight. Joe is a 20 year contributor to National Geographic, and this story was the first all digital shoot for the magazine. This issue was a National Magazine Award Finalist, and one of the magazine’s most popular covers. He has shot cover stories for Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek, Geo, Fortune, New York, Business Week, LIFE and Men’s Journal, among others.

McNally’s advertising, marketing and promotional work includes FedEx, Nikon, Sony, Land’s End, General Electric, MetLife, Bogen, Adidas, Kelby Media Group, Wildlife Conservation Society, and American Ballet Theatre.

In 2008, McNally published his book, The Moment It Clicks. In 2009, McNally published "The Hotshoe Diaries".

He's known for heavy usage of CLS and Speedlight (especially in Youtube videos), and also his camera holding technique called Da Grip.

McNally has been described by American Photo magazine as perhaps the most versatile photojournalist working today and was listed as one of the hundred most important people in photography.

In January 1999 Kodak and Photo District News honored McNally by inducting him into their Legends Online archive. In 2001 Nikon bestowed a similar honor when McNally was placed on NikonNet.com's list of Legends Behind the Lens.

He has received the Alfred Eisenstadt Award for magazine photography and has been honored by Pictures of the Year International, World Press Photo, and the Art Directors Club. He has also been recognized by the magazines Photo District News, American Photo, Applied Arts magazine, Communication Arts, and Graphis Inc..