Fotografiar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of fotografiar — "to photograph" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for fotografiar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Él fotografía la puesta de sol en la playa. — "He/she photographs the sunset on the beach." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: fotografiar

Every person of fotografiar in the present tense. The gerund is fotografiando and the past participle is fotografiado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo fotografío
tú fotografías
él/ella/Ud. fotografía
nosotros/as fotografiamos
vosotros/as fotografiáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. fotografían

How the present indicative of fotografiar is formed

The present indicative of fotografiar is built from the stem fotografi- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o fotografío
tú -as fotografías
él/ella/Ud. -a fotografía
nosotros/as -amos fotografiamos
vosotros/as -áis fotografiáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an fotografían

The gerund of fotografiar is fotografiando and the past participle is fotografiado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of fotografiar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and fotografiar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For fotografiar, this use looks like this: "Yo fotografío la puesta de sol en la playa." — "I photograph the sunset on the beach." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For fotografiar, this use looks like this: "Él fotografía a los niños en el parque." — "He/she photographs the children in the park." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For fotografiar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros fotografiamos el paisaje desde la ventana." — "We photograph the landscape from the window." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For fotografiar, this use looks like this: "Ellos fotografían con la cámara nueva." — "They photograph with the new camera." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For fotografiar, this use looks like this: "Tú fotografías la puesta de sol en la playa." — "You photograph the sunset on the beach." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with fotografiar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo fotografío la puesta de sol en la playa." — "I photograph the sunset on the beach."
  • Preterite: "Yo fotografié la puesta de sol en la playa." — "I photographed the sunset on the beach." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él fotografía a los niños en el parque." — "He/she photographs the children in the park."
  • Preterite: "Él fotografió a los niños en el parque." — "He/she photographed the children in the park." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros fotografiamos el paisaje desde la ventana." — "We photograph the landscape from the window."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros fotografiamos el paisaje desde la ventana." — "We photographed the landscape from the window." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with fotografiar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo fotografío la puesta de sol en la playa. — I photograph the sunset on the beach.
  2. Tú fotografías a los niños en el parque. — You photograph the children in the park.
  3. Él fotografía el paisaje desde la ventana. — He/she photographs the landscape from the window.
  4. Nosotros fotografiamos con la cámara nueva. — We photograph with the new camera.
  5. Vosotros fotografiáis la puesta de sol en la playa. — You all photograph the sunset on the beach.
  6. Ellos fotografían a los niños en el parque. — They photograph the children in the park.
  7. Yo fotografío el paisaje desde la ventana. — I photograph the landscape from the window.
  8. Él fotografía con la cámara nueva. — He/she photographs with the new camera.

Common mistakes

  1. 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.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo fotografío el paisaje desde la ventana. — Right: Ayer, yo fotografié el paisaje desde la ventana. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (fotografié), not the present (fotografío). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. 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.
  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. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of fotografiar. Choose the right form, then 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: Tú ___ a los niños en el parque. (present tense) A. fotografías B. fotografío C. fotografía D. fotografiamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el paisaje desde la ventana. (present tense) A. fotografía B. fotografío C. fotografías D. fotografiamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ con la cámara nueva. (present tense) A. fotografiamos B. fotografío C. fotografías D. fotografía

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ la puesta de sol en la playa. (present tense) A. fotografiáis B. fotografío C. fotografías D. fotografía

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ a los niños en el parque. (present tense) A. fotografían B. fotografío C. fotografías D. fotografía

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el paisaje desde la ventana. (present tense) A. fotografío B. fotografías C. fotografía D. fotografiamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ con la cámara nueva. (present tense) A. fotografía B. fotografío C. fotografías D. fotografiamos

Answer key

  1. fotografío — The yo present form of fotografiar is fotografío. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. fotografías — The tu present form of fotografiar is fotografías. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. fotografía — The el present form of fotografiar is fotografía. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. fotografiamos — The nosotros present form of fotografiar is fotografiamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. fotografiáis — The vosotros present form of fotografiar is fotografiáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. fotografían — The ellos present form of fotografiar is fotografían. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. fotografío — The yo present form of fotografiar is fotografío. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. fotografía — The el present form of fotografiar is fotografía. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of fotografiar?

Use the present tense of fotografiar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo fotografío la puesta de sol en la playa. — "I photograph the sunset on the beach." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of fotografiar formed?

Take the stem fotografi- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of fotografiar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo fotografío a los niños en el parque. with Yo fotografié a los niños en el parque. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of fotografiar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the fotografiar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Fotografiar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

Related links