Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Fotografer keluarga kami datang lebih awal untuk mengambil foto sebelum pernikahan. - Our family photographer comes early to take photos before the wedding.

In fotografer keluarga kami, why does keluarga kami come after fotografer? In English we say our family photographer, but the order in Indonesian looks different.

Indonesian noun phrases generally follow this pattern:

Main noun + describing part

So:

fotografer = photographer (main noun)
keluarga kami = our family (describing whose photographer)

Put together:

fotografer keluarga kami = literally “photographer of our family” → “our family photographer / our family’s photographer”.

This order (main noun first, then modifier) is normal in Indonesian:

rumah saya = my house
teman baru saya = my new friend
guru bahasa Inggris saya = my English teacher

So fotografer keluarga kami follows the same pattern.

Why is kami used instead of kita in keluarga kami? What’s the difference?

Both kami and kita mean we / us, but:

kami = we (excluding the listener)
kita = we (including the listener)

In keluarga kami, the speaker is referring to “our family” as belonging to the speaker (and maybe some others) but not necessarily including the listener.

If the speaker wanted to explicitly include the listener as part of that family, they could say keluarga kita. In most contexts, keluarga kami is natural when talking to someone outside the family.

Could we just say fotografer kami instead of fotografer keluarga kami? Does it change the meaning?

You can say fotografer kami, and it would usually be understood as:

fotografer kami = our photographer

However, fotografer keluarga kami is more specific:

fotografer kami might mean “our photographer” in any context (for work, for a project, for an event, etc.)
fotografer keluarga kami clearly means “the photographer for our family” (e.g., the one who usually takes your family photos).

So both are grammatically correct, but keluarga adds clarity about the relationship.

The English translation uses came (past tense), but Indonesian just has datang. How do we know it’s past tense?

Indonesian verbs usually do not change form for tense. Datang can mean:

come
comes
came

The tense is understood from context, time expressions, or extra words like:

sudah (already) → past
akan (will) → future
sedang (currently) → in progress

In this sentence:

The overall context is a specific event (a wedding day), so datang lebih awal naturally becomes “came early” in English.
Indonesian doesn’t need to mark it grammatically; the listener infers the time.

What exactly does lebih awal mean? It looks like “more early”. Why is that used for “earlier”?

Yes, lebih awal literally is:

lebih = more
awal = early

Together, lebih awal means earlier / earlier than expected / earlier than usual.

Indonesian uses lebih + adjective to form comparatives:

lebih tinggi = taller
lebih besar = bigger
lebih cepat = faster

So lebih awal is the normal way to say “earlier” (comparative of “early”).

Where can lebih awal go in the sentence? Is datang lebih awal the only correct order?

The most natural and common order here is:

Fotografer keluarga kami datang lebih awal …

Placing the adverbial phrase lebih awal after the verb datang is standard:

dia datang terlambat = he/she came late
mereka tiba lebih awal = they arrived earlier

You could sometimes move it around in more complex sentences, but for a simple sentence like this, verb + lebih awal is the clearest and most natural order. Saying lebih awal datang at the start would sound unusual or need a special emphasis/context.

What is the function of untuk in untuk mengambil foto? Is it like the English “to” in “to take photos”?

Yes, untuk here introduces a purpose, very much like to / in order to in English.

datang lebih awal untuk mengambil foto
= came earlier to take photos / in order to take photos

Typical pattern:

[do something] untuk [do something else (purpose)]

Examples:

Saya belajar keras untuk lulus ujian.
I study hard to pass the exam.
Dia bekerja lembur untuk menyelesaikan proyek.
He/she works overtime to finish the project.

Why mengambil foto and not just ambil foto? What’s the difference between ambil and mengambil?

The base verb is ambil (take). Mengambil is the meN- prefixed form, which is more standard and often more formal.

mengambil = to take (standard, neutral)
ambil = take (base form; common in casual speech, commands, headlines)

In a full, neutral sentence like this, mengambil foto sounds natural and complete.
You might hear ambil foto in informal conversations, but in writing or neutral speech, mengambil foto is preferred.

Why use mengambil foto instead of a single verb like “photograph”? Is there a shorter verb in Indonesian?

Yes, Indonesian does have a more specific verb:

memotret = to photograph / to take pictures

So you could also say:

Fotografer keluarga kami datang lebih awal untuk memotret sebelum pernikahan.

Both are correct:

mengambil foto = literally “to take photos”
memotret = “to photograph / to take pictures”

Mengambil foto is very common and transparent for learners; memotret is also very natural and perhaps a bit more concise.

In sebelum pernikahan, there is no word for “the” or “our”. How can it mean “before the wedding” or “before our wedding”?

Indonesian generally does not use articles like “a” or “the”. A bare noun often corresponds to “the …” in English if context is specific enough.

pernikahan = a wedding / the wedding / wedding (in general), depending on context

Here, the context is clearly about one specific event (the wedding that the photographer is there for), so it is naturally translated as:

sebelum pernikahan → “before the wedding”
(and in a fuller context, it could be “before our wedding”)

If you want to be explicit, you can say:

sebelum pernikahan kami = before our wedding
sebelum pernikahan itu = before that wedding

But in many real-life sentences, sebelum pernikahan alone is enough and sounds natural.

Is there a difference between pernikahan and nikah? Which one is more appropriate here?

Yes, there is a nuance:

pernikahan = the noun “wedding / marriage ceremony”; more formal/standard
nikah = can be a verb (“to marry”) or used informally as a noun; more colloquial

In a neutral, fairly formal sentence like:

… sebelum pernikahan.

Pernikahan is the better choice.

In more casual speech, you might hear:

sebelum nikah (before getting married / before the wedding)

Both are widely understood; pernikahan just sounds more standard or formal.

Why is foto not repeated or marked as plural? Shouldn’t it be foto-foto if we mean “photos”?

Indonesian usually doesn’t have to mark plural the way English does. A singular noun can cover both:

foto = photo / photos

Whether it’s one or many is understood from context or from extra words like:

banyak foto = many photos
beberapa foto = several photos

You can say foto-foto to stress the plurality (“photos / lots of photos”), but it’s not required. In this sentence, mengambil foto is naturally understood as “take photos” because that’s what photographers usually do in this context.

Could we say tiba lebih awal or sampai lebih awal instead of datang lebih awal? Do they mean the same thing?

All three verbs are related but have slightly different typical uses:

datang = to come (most general)
tiba = to arrive (a bit more formal / specific to reaching a place)
sampai = to arrive / to reach (very common in speech)

In this sentence, you could say:

Fotografer keluarga kami tiba lebih awal …
Fotografer keluarga kami sampai lebih awal …

Both are grammatically correct and understandable.

Nuance:

datang lebih awal is very natural and neutral here.
tiba lebih awal might sound a bit more formal or focused on the arrival time itself.
sampai lebih awal is common in conversational Indonesian.

All are acceptable, but datang lebih awal is a very typical choice.