He studied photojournalism and documentary photography at the International Center of Photography in New York and took part in the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass in 2007.
Bangert is represented by laif agency. He co-founded the laif cooperative in 2022 and is currently serving on its executive board. As a photojournalist, Bangert has extensively covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for The New York Times and other publications.
He is the author of several books including War Porn, hello camel, Rumors of War and The Fotobus Manual. He teaches photojournalism and documentary photography at universities and photo schools worldwide.
Bangert is a professor of photography at the Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts and the founder of the Fotobus Society, one of the largest non-profit photography student projects worldwide, which is supported by Nikon.