We overthink gear. I just filmed a Vogue photographer who shoots with severe phocomelia (hands attached to shoulders)

Hey everyone. We constantly debate ergonomics, camera weight, and grip size here. But working on my latest 29-minute documentary completely shattered my perspective on physical limitations in photography.

I spent time filming Roman. He was born with severe phocomelia– his hands grow directly from his shoulders. His reach is extremely short. Yet, he manages to physically operate heavy pro DSLR/Mirrorless setups, adjust dials, nail focus, and direct models flawlessly to shoot for magazines like VOGUE.

Watching him work made me realize how much we complain about minor gear inconveniences. Have any of you worked with or seen photographers who completely bypassed severe physical constraints to get the shot?

(Note: The documentary is 29 minutes long, and we fully dubbed the audio into 5 languages, including English and Spanish, so people worldwide can understand his workflow. I won't spam the link in the main post, but if anyone wants to see his actual BTS and how he physically holds the camera, let me know in the comments and I'll drop the YouTube link!)