Fotografiar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

fotografiar means to photograph, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Fotografiar means to photograph, and it is used for taking photos of people, places and events, with a camera or a phone. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it takes a direct object for the subject of the photo. This page puts fotografiar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for fotografiar, and the full tables are on the fotografiar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo fotografío la puesta de sol en la playa. — I photograph the sunset on the beach.
  2. Él fotografía a los niños en el parque. — He/she photographs the children in the park.
  3. Ayer, yo fotografié el paisaje desde la ventana. — Yesterday, I photographed the landscape from the window.
  4. Antes, nosotros fotografiábamos con la cámara nueva. — Before, we used to photograph with the new camera.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú fotografiarás la puesta de sol en la playa. — Tomorrow, you will photograph the sunset on the beach.
  2. Yo fotografiaría a los niños en el parque. — I would photograph the children in the park.
  3. Él ha fotografiado el paisaje desde la ventana. — He/she has photographed the landscape from the window.
  4. Espero que él fotografíe con la cámara nueva. — I hope he/she photographs with the new camera.

With other people

  1. Nosotros fotografiamos la puesta de sol en la playa. — We photograph the sunset on the beach.
  2. Vosotros fotografiáis a los niños en el parque. — You all photograph the children in the park.
  3. Antes, ellos fotografiaban el paisaje desde la ventana. — Before, they used to photograph the landscape from the window.
  4. Mañana, él fotografiará con la cámara nueva. — Tomorrow, he/she will photograph with the new camera.

Fotografiar in context

Two short dialogues that use fotografiar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy fotografío la puesta de sol en la playa." — "Today I photograph the sunset on the beach."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, fotografié el paisaje desde la ventana." — "Yesterday I photographed the landscape from the window."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú fotografiarás a los niños en el parque?" — "And tomorrow, will you will photograph the children in the park?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros fotografiamos con la cámara nueva." — "Tomorrow we photograph with the new camera."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo fotografiaría a los niños en el parque si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would photograph the children in the park if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él fotografíe la puesta de sol en la playa." — "I hope he photographs the sunset on the beach."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha fotografiado el paisaje desde la ventana." — "Surely. He has already has photographed the landscape from the window."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo fotografía la puesta de sol en la playa. — Right: Yo fotografío la puesta de sol en la playa. — The person matters: fotografía is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is fotografío. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo fotografio a los niños en el parque. — Right: Yo fotografío a los niños en el parque. — In the present, the correct first-person form is fotografío, not fotografio. The present of fotografiar does not follow the regular pattern here, so learn the form from the table.
  3. Wrong: Treating fotografiar and grabar as identical in every context. — Right: Fotografiar means to photograph, while grabar means to record, for video and sound. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: fotografiar fits sentences such as Fotografío la puesta de sol en la playa, while grabar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy fotografiado a los niños en el parque. — Right: Yo he fotografiado a los niños en el parque. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he fotografiado, has fotografiado, ha fotografiado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo fotografié el paisaje desde la ventana todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo fotografiaba el paisaje desde la ventana todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (fotografiaba), not the preterite. The preterite (fotografié) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on fotografiar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la puesta de sol en la playa. (present tense) A. fotografío B. fotografías C. fotografía D. fotografiamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a los niños en el parque. (preterite tense) A. fotografié B. fotografiaste C. fotografiamos D. fotografió

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el paisaje desde la ventana. (future tense) A. fotografiará B. fotografiaremos C. fotografiarás D. fotografiaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ con la cámara nueva. (imperfect tense) A. fotografiabais B. fotografiábamos C. fotografiaba D. fotografiabas

  5. What does "Yo fotografío la puesta de sol en la playa." mean in English? A. I photograph the sunset on the beach. B. I photograph the children in the park. C. I photograph the landscape from the window. D. I photograph with the new camera.

  6. What does "Él fotografió a los niños en el parque." mean in English? A. He/she photographed the sunset on the beach. B. He/she photographed the landscape from the window. C. He/she photographed with the new camera. D. He/she photographed the children in the park.

  7. What does "Nosotros fotografiaremos el paisaje desde la ventana." mean in English? A. We will photograph the children in the park. B. We will photograph with the new camera. C. We will photograph the landscape from the window. D. We will photograph the sunset on the beach.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo fotografio a los niños en el parque. B. Yo fotografía a los niños en el parque. C. Yo fotografío a los niños en el parque.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él fotografié el paisaje desde la ventana. B. Él fotografió el paisaje desde la ventana. C. Él fotografiaron el paisaje desde la ventana.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo fotografíe con la cámara nueva. B. Yo fotografie con la cámara nueva. C. Yo fotografíe con la cámara nueva.

Answer key

  1. fotografío — The yo present form of fotografiar is fotografío.
  2. fotografió — The el preterite form of fotografiar is fotografió.
  3. fotografiarás — The tu future form of fotografiar is fotografiarás.
  4. fotografiábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of fotografiar is fotografiábamos.
  5. I photograph the sunset on the beach. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form fotografío, so the English is "I photograph the sunset on the beach." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she photographed the children in the park. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form fotografió, so the English is "He/she photographed the children in the park." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will photograph the landscape from the window. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form fotografiaremos, so the English is "We will photograph the landscape from the window." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo fotografío a los niños en el parque. — The correct sentence is "Yo fotografío a los niños en el parque." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él fotografió el paisaje desde la ventana. — The correct sentence is "Él fotografió el paisaje desde la ventana." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo fotografíe con la cámara nueva. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo fotografíe con la cámara nueva." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does fotografiar mean, and when do I use it?

Fotografiar means to photograph. Fotografiar means to photograph, and it is used for taking photos of people, places and events, with a camera or a phone. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it takes a direct object for the subject of the photo. A good first sentence to remember is Yo fotografío la puesta de sol en la playa. — "I photograph the sunset on the beach."

What is the difference between fotografiar and grabar?

Fotografiar means to photograph, while grabar means to record, for video and sound. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use fotografiar when you mean to photograph, as in Yo fotografío a los niños en el parque., and use grabar for to record, for video and sound.

How do I say "I photograph" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo fotografié a los niños en el parque.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo fotografiaba el paisaje desde la ventana.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he fotografiado a los niños en el parque..

How do I practise fotografiar?

Start with the fotografiar conjugation page for the full tables, then the fotografiar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Fotografiar is fully regular: fotografié, fotografiaba, fotografiaré. The accent on fotografié marks the stressed i.

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