Nagano was born in Oita prefecture, in 1929. At first he pursued a business career, studying economics at Keio University in Tokyo, and after graduating he joined a trading company. However, Nagano didn’t find his job fulfilling and only after a month of employment he resigned. Photography had been Nagano’s passion, and even during his years as a student he had been a part of a photography club called “Photo Friends”, under the tutelage of his senior, photographer Yasuzo Nojima. He then joined the Weekly Sun News after being invited by photographer Jun Miki, another member of the Photo Friends club.

In 1949, Nagano became a photographer for the Iwanami Film Productions Company’s Iwanami Photography Collection series. Nagano turned to freelancing in 1954, and from the 60s onwards, Nagano became successful at working as a cameraman for movies and TV commercials, working on projects such as Kon Ichikawa’s documentary “Tokyo Olympics”, and director Nobuhiko Obayashi films. Nagano was also one of the editors of the Japanese Photographers-book series, published by Iwanami Shoten.